Servas International

Servas International

Type of site	Non-governmental organization
Founded	July 1949;76 years ago (July 1949) in Denmark
Headquarters	Zurich
Area served	Global
Founder(s)	Bob Luitweiler
Products	Homestay
Services	Social networking service
URL	www.servas.org
Users	15,000 in over 100 countries [1]

A Servas local meeting in Collegno, Italy in 2016

Servas International ("we serve (peace)" in Esperanto) is a non-profit organization providing a hospitality exchange service.

Servas is a nonprofit member organization that builds peace and cross-cultural understanding through day visits or overnight home stays among members who share information about themselves, to help ensure accountability. It was founded in 1949, ^[2] in the aftermath of World War II, by Bob Luitweiler and other Danish students as an international network for people to meet and where suitable, to be offered a short stay, as part of the peace movement. ^{[3] [4]}

The organisation may now be described as a platform, part of a gift economy. Members can be both hosts and travellers, and hosts do not charge for lodging.

Members pay an annual fee to the organization, which is determined locally by country. ^{[5] [6]} There is an international executive and each country has an elected board or committee to manage membership (including interviews for new applicants), determine membership fees, organise social events, support various peace-related activities.

Servas is owned by an accredited Non-governmental organization and has been affiliated with the United Nations since 1973. ^[6]

Servas and the UN together for peace

Servas has had observer status in the UN since 1973. There is a team of Servas members in New York, Vienna and Geneva who follow the negotiations in various commissions.

The Human Rights Council is meeting in Geneva. Servas and other non-governmental organizations participate in this body with written and oral statements on its current issues.

Two Servas Seeds Planted

• excerpt from Seeds Of Servas, Bob Luitweiler

Outside of Stockholm, on the way back from Helsinki, I visited a work camp for peace where Gertraud Hertling, a German student volunteer sowed the first seed of Servas. A shapely girl with a ready smile, she said in excellent English, "You cannot imagine how isolated the German youth are. First, as a result of the Nazi regime then during the War, our youth have been cut off. Now the occupation forces allow us to take no more than five dollars out of the country. You can't go far with that. How can our German youth, locked into occupied Germany, learn the meaning of democratic ways?" One of the advantages of traveling alone is the frequent loneliness of being far from home in a strange land. Missing friendly human contact impelled me to talk with everyone I chanced to meet - someone sitting nearby waiting for the train or ferry, someone siting alone in a restaurant; someone sitting in the park or walking near me. Every kind of person enlarged my knowledge and gave me new insights. The next Servas seed came from a young American whom I met on the road. He told me at great length and in the strongest reactionary terms how terrible the Swedish Socialist government was. At that time there was almost no country in Europe that cared more for its working people without blocking entrepreneurial initiatives, as the Communist countries did. Sweden's medical services were excellent and mostly free. Their Consumer's Co-operative movement was the envy of thoughtful people around the world. Their educational system was also outstanding. Of equal significance, there were no unemployed or poor people. I was profoundly disturbed up by his attitude. This young man had gotten the most biased picture of Sweden possible from the reactionary rich host family he had been placed with for the summer, by a well known international student exchange program. Ouch! There was certainly a need for a different hospitality system.

History

Servas was founded in 1949, ^[2] in the aftermath of World War II, by Bob Luitweiler and other Danish students as an international network for people to meet and where suitable, to be offered a short stay, as part of the peace movement. ^{[3] [4]} When it started in 1949, host details were printed by country and posted by each country to other member countries. Each member country began their own country organization. Servas International formed as a federation of all member countries. It was originally called Peace Builder but later renamed Servas International.

In1989, Pat Knowles wrote a useful account of Servas, ^[7] from its beginnings up to 1989 that focused on peacebuilding and friendship, and networking. Servas International's Peace Secretary was in touch with some international organisations including War Resisters' International, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Quaker United Nations Office, Pax Christi International. In illustration of its UN status, Knowles reproduced Servas International's submission to the UN Special Session on Disarmament in 1978. Knowles also described the initiative in 1986 for Servas groups to recruit a national peace secretary with duties like those of Servas International Peace Secretary. Contributions from the peace secretaries of Germany, Poland and Israel are included. Knowles explores the connection between travel and understanding asking about the early study groups on non-violence techniques and the question 'can we travel too far, too fast?'

