Meeting point

Since the RNLI's 100th birthday in 1924, search and rescue organisations from around the world have met every four years to exchange ideas, discuss issues and offer assistance.

Each member organisation gets a chance to host the meeting and, over the years, delegates have visited many different countries and experienced a wide range of cultures and ways of working. Since the first gathering in London, meetings have been held in France, Holland, Sweden, Belgium, USA, Portugal, Norway, Uruguay and South Africa. The Swedish Sea Rescue Society (SSRI) is due to host the next meeting in Gothenburg in 2007. We last hosted this event in 1999 in Poole when it was the RNLI's 175th Anniversary.

The RNLI plans to attend the quadrennial conference in June, taking along three operational lifeboats, namely the 13 metre experimental fast carriage lifeboat FCB2, an Atlantic 85 and the Tamar, as well as their respective crews.

As well as the four-yearly meetings, organisations meet up for an annual conference. Directors of some European organisations also meet every September to keep each other up to date with the latest developments. We are also trying to ascertain if any owners of lifeboats now out of service are interested in attending.

Find out more about international meetings here (PDF 100K).