It was just five short years ago, on 6 September 1990, that President Arpad Goncz and then President Jozseph Antall, along with environment ministers from 25 countries, launched the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, an organization that has since become a major player in Europe's push for a cleaner environment.

The REC has changed dramatically over those years. What better way to track this maturation, I thought, as The Bulletin's new editor, than by summoning the historical dialectic and tracing the development of The Bulletin over the years.

The first REC newsletter, dubbed Information Bulletin, was published on 9 October 1990, just one month after the Regional Environmental Center was officially launched. It delivered exactly what the title promised, no more, no less - information. A description of the grand opening, a mission statement that has since been updated, funding information - it was all there, along with a list of the permanent staff, all five of them, of whom Magdi is the only one left.

"Our focus was on grant-giving, information exchange, matching needs with resources, outreach activities. We had very few initiatives of our own," says Magdi Toth Nagy, the only one of the five original employees still remaining.

Things, of course, have changed since then. The REC now employs more than 45 people, and though the REC still provides local and earmarked grants to NGOs, and information to almost anyone who needs it, it has also embarked on many new initiatives of its own.

The next issue, in March of 1991, looked more like a newsletter, with a table of contents (on the cover), a masthead and loads of information fashioned into easy-to-read articles. Back then, there were only two "regional representatives" for six charter members: one in Poland, one in the Czech Republic. Now, the REC has 13 local offices, each with its own country representative. The NGO database had 360 entries then; now it has 1,716. RECNet was just a dream, a web of "focus centers" throughout the Region that would connect at REC head office in Budapest. Today, it is a very successful reality providing local offices with e-mail and, in many cases, full Internet access.

The newsletter remained more or less unchanged over the next three years, though it became better organized, more focused. It was divided into concrete departments so readers could easily find the information they needed: the "Spotlight," "Focus," "Forum" and, of course, "REC News" sections you have all become familiar with. In short, it became more professional. Just like the REC.

The spring of 1994 saw a photograph adorning the front page instead of a table of contents, an indication of the improving image of the REC. The editor at that time, Nicholas Johnson, addressed the new design in an editorial, calling it "simple, clean, and easy to understand." He also defined The Bulletin's objectives: "to report the activities of the Regional Environmental Center; to report the activities of the REC's constituents, particularly NGOs; and to inform the REC's constituents of issues, events, and developments in or related to the Region."

The Bulletin has undergone yet another transformation, taking on a more magazine-like appearance. More photographs have made it more appealing, more pleasing to the eye; the new layout makes more efficient use of space, allowing us to provide more information to our readers. It is, in essence, simpler, cleaner and easier to understand.

The change in format was warranted, almost necessary. The REC's board of directors and management continue to develop the REC into a financially sustainable organization that will influence environmental issues for years to come. Such an organization needs to be well represented in the media.

Despite the facelift, The Bulletin's objective's remain virtually unchanged. We still aim to report on the REC's activities and inform constituents about environmental developments in the Region. The focus is still on NGOs; but in an effort to increase public participation and encourage a dialogue between the citizenry, businesses and governments, we want to include more information about how these stakeholders can cooperate to improve the state of the environment in Central and Eastern Europe.

So as the last refrains of "Happy Birthday To You" fade into silence, we hope both the REC and The Bulletin can look forward to a stable future marked by consistent development and many more birthday celebrations.

Editor of THE BULLETIN