Incorporation of Servas International At the General Assembly in 1972 the importance of establishing an international legal entity was discussed. It was agreed that it was necessary to have a legal framework for financial, administrative international requirements. Dr. Max Habicht, International Lawyer and International Servas Sponsor prepared the attached "Statutes of Servas International" (Corporation Charter). The Charter was adopted and signed by all National Secretaries at the Conference. Servas Branches unrepresented by Secretaries at the Conference were requested to join the new legal and corporate body, Servas International, and were notified how to do so by the International Coordinator.

In 2006 Servas International started a Servas On Line project replacing its paper based system ^[8]

At the General Assembly in 2006 a distant vote procedure was created for Italy and the Statues were updated accordingly.

Servas Song

Servas Song

Servas Traditional Meetings

Sentierinsieme/Pathways Together

Organized in July in Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany "Sentierinsieme" is the Servas traditional yearly alpine event - organized since 1985 -where Servas members from all over the world come together.

Raymond Forget (Servas France) and with Luigi Uslenghi (Servas Italy) founded "Pathways Together" in 1985.

Year	No	Country	Place	Dates
2026	40	France		July
2025	39	Switzerland	in Zinal in the Valais mountains	from 4 to 10 July
2024	38	Germany	Hintersee/ region Berchtesgaden Baviera	from 19 to 25 July
2023	37	Italy	Oropa, Biella, Piedmont – Italy	from 7 to 13 July
2022	36	France	in Briancon	from 1 to 7 July
2021			Canceled due to Pandemi
2020			Canceled due to Pandemi
2019	35	Switzerland	Mürren (Berner Oberland)	July
2018	34	Germany	Germany Allgäu	From 6th to 12th July
2017	33	Italy	Varaita Valley, Monviso mountain	from 30th June to 5th july
2016	32	France	Contamines Montjoie in the Mont Blanc region	from 1st to 7th of July
2015	31	Switzerland	in Bergün	July
2014	30	Germany	Austrian valle	July
2013	29	Italy	Piedmont	July
2012	28	France	-	July
2011	27	Switzerland	in the area of Flumserberg-Tannenboden	from 24 to 30 June
2010	26	Germany	-	July
2009	25	Italy	Piedmont: Val d’Ossola	from 18 to 23 July
2008	24	France	-	July
2007	23	Switzerland	-	July
2006	22	Germany	-	July
2005	21	Italy	Valsesia & Cinque Terre	July
2004	20	France	-	July
2003	19	Switzerland	-	July
2002	18	Italy	Val d'Aosta	July
2001	17	France	-	July
2000	16	Switzerland		July 2000
1999	15	Italy	in the little village of Arpy at 1700 m. in the Aosta Valley	2-4 July
1998	14	France	in Bénarde	1-4 July
1997	13	Switzerland	at Fafleralp	11-13 July
1996	12	Italy	Pra Catinat in the Piedmont region	1-4 July
1995	11	France	in the French Alps at Fort Marie Christine near the Vanoise National Park	July
1994	10	Switzerland	Matherhorn	15-17 July
1993	9	Italy	Alpe Veglia Natural Park	16-18 July
1992	8	France	in Les Chapieux	29-30 August
1991	7	Italy	Mount Chaberton	13-15th July
1990	6	France	in the JURA, Saint Claude	14-15th July
1989	5	Italy	Alpe Veglia	from 14 to 16 July 1989
1988	4	France	at the Albert Faletti Foundation chalet in Chinaillon (Haute-Savoie).	from 15 to 17 June 1988
1987	3	Italy	Val Maira	July
1986	2	France	-	July
1985	1	Italy	Dolomite mountains, in Val di Fassa	23-30 July

Alpe Adria Meetings

September-October in Austria, Italy, Slovenia Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany

