Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council
Chairman’s Inauguration Speech
Dr Chern; Distinguished Guests; Members of the Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council; Ladies & Gentlemen.
It is a very special honor and a pleasure to be the Chairman of ACECC for the next three years. I wish to acknowledge the successful efforts of Dr Chern, and his predecessors, in growing our organization in both size and influence, especially in their support of sustainable development in the Asian Region through Civil Engineering Practice, and I am committed to continuing those efforts.
This week Mr. Rolfe Hartley, National President of Engineers Australia, presented a paper describing progress towards the development of a Sustainability Charter for EA. It will comprise a set of broad principles guiding all facets of EA`s activity, including its representational work with government and its services to members. ACECC is now well placed to benefit from this experience.
In a similar vein the Taipei Declaration on Sustainable Development was signed yesterday, at
ACECC has also adopted a model code of ethics, for the use of its members, which reinforces individual commitment and adherence to sustainability principles. It is now up to ACECC to remain at the forefront of world best practice by keeping its objectives updated to reflect contemporary ideas.
Rightly or wrongly, infrastructure is the oil that lubricates the functioning of our modern economies. When infrastructure is inadequate it adversely affects economic growth. The right kind of infrastructure is essential to balance the relationship between energy policy and climate change in order to facilitate development in line with sustainability principles.
Organizations such as ours, and I here I also refer to the individual societies who are the members of ACECC, have wider responsibilities which support their members, our engineers, just as well as the organization itself. We also need to stamp our influence on the direction in which our organization is headed. Beneficial impacts on the physical manifestation of progress and how our societies work can be brought to bear through the influence of engineers.
This week the ACECC Executive adopted a Strategic Plan so that we can make a positive contribution to the economies within which our members belong and to
This plan may be paraphrased as:-
§ Increase the membership and its participation level
§ Advance the cause of Civil Engineering Practice through Technical Committees
§ Integrate and harmonize standards and practices in
§ Foster the exchange of ideas with emerging economies
§ Improve construction management for the benefit of the environment
§ Cooperate with Local, National and Regional Governments
§ Hold the next Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR 5) in
The above sentiments are all enshrined in the objectives of ACECC and I am committed to them for a better quality of life in the Asian Region.
Thank you all – I look forward to seeing you again in
Paul L. Mitchell FIEAust, CPEng, APEC Engineer (Civil)
Chairman, Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (2007 – 2010)
