From a Drum Corps Europe (DCE) press release:

Corps directors in attendance at the 2010
European Drum Corps Symposium in London.
Drum Corps Europe hosted a successful series of meetings this past weekend during the second annual European Drum Corps Symposium in London. A special guest at this year's symposium, Drum Corps International Executive Director Dan Acheson attended the meetings held on Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Temple United Reformed Church, which is the headquarters of the Pacemakers Drum and Bugle Corps. "I've learned that the passion for drum corps is the same everywhere," Acheson said. "I should not be surprised by this, but it was overwhelming. This kind of meeting really makes a difference. Significant progress has been made." Attended by representatives of DCE, Drum Corps United Kingdom and Drum Corps Netherlands, the symposium is held as an annual off-season gathering of the European drum corps community to conduct general business and discuss organizational development and future initiatives. Symposium highlights:

DCI Executive. Director Dan Acheson (front row, white
sweater) was a guest at this year's symposium.
  • Introductions by DCE announcer Andy Hewlett and DCE Chair Marcel Matthijsse
  • An overview by DCI Executive Director Dan Acheson on the latest developments and current initiatives of Drum Corps International
  • A presentation by judge Robby Overvliet on the development of the DCE Judging Task Force which was instituted last year
  • Discussion and question and answer sessions on a proposal for electronic amplification
  • Instructor and judge breakout sessions about programming and design
  • A presentation by Jubal Drum and Bugle Corps' Ronald Wassink about the "Music Kids" initiative to get young children involved in drum corps
  • A session led by DCE publicity manager Dennis Naaktgeboren on ways for European drum corps to successfully generate publicity
  • DCE's Open Class and Cadet Class competitive divisions were renamed to Premier Class and Junior Class
At the end of Saturday, DCE officials reported, "Everyone happily looked back on this year's symposium. There were fewer topics for discussion than last year, but nevertheless a lot of views were exchanged. To be continued, without a doubt." Learn more at DrumCorpsEurope.org.