#	Date	Place	Country
01	1989/9/29	Camporosso	Italy
02	1990/10/12-14	Grožnjan/Piran	ex Yugoslavia
03	1991/10/11-13	Wien	Austria
04	1992/10/16-18	Bagni di Lusnizza	Italy
05	1994/6/17-19	Bovec	Slovenia
06	1995/6/2-4	St. Gilgen	Austria
07	1996/6/7-9	Gemona	Italy
08	1998/6	Rakov Škocjan	Slovenia
09	1999/5/14-16	Salzburg	Austria
10	1999/9/11-13	Krk	Croatia
11	2000	Cividale del Friuli	Italy
12	2001	near Nürnberg	Germany
13	2002	Istanbul	Turkey
14	2003	( ?please tell the location! )
15	2004/6/25-27	Dolenjska	Slovenia
16	2005/5/27-29	Tarcento	Italy
17	2006	Admont, Steiermark	Austria
18	2007/8/17-19	Poppberg/Birgland	Germany
19	2008/9/19-21	Gorizia	Italy
20	2009/9/18-20	Bratislava	Slovakia
21	2010/9/24-26	Bohinjsko Jezero	Slovenia
22	2011/9/09-11	Hotel Park Oasi, Arta Terme	Italy
23	2012/9/28-30	Youth Hostel Kreuzlingen	Switzerland
24	2013/9/20-22	Hotel Dermuth, Klagenfurt	Austria
25	2015/9/18-24	Penzion Polana, Horný Smokovec	Slovakia
26	2016/9/16-18	Villa San Fermo, Lonigo	Italy
27	2017/9/22-24	Hotel Luitpold am See, Chiemsee	Germany
28	2018/9/14-16	Kamp Koren, Kobarid	Slovenia
29	2019/9/20-22	Sport Hotel Zátoň near Český Krumlov	Czech
30	2023/10/6-8	Schloss Weinberg, Kefermarkt	Austria
31	2024/9/27-29	Hotel Urpin City Residence, Banská Bystrica	Slovakia(invitation)
32	2025/9	Burghausen	Germany

Source

Servas Peace Schools

Peace School started in Turkiye, Antakya, Ekinci Village in 2009, every year in July.

2023 Georgia, Uganda started first peace school initiative.

• The first Servas Peace School in South America took place in 2025 in Argentina.

The Second Servas Peace School in South America took place in Colombia in January 2026.

National Groups/Member Countries

^[9]

Member Groups appointed delegates can vote in General Assemblies.

