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From EAPS to IMA - in the span of 6 decades
Since 1974, what we now call IMA has been the international network for management assistants - an idea that Sonia Vanular worked hard to achieve - and she accomplished it.
In 2024, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of IMA - and we would like to take you on a journey starting in 1970 leading up to our anniversary celebration in 2024 which takes place in Stockholm during our International Annual Conference.
In August 2024, we will being to release the IMA history - described decade by decade - in our members' words but also showing you the milestones of our profession. We will also highlight some of the stories on our social media channels to remind you to take a look at these pages.
The beginnings
In 1970, Management Centre Europe, a subsidiary of the American Management Association asked Sonia to co-chair with Zoe Ouwehand, their personnel officer, the first Executive Secretary seminar they were running in Europe, a seminar they had run for several years in the United States. She chaired this seminar alone for several years after this. It was during this period she came into contact with secretaries from all over Europe who suffered from the bad press image of the secretary.
As a former secretary Sonia’s main motivation was to create a brand new image for these professionals; she wished to improve their status and prestige in the business world. She realised that they suffered from a double disability. They were completely dependent on their individual manager and they were carrying out their duties in a male dominated world. At that time in England a lot of media attention was given to the feminist movement. Sonia was a convinced feminist and was happy to strike a blow for feminism by creating what she had in mind.
Sonia’s aspiration came into fruition when EAPS was created in 1974, a professional network where joint learning, sharing and empowerment were the key words. She wanted this association to be a self-development association. She always felt that secretaries have to create their own job and speak up for themselves.
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