A word from the FIDIC president
Welcome to the second edition of MembershipMAtters, our new online newsletter for FIDIC members. As ever, it’s great to see our members around the globe doing great work and making a difference on behalf of their member firms. We are looking forward to celebrating some of this work at the 2024 FIDIC MA Excellence Awards that will be presented during our Global Infrastructure Conference which takes place in Geneva next month. If you have yet to register for the conference, then please do so soon as the event is likely to be a sell-out. We have an exciting and insightful programme specifically designed for FIDIC MAs planned for the conference so make sure that you don’t miss out on that by reserving your place at the conference today!
The conference also provides a great opportunity for members to meet each other and also to see FIDIC ‘in action’. In the recent period, along with some of my fellow board members, we have been fortunate to have taken part in a number of our members’ events around the world. These have included our Italian association OICE hosting the FIDIC board, the annual conference of European federation EFCA, which was hosted by our Spanish MA, Tecniberia, attending the ACEC’s Annual Convention & Legislative Summit in Washington DC, the FIDIC Africa Infrastructure Conference and the 45th anniversary event of INKINDO, the Indonesian National Association of Consultants.
Closer to home, a key priority for FIDIC currently is of course finding a new CEO, especially as we are scheduled to enter our new strategic plan starting in 2025. The FIDIC board is keen to ensure the process is robust and results in an outcome that will lead FIDIC through its next plan and beyond and we have convened a board task group to conduct the search. A search firm has been engaged, the recruitment process has commenced and we hope to bring in a new CEO as soon as possible. I would particularly like to thank the dedicated board members, the fantastic FIDIC staff, our members, the past presidents, FIDIC committee members and so many more people who have been supportive of FIDIC during the recent period. FIDIC’s strength is in its membership, and we will continue to work to deliver what our members expect of the organisation.
This edition of MembershipMAtters contains updates on a number of developments, key issues and news from our members that I hope you will find interesting and informative. Also, don’t forget that we also want to hear from you too, so please get in touch with us at FIDIC and let us know what you’re doing on behalf of your member firms so we can share your successes with the wider FIDIC family. Enjoy the newsletter – and I hope to see you at the FIDIC conference in Geneva in September!
Catherine Karakatsanis President, FIDIC
Excellent town hall meeting to discuss new subscription model for FIDIC MAs
FIDIC held an excellent town hall meeting in July to enable MAs to discuss the ongoing review of its membership subscription model. The review, led by a task group of FIDIC’s Directors’ and Secretaries’ Advisory Council with a diverse MA membership has made steady progress as it looks to develop a subscription model that is more appropriate for the current needs of member associations of all sizes, whilst continuing to enable FIDIC to provide valuable services to its global members. The town hall meeting saw members from around the world giving their views and observations on a range of subscription model options and the valuable feedback from the meeting has been considered by the task group undertaking the review. Helen Davidson, CEO of ACE New Zealand, who also chairs the FIDIC Directors’ and Secretaries’ Advisory Council, said: “It was great to see our MAs take part so enthusiastically in the town hall meeting. We have now considered all the feedback from the town hall and our consultation, made recommendations to the FIDIC board that have been approved for presentation for resolution at the GAM and that resolution is now out with MAs. We have made significant progress and look forward to the GAM in September.”
Congratulations to KENCA on their 50th anniversary
FIDIC’s member association in Korea, the Korea Engineering and Consulting Association (KENCA), recently celebrated its 50th anniversary at a high-profile industry event in Seoul. KENCA has been a member of FIDIC for many years and has played a key role in the development of the federation. Since its formation in 1974, KENCA has grown to represent most of the consulting firms in all engineering disciplines. For the past 40 years, KENCA has made significant contributions to Korea’s economic development and its member firms also have been committed to furthering the development of Korea’s industrial business. FIDIC president Catherine Karakatsanis delivered a message of congratulation and support via video link at the Seoul event. She said: “Many congratulations to KENCA, its chairman Hae-Kyoung Lee and all its members on reaching this 50th year milestone. It’s a significant achievement and one of which I am sure everyone at KENCA is justifiably very proud. I know that KENCA is doing a great job on behalf of its members and professional engineers throughout the Republic of Korea and FIDIC really appreciates KENCA’s membership of our global federation and its active support for our activities over many years.”