#	Member Group	Status	#Host	SI Member since	Founder/Starter	Started
1	Albania		8	1995		1995
2	Algeria		12	1995		1995
3	Argentina	Member	337	1989	Enrique Reigosa	1960
4	Armenia		2
5	Australia	Member	662	1972	Margaret Smith	1960
6	Austria	Member	229	1949	Kurt Schmid	1949
7	Bahrain		1
8	Bangladesh	Member	45	2015	Syed Muhammed Husain	2015
9	Belarus	Member	49	1995		1995
10	Belgium Luxemburg	Member	316	1972	Jan Verwest	1972
11	Benin		11
12	Bhutan		1
13	Bolivia	Member	18	1995	Dr. Ruth Tichauer	1995
14	Botswana	Member	22	1998		1998
15	Brazil	Member	138	1989		1970
16	United Kingdom Ireland	Member	568	1949	Barbara Acquah (GB)	1949
17	Brunei		-	1995		1995
18	Bulgaria	Member	16	2015		2015
19	Burundi		4
20	Cambodia		5
21	Cameroon	Member	32	2009		2009
22	Canada	Member	425	1960		1960
23	Chile	Member	34	1995		1995
24	China	Member	28	2004		2004
25	Colombia	Member	99	1963	Octavio Morales Alvarado	1963
26	Congo Kinshasa (DRC)		10
27	Costa Rica	Member	59	1989		1989
28	Croatia	Member	17	2004		2004
29	Cuba	Member	14	2025
30	Cyprus		1
31	Czech Republic	Member	113	1989		1989
32	Denmark Iceland	Member	251	1949	Nana Funder(sos), Birgitte Damsgaard	1949
33	Dominican Republic		6
34	Ecuador		27
35	Egypt		6
36	Estonia		3
37	Ethiopia		7
38	Falkland Islands		1
39	Finland	Member	64	1970	Albert Szabo	1970
40	France	Member	2075	1949	Joseph Girard	1949
41	Gambia	Member	16	1998		1998
42	Georgia	Member	10	2012		2012
43	Germany	Member	2258	1949	Antonie Fried, Claus Weiss (sos)	1949
44	Greece		24	2009		2009
45	Guatemala	Member	27	1989		1989
46	Honduras		19	1989		1989
47	Hong Kong	Member	36	1992		1992
48	Hungary	Member	101	1989		1989
49	Iceland		3	1998		1998
50	India	Member	260	1951	Harivallabh Perikh	1951
51	Indonesia	Member	25	1995		1995
52	Iran	Member	35	2012		2012
53	Israel	Member	183	1966	Joseph Abileah	1966
54	Italy	Member	1054	1972	Maria Soresina,	1972
55	Japan	Member	207	1962	Masuo Amano	1962
56	Jordan		2
57	Kazakhstan		24	2009		2009
58	Kenya	Member	24	2012		2012
59	Korea	Member	267	1965		1965
60	Kosovo		1
61	Kyrgyzstan	Member	20	2004		2004
62	Laos		2
63	Latvia		14	1992		1992
64	Lebanon		4
65	Lithuania		14	1992		1992
66	Madagascar		5
67	Malawi	Member	53	2004		2004
68	Malaysia	Member	34	2004		2004
69	Mali		10
70	Malta		3	1983		1983
71	Mauritius		5
72	Mexico	Member	90	x
73	Moldova		1
74	Mongolia		6
75	Morocco	Member	25	1998		1998
76	Myanmar		1
77	Nepal	Member	70	2012	Nutan Thapalia	1984
78	Netherlands	Member	271	1950	Joop van der Spek (sos), Arthur J. Sietsma Sr.	1950
79	New Zealand	Member	410	1972	Robert Henry and Vivienne Ellis	1969
80	Nicaragua		1
81	Nigeria		11	1995		1995
82	Norway	Member	133	1974	Jo Overgaard	1974
83	Pakistan	Member	42	1998	Abdul Hameed Khan	1974
84	Palestine		9
85	Panama	Member	12	1992		1992
86	Paraguay	Member	5	1995		1995
87	Peru	Member	14	1998		1998
88	Philippines		15	1989		1989
89	Poland	Member	230	1989		1970
90	Portugal	Member	87	1983	António Serzedelo	1983
91	Republic of the Congo Brazzaville (RC)		31	2009		2009
92	Romania		45			1992
93	Russia	Member	102	1989		1989
94	Rwanda	Member	50	2015		2015
95	São Tomé and Príncipe		1
96	Saudi Arabia		14
97	Senegal		2	1989		1989
98	Serbia		8
99	Sierra Leone		25
100	Singapore		14
101	Slovakia	Member	35	1991	Milan Šimečka	1991
102	Slovenia		17
103	South Africa	Member	27	1986		1986
104	Spain	Member	579	1983	Juan A. Sanchez,	1983
105	Sri Lanka		7
106	Suriname		13
107	Sweden	Member	281	1972	Ulf & Barbro Löwhagen	1972
108	Switzerland	Member	245	1949	Denise Vollenweider	1949
109	Taiwan	Member	109	2009		2009
110	Tanzania	Member	32	2021		2021
111	Thailand	Member	36	1992		1992
112	Togo		55	1998		1998
113	Trinidad and Tobago		2
114	Tunisia		5
115	Turkey	Member	135	1992	Aykut Güzer	1978
116	Uganda	Member	41	x
117	Ukraine	Member	20	2012		2012
118	United Arab Emirates		10
119	United States	Member	1509	1952	Bob Luitweiler	1952
120	Uruguay	Member	33	1983	Jorge Zoppolo	1980
121	Uzbekistan		5
122	Venezuela	Member	43	x
123	Vietnam	Member	25	2015		2015
124	Zambia	Member	14	1998		1998
125	Zimbabwe		6	1995		1995

(sas): Seeds of Servas, by Bob Luitweiler

Executive Committees

2025-2028

Elected General Assembly in 2025 in Dijon, France

Exco

Role	Officer	Nation
President:	Radha B. Radhakrishna	USA
Vice-president:	Carla Kristensen	Portugal
General Secretary:	Kent Macaulay	Canada
Membership & Technology Secretary:	Paul Nielsen	Australia
Peace Secretary:	Francisco Salomon Luna Aburto	Mexico
Treasurer:	Gülşen Elyak	Germany

Elected General Assembly in 2022 in Panchgani, India

2022-2025

Exco

Role	Officer	Nation
President:	Radha B. Radhakrishna	USA
Vice-president:	Carla Kristensen	Portugal
General Secretary:	Jonny Sågänger	Sweden
Membership & Technology Secretary:	Paul Nielsen	Australia
Peace Secretary:	Francisco Luna	Mexico
Treasurer:	Suresh Jain	India

Committees/Officers

SI Distant Vote Administrator (SI DVA):

Craig Melrose Australia

SI Internal Audit Committee (SI IAC):

