Jean-Pierre came to IYF in 1999 with 17 years of youth development work experience.  Since 1982, Jean-Pierre held several executive-level positions within the European Regional Office of the World Scout Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland. From Regional Program Manager to Deputy Regional Director, he led the process of re-establishing and strengthening national Scout organizations in many Eastern European countries after the fall of communism. He represented World Scouting within the Youth Structures of the Council of Europe and the European Union for over 12 years. At IYF, Jean-Pierre was directly involved in establishing the Balkan Children and Youth Foundation as a regional foundation and also led the Tsunami Reconstruction Initiative. Jean-Pierre holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Arts from Institut Supérieur d'Arts Graphiques St-Luc in Brussels (1980). French citizen, Jean-Pierre was born in Belgium, speaks French, English, Italian and Spanish and has traveled to over 70 countries.