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Greetings Young Professionals around the world!
I am happy to report that the FIDIC 2012 Annual Conference held this September in Seoul,
South Korea was a great success! We had an impressive turnout of over 100 Young
Professionals from all around the world and a full Young Professional program enjoyedby all. I was inspired to meet so many passionate and dedicated YPs who are making
a difference in their parts of the world. It was very encouraging to hear from many YPs
who are committed to developing their local Young Professional groups, and YPs who
spoke at our YP Forum sharing their knowledge of how to increase sustainability in our
industry. You will find all of these YP conference highlights in this Newsletter.

Chairperson’s
Message

Following FIDIC’s 2012 Conference theme of sustainability, the steering committee was
motivated to share sustainable development news around the world. In this newsletter,
you will find an article by our SC member Wael Darkazanli about Sustainability measuresin the Gulf region.
Looking back on the 2011/2012 season, the steering committee had a wonderful year
thanks to the dynamic leadership of our past Chair Michele Kruger and the dedication of
all Steering Committee members. Following this momentum, we are very excited towelcome in the 2012/2013 season! This year’s theme will be Communication & Outreach,
and we will be focusing our efforts on diversifying our communication by exploring new
platforms in social media. FIDIC now has a Facebook and Twitter account, so check it
out for all of our latest YPFSC news!

Selena Wilson
CanadaWith the launch of FIDIC’s new website platform, we will be working to improve our YPF
webpage, and of course, strive to improve our outreach support to all of you to help grow
our YP network, and establish new Young Professional groups around the world. We are
happy to report the launch of the Young Professional Forum of Jordan, which was recently
developed this year. See Jomanah’s article in this edition to hear all about their success!
As the new incoming Chair for YPFSC, I would like to take this opportunity to thank ourpast Chair, Dr. Michele Kruger, for her hard work and dedication to the Steering Committee
over the past five years. She has made great strides in our YPF development and I will
do my absolute best to continue growing our YP presence in the consulting industry. I
would also like to thank the FIDIC Executive Committee and secretariat for their continuous
support.
On behalf of the YPFSC, we hope you find this newsletter informative and enjoyable. Please
don’t hesitate to contact us with feedback, comments, or questions. We would love to hearfrom you!

Selena Wilson
FIDIC YPFSC Chair

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SEOUL 2012 YP PROGRAM - FIDIC CONFERENCE HIGH LIGHTS
Once again, this year’s young professional (YP) program at the 2012 FIDIC conference
was a success. Seoul attracted more than a 100 Young Professionals
from all around the globe. This unique opportunity offered YPs achance to exchange on our industry challenges and grasp a united
vision of tomorrow where quality, innovation and sustainability are
the main focus.
Before the conference began, approximately 60 YPs decided toadvance their career and enrolled in the Young Professional
Management Training Program (YPMTP). This program offers YPs
the skills on how to develop and maintain a sustainable and profitableconsulting company. In parallel, the Young Professional Steering
Committee was very active in modeling the conference and sharedideas and vision of consulting engineering to the executives andother FIDIC committees.
SOCIAL AND NETWORKINGOn Sunday night, the 9th of September, the YP program kicked off
at the WIZWIT bar for a meet and greet. This activity offered a great
opportunity for all to get to know everyone and initiate conversationon this year’s conference theme. This newly formed group thenmoved to the welcome reception where we all had a chance to network with the otherconference delegates.

Simon Davidson
CanadaOn Monday, the 10th of September, YPs were invited by KENCA to participate at the Local
Color Night where they could enjoy the local food and experience South Korean culture.
On the evening of Tuesday, the 11th of September, YPs went on a Technical Tour andvisited the “Korean Expressway Corporation Traffic Information Center”. This unique tour
showed YPs how innovative and organized South Koreans are when facing new engineering
challenges and surely inspired everyone. After official events, YPs reinforced their new
relationships and friendships during social activities, such as singing at a Korean Karaokebar, dining at a local
restaurants and chatting inhotel lounges.
BUSINESS PROGRAM
Following this first day ofsocial networking, YPs had
the privilege to attend theSeoul

YP Delegates at the Gala Evening
conference from Monday the 10th of September to Wednesday the 12th of September .
With more than 10 sessions in the program, YPs could choose their desired sessions
based on their specific needs. The exchange of ideas and thoughts on internationalsustainability issues generated new creative initiatives for YPs to work on, back in their