Yukiko Namariyama Japan

Gülşen Elyak Turkey

Ana Rita Gama Portugal

SI Development Committee (SI DC):

Pamela Yang Taiwan

Evren Özkan Turkey

Neuma Dantas Brazil

Jamie Robertson United Kingdom

Bhudeb Chakravarti India

SI Youth and Families Committee (SI YFC)

Bogdan Ionescu Romania

Elena Olivera Begué Spain

Mehmet Ateş Turkey

Raffaella Rota Italy

Hiren Goradia India

2018-2022

Exco

President: Jonny Sågänger Sweden

Vice-president: Carla Kristensen Portugal

Treasurer: Radha B. Radhakrishna India

SI Membership & Technology Secretary (SI MTS) :

Jim Leask Canada (replaced Andreas Becker in February/March 2020). Jim Leask shares the SI MTS responsibility with Paul Nielsen of Servas Australia. Australia

General Secretary: Kiat Yun Tan Malaysia

Peace Secretary: Paige LaCombe USA

Committies/Officers

SI Internal Audit Committee

L V Subramanian India

Phyllis Chinn, USA

Gülsen Elyak, Turkey

SI Development Committee (5)

Lilly Kerekes Beltran, Mexico

Ewa Dzierzawska, Poland

Fidele Rutayisire, Rwanda

Pablo Colangelo, Argentina

Pamela Yang, Taiwan SI Youth and Families Committee (5)

Susana Martinez, Spain

Raffaella Rota, Italy

Natasha Noreen, Italy

Aneris Cao, Chile

Mar Ferre, Spain SI Distant Vote Administrator

Chris Patterson, New Zealand

2015-2018

SI President: Jonny Sågänger (Sweden) Sweden

SI Vice President: Ann Greenhough (Britain) United Kingdom

SI General Secretary: Penny Pattison Canada

SI Treasurer: LV Subramanian India

SI Peace Secretary: Danielle Serres France

SI Host List Coordinator: Pablo Colangelo Argentina

Development Committee:

Audit committee

Servas International Archivist

Conflict Resolution Committee:

Nomination Committee:

SI Job Descriptions and Statutes Committee:

Distant Vote Administrator:

Chris Patterson New Zealand

Youth Leadership Committee:

2012-2015

Exco

SI President: Jonny Sågänger (Sweden) Sweden

SI Vice President: Ann Greenhough (Britain) United Kingdom

SI General Secretary: Jaime Romero Colombia

SI Treasurer: Miroslaw Wasilewski Poland

SI Peace Secretary: Danielle Serres France

SI Host List Coordinator: Arnoud Philippo Netherlands

2009-2012

President: Gary Sealey, Canada

Vice President: Pramod Kumar, USA

General Secretary: Penny Pattison Canada

Treasurer: Miroslaw Wasilewski, Poland

Host List Coordinator: Pablo Colangelo, Argentina

Peace Secretary: Kim Jong Soo, South Korea

Finance Committee

Conflict Resolution Committee

Nominations Committee

Newsletter Editor

Archivist:

Youth Development Officer

Youth Coordinator:

Job Description/Statutes Committee

Distant Vote Administrator

2006-2009

President: Gary Sealey, Canada

Vice President: Mary Jane Mikuriya, USA

General Secretary: Pramod Kumar, India

Treasurer: Ömer Özkan, Turkey

Host List Coordinator: Anna Flammini, Italy

Peace Secretary: Nanda, Sri Lanka

2004-2006

President: Geoff Maltby, Australia

Vice President: Bibendra Pradhananga,    Nepal

General Secretary: Honora Clemens, USA

Treasurer: Ömer Özkan, Turkey

Host List Coordinator: Claudio Pacchiega, Italy

Peace Secretary: Gary Sealey, Canada

2001-2004

President: Roger Martin, Norway

Vice President: Bibendra Pradhananga,    Nepal

General Secretary: Frits Stuurman, Netherlands

Treasurer: Gyöngyver Kudor, Hungary

Host List Coordinator: Laura Ragucci, Argentina

Peace Secretary: Marco Kappenberger, West Samoa

Committees

Treasurers (Audit) Committee:

Appeals Committee:

Development Fund Committee

Complaints Committee

Nominations Committee

Job Descriptions Committee

1998-2001

President: Chris Slader UK

Treasurer: Gilbert Revault France

Vice President: Bertrand Bailleul France

General Secretary: Kevin Newham Australia

Peace Secretary: Daniele Passalacqua Italy

Assistant General Secretary and Host List Co-ordinator: Claudia Pinto Brazil

Servas International Newsletter Editor: Sharon Beldon Netherlands

1995-1998

President: Chris Slader UK

Vice President: Jenny Durand France

General Secretary: Vibeke Matorp Denmark

Treasurer: Hazel Barham UK   Assistant General Secretary: Mariangela Brunello Italy

Peace Secretary: Daniele Passalacqua Italy

1992-1995

President: Ray Scott New Zealand

Vice President: Jorge Zoppolo Uruguay

International Secretary: Vibeke Matorp Denmark

Assistant Secretary: Maringela Brunello Italy

Treasurer: Hazel Barham UK

Peace secretary: Harivallabh Parikh india

1989-1992

President: Bob Luitweiler USA

Vice-president: Janos Kurucz Hungary

Treasurer: Hazel Barham UK

International Co-ordinator: Antonie Fried Germany

Host Co-ordinator: Judy Ross

Peace Secretary: Felix Zurita

Asian Member: Harivallabh Parikh India

Latin American Member: Jorge Zoppolo Uruguay

African Member: E.K. Narter-Olaga

1986-1989

President: Don FAWCETT USA

Vice-president: Duncan MEIKLE Canada

General Secretary: Antonie FRIED Germany

Asst. General Secretary: Yvonne BROWN New Zealand

Treasurer: Peter Brock Germany

Editor SI Newsletter: Frede ASGAARD Denmark

Area Coordinators

Europe: Ulla Offer Germany

Africa: E.K. NARTER-OLAGA Ghana

East Asia: TAKASHI AOKI Japan

South Asia: Harivallabh Parikh India

South Pacific: Tom & Annie Young New Zealand

Central-America & Caribbean: Felix Zurita Achoa Mexico

South America: Jorge Zoppolo Uruguay

CO-Opted Members

Reva King USA

Maria Soresina Italy

Barbara Whitehead England

1983-1985

President: Don Fawcett USA

Vice President: Maria Soresina Italy

General Secretary: Kay Lazaruz USA

Treasurer: Peter Brock Germany

Peace Secretary: Jo Graham USA

Editor, Servas International News: Janine Hall France

Assistant General Secretary: Lino Bugeja Malta

Regional Coordinators

Regional Coordinator, Africa: Zeru Michael (Africa)

Regional Coordinator, SE Asia: Takashi Aoki Japan

Regional Coordinator, N America & Caribbean: Rodrigue Aristide Guadeloupe

Regional Coordinator, Europe & Near East: Antonie Fried West Germany

Regional Coordinator, Southern Asia: Harivallabh Parikh India

Regional Coordinator, South Pacific: Nan Smith Australia

Coordinator for South America: Jorge Zoppolo Uruguay

1980-1982

President: Graham Thomas

Vice President: Don Fawcett USA

General Secretary: Barbara Whitehead

Assistant General Secretary Denise Waech   Switzerland

Peace Secretary: Reva King USA

Editor Servas International: News Rosalind Schama

Treasurer: Denise Waech   Switzerland

Regional Co-ordinators

Africa: Lydia Jones

Southern Asia: Harivallabh Parikh India

Southeast Asia: Kunio Tanaka Japan

South Pasific: Nan Smith

South America: Jorgo Zoppolo Uruguay

North America&Carabian : Kay Lazarus

Europe and Near East: Antonio Fried

1978-1980

President: Graham Thomas United Kingdom

Treasurer: Doris Bucher   Switzerland

S.I.N. Editor: Donald Fawcett USA

Asst. Treasurer: Denise Waech   Switzerland

The following positions were filled by ballot General Secretary: Barbara Whitehead United Kingdom