Don’t forget to book for FIDIC’s Global Infrastructure Conference and GAM 24
One of the highlights of the FIDIC year is our Preparations are well advanced for the forthcoming FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference 2024 and the General Assembly Meeting (GAM). Don’t forget that FIDIC members and their member firms can benefit from a reduced rate at the conference where industry leaders and experts from around the world will gather from 8-10 September 2024. As part of the conference, we also have our targeted membership programme from 6-8 September 2024, which is a must-attend for all FIDIC member associations. The programme includes the annual meeting of FIDIC’s directors and secretaries and the presidents of FIDIC member associations, lunches and networking events, the committee chairs meeting, Future Leaders symposium and the FIDIC GAM. This programme will provide valuable insights and networking opportunities tailored to your needs.
More details can be found here.
You can also find more information about the GAM here.
We strongly encourage all member associations to attend these events to stay informed and engaged with FIDIC’s future direction. Your participation and active involvement are essential as we work together to advance our industry’s goals.
New website for FIDIC’s Asia-Pacific region and 2024 awards launched
FIDIC’s Asia-Pacific region (ASPAC) has just launched a new website at https:// fidicaspac.org/ ASPAC is a regional group comprising 22 national member associations aimed at coordinating FIDIC activities in the Asia-Pacific region. As well as listing details of all its members, the new-look site also features sections on Future Leaders, publications, events and awards. Speaking of awards, ASPAC is currently looking for entries for the FIDIC Asia Pacific Awards, which celebrate the achievements of its member associations and leaders in the consulting engineering industry within the Asia Pacific region. Entries are now open for the Powerhouse Awards, Outstanding Project Awards and Emerging Leaders Awards, with the winners to be announced during the awards ceremony in November at this year’s FIDIC Asia Pacific Infrastructure Conference Gala Dinner, which takes place in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 18-20 November 2024.
Find out more about the awards here.
The deadline for entries is 15 September 2024.
Members in the spotlight at recent FIDIC webinar
A FIDIC webinar on 25 June highlighted some of the successful and impactful initiatives being undertaken by MAs and how they are making a positive difference to member companies in their regions and the wider industry. The webinar, How a collective industry voice makes change happen, was organised by FIDIC’s Directors’ and Secretaries’ Advisory Council, supported by the FIDIC membership committee, and profiled a number of best practice success stories of FIDIC member associations from from Australia, Kenya and Germany and how these have benefited consulting engineering firms. Click here to find out more about the webinar and watch a recording.
Consult Australia launches new member resources portal
A newly launched member resources panel is enabling all employees within a Consult Australia member business to use their web user login to access around 50 resources across the topic areas of contracting, law and ethics, personnel matters and mental health. The portal includes business guides, which can be used by firms internally to build the capability within their business and there are also client briefings available to be shared with member firms’ clients to encourage knowledge sharing. The portal also makes Consult Australia contracts even easier to download and more resources are being added as members need them. Non-members can also have access to the Centre for Contracting and Risk, allowing the purchase of PDF versions of Consult Australia’s entire Contract Suite (these are already available for free to Consult Australia members). Congratulations to Consult Australia on the initiaive, which is sure to be well received by its members. Find out more here.
Co-organise training with FIDIC Academy and receive 80% of shared revenues
When FIDIC MAs co-organise training with FIDIC Academy, the MA takes 80% of the shared revenues of the training fees. It’s an excellent arrangement and one of the reasons why FIDIC Academy is collaborating with MAs across more than 25 countries to deliver training services around the world. Support to MAs for course organisation tailored to the local industry-specific needs is done in collaboration with FIDIC Academy. In 2023, in collaboration with FIDIC Academy, FIDIC MAs organised over 40 FIDIC training courses aimed at their local members in over 20 different countries with 1,388 attendees. As well as MAs taking 80% of the shared revenues of the training fees on co-organised courses, if you belong to a FIDIC MA or a FIDIC Affiliate, you are eligible for a 15% discount on any FIDIC Academy public online contracts training course. To obtain a discount code, all you have to do is email your proof of FIDIC membership or affiliation to training@fidic.org
For more information on member benefits, please visit the FIDIC Academy website
Membership and Stakeholders Services Team
Anil Iyer, Interim General Manager – Membership and Stakeholder Services, aiyer@fidic.org
Oro Cohen, Senior Executive, Membership and Stakeholder Services, ocohen@fidic.org
Abs Toyinbo, Membership and Stakeholder Administrator, atoyinbo@fidic.org
Thanks for reading the second edition of
See you then!