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respective countries.
For example, with thelack of internationallycentralized information
on sustainability, manysuggested that YPs
would benefit from thecreation of a Wiki. This
great vision waspreviously expressed by
the FIDIC Executive Committee and actions are undertaken and will be pursued with thehelp of the YP Steering Committee.
Young Professional ForumThe YPs were not only spectators in this conference; they also contributed throughout theconference and offered high level sessions to all the delegates at the Young Professional
Forum.
Young Professional ForumOn the first day, the Young Professional Forum presented four sessions on sustainable
initiatives around the world.
First Mr. Chee Chan from Canada showed how consulting engineers can work with authority
figure to develop decision-making tools benefiting the whole society. Secondly, Dr. Jane
Scanlon from Australia presented what approaches can be created as incentives to embedsustainability in the delivery of infrastructure projects. Thirdly, Mr. Alejandro Varón Tischer
managed a sustainable railway project in Spain that showed how sustainability can beapplied in everyday projects.

YPs at the the korean traffic management centre
Finally, Mr. Nader Shokoufi from Iran and Mr. Simon Davidson from Canada presented
trends towards green projects based on the results of an international survey conductedby the FIDIC YPF steering committee over the summer. Our surveys aligned with thethoughts and observation of many and concluded that there was not enough sustainableconsideration in projects, training in the industry, awareness from the policy makers anda lack of legal and financial incentives.
YPMTP – Future Leaders Workshop
On the next day, the YPMTP came to an end and they presented the outcomes of their sevenmonth discussions during the Future Leaders Workshop. The theme was “Agents of Change”.
This presentation showed, in a very well-structured presentation, what were the most important

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issues facing our profession (Value of engineering, Transparency, Social Recognition,
Integrity, etc.). Mr. Ji Woon Kang from South Korea presented the importance of promoting
the value of engineering.
Mr. Jacob Philipsen from Denmark discussed the significance of innovation and the need tocreate alternatives. He gave some ideas on how to drive innovation by creating awareness,being creative, encouraging our colleagues and staff members, and challenging our limits.
This being exposed, Mr. Jeremy Carkner from Canada moved forward and invited every YP
and senior manager to be “Champions of Sustainability”. As key conclusions, they expressed
the need for consulting engineers to assert our role as leaders, reignite our passion forengineering, challenge our limits and inspire peers through networking. All present would
confirm that this YP perspective was enlightening and had a keen vision of the future and of
our industry.
For more information about this year’s YPMTP12 experience, See Mayosoun’s article in
the this newsletter!
Breakfast with FIDIC Executive Committee
On Tuesday morning, YPs were invited to attend a breakfast with the FIDIC Executive Committee
where they could better understand the vision and mission of FIDIC. This privileged experience
was a great way to discuss FIDIC initiatives and to express the Young Professional vision to
our industry leaders.
CONCLUSION AND ACKNOLEDGMENT
In conclusion, this year’s conference was an exclusive experience for all the participants. With
the rich content and quality of the presentation, all YPs became ambassadors. When returning
to their country, they will have the responsibility to expand their knowledge to their colleagues
and promote good Industry practices.
On behalf of all YPs, I would like to thank KENCA for the great support that they provided us;
FIDIC for putting together this high quality conference; senior delegates who gave us the
chance to share in their experience and finally, to all YPs who participated in this year’s
conference and ensured that the Young Professional’s voice is heard all around the world.
Also, I would like to thank all the YP firms for their continuous support in YP development andencourage all other FIDIC members to participate in the YPMTP or their local YP Group andto be present at next year conference in Barcelona.

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YPMTP 2012
I am honored to be reporting the exquisite experience which my colleagues and I shared
during the “Young Professional Management Training Program 2012”. It started as virtual
sessions through the Podio Forum in February 2011 until August 2012, and was concluded
by a face to face workshop in Seoul for one week prior to the Grand FIDIC 2012 Seoul
Conference in September 2012.

Mayosoun Dissi
JordanThe program included a team of professional engineers from literally all over the world
including Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Australia; this by itself has been a pricelessopportunity. The training program started by splitting the whole group into three sub groups
where each group conducts virtual sessions through a very efficient internet- based forum
called Podio. These virtual sessions were to be conducted every three to four weeks andin each session, we discussed a case study presented by the Facilitator. The cases thatwere presented through the program reflected real case studies which we as professional
engineers meet in our professions such as Organization of a consulting firm, Human
resources management, Business development, Financial management, Client relationship,
Risk management, Sustainable development, Quality management and Business integrity
management. The sessions were very helpful and enlightening especially because eachone of the group members came from a different background and a different way of doing
things under the framework of Consulting Engineering Industry.