Vice-president: Martha Simon USA

Asst. Gen. Sec.: Reva King USA

Peace Secretary: Konrad Lübbert Germany

Regional Co-ordinators wore appointed us follows: Africa: Lydia Jones

Europe: Antonie Fried Germany

South America: Narcelo Lorenzo

South Pacific: John and Judy Ebner

Southeust Asia: Masuo Amano Japan

Southern Asia: Harivallabh Parikh India

1974-1976

President: Reva King USA

Vice President: Harivallabh Parikh India

Treasurer: Denise Vollenweider   Switzerland

Asst. Treasurer: Doris Bilcher   Switzerland

Secretary: Birgitte Damnsgaard Denmark

Asst. Secretary: Ronald Golding Australia

Peace Secretary: Hans Werner Emrich Germany

News letter Editor: Barbara Acquach United Kingdom

Assist. Editor: Martha Simon USA

Resource: SI NEWS #03

1972-1974

President & International Coordinator: Kurt Schmid Austria

Vice President & Ass't International Coordinator: Reva King USA

Treasurer: Denise Vollenweider   Switzerland

Ass't Treasurer: Swiss Servas member to be appointed by Denise Vollenweider

Secretary: Birgitte Damsgaard

Vice Secretary Maria Soresina

Peace Secretary: Jim Ryding

Editor of International Newsletter: Maria Soresina

Regional Coordinators:

Europe: Denise Vollenweider

Africa: Titus Mugavana

North America: Reva King USA

Latin America: Laura Langagne

South Pacific: Max Hartin

1970-1972

International Coordinator: Kurt Schmid Austria

Asst. Int.Coordinator: Reva King USA

Asst. Int. Coordinator in Training: Barbara Trischuk United Kingdom

_____________________

Regional coordinators. The following persons will handle the development of SERVAS in these countries:

Harivallabh Parikh India: Afghanistan, Ceylon, Australia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, Benelux, Indonesia, Sweden, Finland and Iceland

Barbara Trischuk United Kingdom: Tanzania and Fiji

Joseph Girard France: Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia

International Coordinator: Eastern Europe

1966 -1970

International Coordinator: Kurt Schmids Austria

1951

Founders of Servas were those dedicated people like Bob Luitweiler, Connie Thorpe, Esma Burrough and the others in the Birmingham, England Peace Builder's team, and, Esther Harlan in California.

Esma Burrough UK, was the first International Servas secretary. Seeds Of Servas

General Assemblies

SERVAS INTERNATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY (The SIGA) is Servas International's highest decision-making body and is modelled on the United Nations’ General Assembly democratic model: one nation, one vote. The SIGA usually takes place every 3 years, in a different location (screenshots from Wikipedia). At the Servas International General Assembly (SIGA), the Servas International Member Groups vote on proposals called motions that have been submitted by the member groups or by SI Exco. Everybody attending the SICOGA is able to attend the SIGA business sessions as observers, but only the delegates from the Servas International Member Groups have the right to speak and vote, according to the Servas International Statutes. ^[10]

1952 Germany Hamburg First Peace Builders International Conference, Out of which came the name "Servas" ^[11]

In 2025 the SIGA will be held in Dijon, France, October 3–9.

