Carlo Luyckx
VICE-PRESIDENT

Member of the Board of Directors of the Belgian Buddhist Union since 2005 and President since 2014. Academic. Fields of activity:

• European affairs: director general of the Brussels-Europe Liaison Office for 24 years, general secretary of the European Movement-Belgium for 10 years, president of “Europe en Progrès” for 15 years, as Deputy -Mayor in charge of European Affairs for 18 years and EBU Liaison Officer to the EU
• Interfaith dialogue: deputy Mayor, on a regional and national level, president of the BBU and as co-founder and vice-president of Emouna Belgium, and on the European and international level through the participation in the EBU interfaith Committee as well as in the Article 17 of the Treaty of Lisbon dialogue between the European institutions and the religious and philosophical organizations could be useful.
• Human rights and Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) within and outside de EU: in regular meetings with the Policy Officer in charge of Human rights and FoRB at the European External Action Service, the secretary of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on FoRB, the Special EU Envoy on FoRB outside the EU and with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on FoRB.
• Relations with organizations such as the Representation of H.H. the Dalai Lama in Europe, the International Campaign for Tibet and with the Embassies of Buddhist countries for matters concerning Dharma-related topics.

Michael Ritman
EBU Treasurer

Michael Ritman (1961) was born and lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He has been president of the Buddhist Union of the Netherlands (BUN) since 2014. The BUN supported his candidature for the EBU council elections in 2017, 2020 and 2023. He was the EBU Treasurer and Secretary of the EBU from 2020 till 2023.

As a Treasurer of EBU he has seen the development of an increased complexity in EBU finances.This is due to the number of projects undertaken by EBU and various grants received by EBU. Especially the grants received from the European Commission on behalf of the European Union (EU), require a professional follow-up. The first EU project has finished in 2023, but the next EU project has already started in 2023.

He believes the National Unions must clearly and visibly support the work of EBU in Europe.

Michael made a career in business management and is now working as an entrepreneur and business mediator. He has been a Rigpa student since 2004 and has worked as a volunteer translator of Buddhist texts until 2014. He believes in the Rimé principle of openness to all Buddhist traditions and is inspired by both the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh.

Roxanna Pang Candidature
COUNCIL MEMBER

Executive Secretary of Fo Guang Shan Europe
Sumati Lecturer of Buddha’s Light International Association Young Adult Division

She has been a regular volunteer and devotee of London Fo Guang Shan since the age of 7. Throughout the years, she has been actively involved in the education programmes and translation works at Fo Guang Shan.

She has also assisted in organising conferences and events for Buddhist youths across Europe. The practices of Humanistic Buddhism as propagated by Fo Guang Shan have benefitted her hugely and the continuation of spreading such teachings has become a core part of my life.

Communication and exchange between Buddhists are crucial. Through joining the EBU council, she wants to contribute to actualising buddhist visions and letting the voice of Buddhism be heard across Europe and worldwide.

Jake Lyne
COUNCIL MEMBER

In the Western Chan Fellowship (WCF), he has held the positions of Committee Member, Treasurer and Chairman. He continues to be a member of the WCF Practice Committee, chaired by Simon Child. This committee oversees the teaching offered by the WCF, trains group leaders and upcoming teachers and coordinates the WCF mentoring programme.

Professionally, he is a retired Clinical Psychologist, having been a Director of Psychological Services for 20 years and a Director of Research and Development for a UK National Health Service (NHS) General Hospital, with responsibilities in service development and management, clinical service delivery and health services research, including his own published research.

In the 1980’s, before becoming a Director of Psychological Services, he worked for three years as a management consultant for a UK based company providing training and consultancy services to large mainstream British companies, and to non-profit institutions including the Church of England.
He completed a research Doctorate at the University of York with a thesis on Occupational Stress in the NHS. He has taken a strong interest in Eco-Dharma. He organised a conference on this theme in Bristol UK, has led an Eco-Dharma Retreat and am now one of the coordinators of the EBU Ecodharma network.

Carlotta Segre
COUNCIL MEMBER

In 1995 she met Lama Gangchen Rimpoche and since then she devoted her life to serve Buddhism and my Gurus’ aims and activities. Professionally, she has a strong background in international relations, having worked with the United Nations in various capacities until 2012.

Her experience in diplomacy and international relations has given here a deep understanding of the complex challenges facing our global community today.

In addition to her work at the UN, I am - since 2018 - a member of the Executive Committee of Kunpen Lama Gangchen, an international Buddhist organization (member of EBU) dedicated to promoting peace, compassion, and interfaith dialogue.

Through her involvement with Kunpen Lama Gangchen, she has had the privilege of engaging with diverse communities of Buddhists from around the word thanks to numerous travels and Buddhist countries visited.