Junularo Esperantista Brita

Junularo Esperantista Brita (JEB) is the organisation for young Esperanto-speakers in the United Kingdom. Membership to JEB is free and open to anyone aged under 30 living in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

History

The British Esperanto Association was formed in 1904 and, during the following half century, was the focuspoint for Esperanto-speakers of all ages in the United Kingdom.

In 1958 a group of young Esperanto-speakers got together with a view to forming a group especially for people of their age group, a young offshoot of the British Esperanto Association. Amongst these activists was Humphrey Tonkin, who led meetings and classes at the University of Cambridge, at which were present students who would later go on to make big contributions in service of Esperanto, including world-renowned phonetician Professor John Wells, current president of the Esperanto Association of Britain and the Esperanto Academy, and former president of the World Esperanto Association and the International Phonetic Association.

JEB's activity ebbed over the next fifty years. A concerted effort to revitalise JEB took place when it was formally restarted in Glasgow in 2003, but it wasn't until 2006 and the arrival of Daniel White (who, frustrated at the inactivity of JEB, created his own web page and association under the name Novajeb) that JEB truly showed a resurgence.

The representatives of Novajeb and JEB met amicably in Scarborough and members of Novajeb were voted onto JEB's committee. 2006 marks the rebirth of JEB as an active association.

Its online presence is very visible, by means of the [http://www.jeb.org.uk jebsite] and [http://www.jeb.org.uk/forumoj/ forums] . Members know each other in the real world too, helped by periodic meet-ups that have occurred, so far, in Stratford upon Avon, Leicester, Peterborough, and Buxton. JEB attendance at international events has much improved since the restart, the UK being the third-best represented country at 2007's Internacia Seminario, held in Germany. JEB briefly reintroduced its magazine 'Saluton' for four issues, but this was discontinued after a committee decision in 2008 in preference of free-of-cost online delivery of JEB-related news and articles.

Committee 2008/2009

* Tim Owen "President"
* Michael Seaton "Treasurer"
* Clare Hunter "Secretary"
* Thomas Preece

ee also

*Esperanto Association of Britain

External links

* [http://www.jeb.org.uk/ JEB's webpage]
* [http://www.jeb.org.uk/forumoj/ JEB's forums]