#	Year	Country	Place	Delegate	#Member groups
#1	1952	Germany	Hamburg [11]	4 Delegates	Only England, Denmark and Germany were officially represented.
#2	1953	Denmark	Askov	6 votes
#3	1954	Netherlands	Epe	10 votes
#4	1955	Germany	Schuluchsee	9 votes
#5	1958	Austria	Landeck (Tyrol)
#6	1959	Netherlands	Oosterwijk
#7	1960	Belgium	Ghent
#8	1961	no detailed info	-
#9	1964	France	Paris
#10	1965	Austria	Vienna, 8-12 July	4 delegates
#11	1966	Denmark	Copenhagen, 8-11 April	7 delegates
#12	1967	Czechoslovakia	Bratislava
#13	1970	Austria	Vienna, 7-9 August	13 delegates
#14	1972	Germany	Wetzlar, 7 July	16 delegates	Grant member status to: Belgium, New Zealand, Australia and Kenya Lost their membership status: -
#15	1974	Switzerland	Arcegno, Campo Pestalozzi, 23-26 August	20 delegates	Grant member status to: Canada, India, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Yemen, Nigeria (7 groups) Lost their membership status: -
#16	1976	United States	San Francisco	21 delegates
#17	1978	Denmark	Elsanor, 16-18 August	22 delegates	Grant member status to: Poland, Norway, Egypt, Mauritius Lost their membership status: -
#18	1980	India	Gujarat	22 delegates	Grant member status to: Hungary, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Ghana Lost their membership status: -
#19	1983	Israel	Nahariya, 5-10 April	16 delegates, 8 Exco(-2 delegates), 22 votes	Grant member status to: Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Malta, Uruguay Lost their membership status: Egypt, Yemen
#20	1986	Italy	Roma, 16-20 May	25 delegates, 14 Exco (-4 delegates), 35 votes	Grant member status to: Guadeloupe, Nepal
#21	1989	Canada	Montreal, Quebec, 25-27 July	48 delegates	Grant member status to: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Philippines, Poland, Senegal, and the Soviet Union, South Africa (14 Groups) Lost their membership status: Malta, Nigeria
#22	1992	France	Paris, 26 June	47 votes	Grant member status to: Thailand; Turkey; Hong Kong; Lithuania; Latvia; Panama, Romania, Mali, Singapore, Egypt (10 Groups) Lost their membership status: Nigeria; Philippines; Zambia and Sri Lanka
#23	1995	Australia	Melbourne, 8-13 April	36 delegates, 8 exco, 44 votes	After 12 approval 66 Member groups. Grant member status to: Albania, Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Brunei, Chile, Estonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Paraguay and Zimbabwe (12 Groups) Lost their membership status: Non
#24	1998	Guatemala	Antigua Guatemala	40 votes	Grant member status to: Botswana, Gambia, Iceland, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Togo, Zambia Lost their membership status: Albania, Malta
#25	2001	Thailand	Nakhon Nayok, 16-19 July	48 delegates	no grant nor revoke of Membership
#26	2004	Spain	Barcelona, 18-24 July	45 delegates	Grant member status to: Malawi, China, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia Lost their membership status: Kenya, Tanzania, Mali, Cuba
#27	2006	Italy	Latina, 2-8 April	42 delegates	Grant member status to: Egypt, Ghana, Ukraine, Lost their membership status: Bolivia, Greece
#28	2009	Argentina	Mar Del Plata, 6-12 September	45 delegates	Grant member status to: Bolivia, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Greece, Kazakhstan, Taiwan Lost their membership status: Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Netherlands Antilles, Mauritius, Latvia,
#29	2012	Poland	Piaski	51 delegates	Grant member status to: Georgia, Nepal, Ukraine, Kenya, Iran Lost their membership status: Latvia , Estonia, Egypt, Togo, Senegal, Bulgaria, Iceland, Philippines
#30	2015	New Zealand	Matamata [12]	54 delegates	Grant member status to: Rwanda, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bulgaria Lost their membership status: Kenya, Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Uzbekistan
#31	2018	South Korea	Seoul [13]	45 delegates	Grant member status to: Bolivia Lost their membership status: Lithuania, Pakistan, Congo-Brazzaville, Ecuador
#32	2022	India	Panchgani [14] , 25-26 November	39 delegates	Grant member status to: Pakistan Lost their membership status: Honduras, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Greece, Kazakhstan
#33	2025	France	Dijon [15]	2 online, 46 delegates	72 Member group before GA, Singapore and Romania lost their membership status. NEW member-group status for Cuba.

• Since 1995 Exco has no voting right.

References

1. "Servas International".
2. "How Sleeping On A Stranger's Couch Became A Moral Dilemma For Travelers". buzzfeednews.com. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
3. Glusac, Elaine (March 13, 2017). "The Other Airbnbs: Alternative Home-Sharing Rentals" . The New York Times .
4. Glusac, Elaine (March 24, 2017). "Competition for Airbnb as other home-sharing sites target niche audiences". The Irish Times .
5. Hull, Dana (July 14, 1996). "SERVAS WITH A SMILE". The Washington Post .
6. Fardelmann, Charlotte (September 22, 1980). "Servas -- a letter of introduction to another culture". The Christian Science Monitor .
7. Knowles, Pat (1989). SERVAS 1949-1989. An Experiment in Peace Building. Printed by Church Enterprise Print. Typeset by Graphic Point (Birmingham UK). pp. 1–148.
8. Stellin, Susan (July 9, 2006). "SGo to Strangers (and They'll Come to You)". New York Times .
9. "Servas group on servas.org | Servas Online". servas.org.
10. "International conferences | Servas Online".
11. "THE SEEDS OF SERVAS Opening Doors for Peace" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2022.
12. "SI Conference and General Assembly 2015". servas.org. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023.
13. "Conference theme: Connecting people and cultures for Peace" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2023.
14. "Welcome to the 32nd Servas International Conference and General Assembly - SICOGA 2022 | SICOGA 2022". ga22.servas.org.
15. "Youth News Bulletin" (PDF). Serves International. Vol. 31, no. 1. 2024.