YPMTP 12 Young Professionals

The virtual sessions were great, but when we all met in Seoul to conduct the face to faceintensive workshops, the experience elevated into a new different dimension! The effectof linking the face to the pictures and voices which we got used to during the eight monthsof virtual sessions was overwhelming. The three groups finally met and the harmony andchemistry that grew amongst the team members were key factors which resulted in very
effective communication and negotiation sessions in Seoul. The facilitators were brilliant
in choosing hot and interesting topics for the Consulting Engineering Industry which reallyboosted everyone’s energy to discuss and express his/ her opinion from their own experience,
In summary the workshops were interactive, informative and vibrant.
The most challenging exercise that we had to do as a group was to prepare Future Leaders
Workshop to be presented by the group during the conference, the presentation topic andstructure were the group’s decision. This was so challenging to have 30+ professionals
agree on one topic and agree on one structure for a presentation to be presented to highprofile professionals from all over the world?! At the beginning we all thought it was an
impossible mission that could not be accomplished, but the outcome was fabulous, as eachand everyone in the group took part in preparing as well as presenting the presentation.

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The presentation was part of the three day conference which was in short a very elegant,grand, top notch and extra organized event, and the discussions held were very beneficial
and constructive.
It is really hard to summarize this outstanding experience in a few words, but I hope I wasable to convey the enormous benefit and exceptional knowledge that we had during thetraining program and the interactive workshops. I genuinely do encourage all of the young
professionals within the Consulting Engineering Industry to take part in this program as one
will go back to his or her home country with so much to share and spread amongst otherprofessional engineers.
Finally, I would like to thank the FIDIC 2012 Host Country Seoul, South Korea for the mostwelcoming and generous hospitality, such a beautiful city, and amazingly friendly people!

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Sustainability & Green Buildings in the GCC area
Sustainability & Green Buildings have become a world wide issue where many countries
have spent a lot of time and effort to develop their future vision to match the requirementsof sustainable buildings.
As many areas of the world are suffering financially, the GCC is still the most booming areain the construction field where billions is being spent in order to develop their infrastructurebase.
Among Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries, Saudi Arabia and UAE are at the top
in governmental spending regarding their infrastructural development such as Train Stations,
Roads, and Airports and so on.
Among this huge development, a new vision has raised through developing their laws tomatch the international codes and requirements in satisfying the new global vision insustainable buildings. The Saudi Gazette said through a summit held in Ridadh that “thedesign, construction and operation of new mega projects in Saudi Arabia must comply withthe environmental assessments and green building methodologies in order to reduce
ecological footprint and CO2 emission”.
Emissions of CO2 is a major concern regarding sustainable and green buildings where
Saudi Arabia has the highest percentage of producing those emissions in MENA area with
1.3% of total global carbon emissions.

Wael Darkazanli
Saudi Arabia

This new definition of the type and functionality of buildings requires an approval from allparties starting from the owner or developer, consultant, and finally the contractor who is
responsible for achieving and executing those buildings. Therefore, it was required andimportant to spread this new culture among all parties in order to get them involved in thecycle through providing them with the concept and goal of sustainable and green buildings.
Many summits, conferences, workshops and training courses have been prepared, and a
lot are still in the schedule. One of the organizers is Sesam Business Consultants who
manages and organizes many events in the GCC region in order to achieve this goal.
In order to start the concept of sustainable and green buildings, Saudi Arabia built KAUST,
which is one of the biggest universities in the area. KAUST was announced as one of thewinners of the American Institute of Architects AIA 'Top 10 Green Buildings awards for

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2010'. Also, KAUST earned a Platinum certification as LEED certification, and represented
the world's largest LEED Platinum project.
The ConstructionWeekOnline magazine mentioned that 'Saudi Arabia will spend US$39billions (SR150billions) on construction of smart buildings over the next eight years,
to promote long-term sustainability in the country'. A study in this regard was prepared,
and found that smart buildings can save 30% on energy consumption, cut down 50% ofwater consumption and minimize up to 90% of waste produced by buildings.
Similar to Saudi Arabia, UAE has built its future plan in accordance with the sustainablebuildings where a plan of Dhs81billion is being developed in order to foster sustainable
development in the UAE. One of the major projects in UAE is Masdar City which is locatedin Abu Dhabi and has an area of 6km-square eco-city where most of energy has to be
produced by solar system 'Electricity and cooling will be generated by solar panels', says
associate project director, Dr Nawal Al Hosany.
In addition to the construction spending, Dubai is preparing to publish a “Green Building
Code” which is directed by Dubai municipality which aims to ensure the city's future growthalong environmentally friendly lines.
References:
http://www.ifpinfo.com/asa/asa-news.php?news_id=1058
http://www.carboun.com/tag/saudi-arabia/
http://www.sesam-uae.com/en/index.asp
http://www.sesam-uae.com/greenbuilding/
http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-9324-saudi-to-spend-39bn-on-sustainableprojects/
h t t p : / / w w w. t i m e o u td u b a i . c o m / a r o u n dt o w n / f e a t u r e s / 1 0 4 4 3 - g r e e n - p r o j e c ts - i n dubai#.UIA2J1EY13k

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News from the EFCA YP group2012 has been a dynamic year for YP activities in Europe under the umbrella of the European
federation EFCA. The third edition of the EFCA Young Professional of the Year competition
attracted a large number of candidates, including a significant proportion of ladies. It waswon by Charlotte Spliethoff of the Netherlands for her role in collating and publishing a bestpractice guide for the management of levees. Charlotte presented her winning project at
the annual EFCA conference.
We enjoyed record levels of attendance for this year’s YP Forum, which took place in thebeautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal, in May. The formal programme was accompanied by asite visit to an innovative wastewater treatment plant, social activities, and a “Business
Mixer” session, best described as a business networking “speed -dating” event. During theforum, Dutch expert Art Bontekoning ran an interactive session on generational and culturaldifferences in organizations. Thanks once again to Alejandro Varón Tischer, who presented
FIDIC’s YP programme and, together with Marcin Mikulewicz of EFCA’s YP steeringcommittee, the plans for closer cooperation in future between the EFCA and FIDIC YP
groups.

Julia Ridsdale-Saw
EFCA
Communication &EventsThe objectives of this cooperation were further refined in September at the FIDIC YP steeringcommittee meeting in Seoul, at which EFCA was represented by Peter Matthes from
Germany. Specific areas of collaboration will include exchange of information, mutual
participation in steering committees, social networking, support for the FIDIC YP survey,
and co-operation to prepare for the 2013 meetings in Barcelona. The management andboards of both federations are informed and supportive of these developments.
The latest new activity for European YPs is an initiative to collect and share good practices
for running dynamic national YP groups. The idea is to inspire and support all YP groups
in offering young engineering consultants opportunities for personal and professional growth.
For more information on the EFCA YP group, and to read our newsletter, visit
http://www.efcanet.org/YPs.aspx
Join us on LinkedIn – “Young Professionals within EFCA”
Contact us at yp@efca.be
EFCA has member associations in 25 countries and represents FIDIC in Europe

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YPFJ Establishment
Participating in FIDIC YPMTP and the conference by Jordanian Young Professionals (YPJ)
in the past years since 2008 was the driving force that led to the establishment of the Young
Professional Forum in Jordan (YPFJ).
The greatest part of the FIDIC experience was the interaction with conference participantsfrom all over the world for the purpose of serving and developing the profession, in addition
to recognizing the YP community’s activities, values, and influences. This was the spark thatraised and led to different questions regarding the capabilities and potentials within YPs, what
can YPs do and achieve, what horizon do they have, what challenges, weaknesses andstrengths do they have to deal with, in addition to how they can be part of the change anddevelopment of their profession.
Consequently, the answers for all of these open questions will be only available if we believein ourselves, values and abilities; if we work together; if we have the right and healthy space
to communicate and share experiences and knowledge, if we continue working on developing
our capabilities in line with the international standards, if we have a dream, a vision, a strategy
and a plan, and I would summarize all of that by establishing YPFJ.
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”- Henry Ford
The Starting Point

Jomanah Albtoush
JordanThe initiative of YPFJ was started in February 2012 by conducting several meetings between
FIDIC YPMPT Participants from Jordan, and this was discussed and supported during the
FIDIC Executive Committee (EC) meeting in Jordan/Amman in the same month.
After this, several meetings between YPJ took place to discuss the objectives, possible
activities, and any related issue regarding establishment process and feasible ways to proceed.
YPFJ was established through Jordan Architects and Consulting Engineers Council (JACEC);
A FIDIC National Member Association and will work and act as part of Young Professional
Forum (YPF) within FIDIC.
Target GroupYPFJ will provide a space and platform for all YPs to communicate and grow effectively; in
addition to expand and raise the awareness of FIDIC’s global Vision and Practices.
YPFJ is targeting all YPs in Jordan and are welcoming all YPs from surrounding countries.
YPFJ is open to any engineer, architect, planner, environmental and sustainability scientist,in addition to all FIDIC YPMTP participants to share and benefit the experiences & knowledge.
Objectives
The followings are the initial objectives that, of course, will be continuously developed with
the Forum progress and growth:* Enhance networking within YPs, through effective discussions and opportunities* Exchange ideas, share experiences and knowledge* Provide on-line discussions through YPFJ group profile on ”‘LinkedIn”

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* Improve personal development in line with engineering profession development* Enhance and protect the image of our engineering profession* Arrange and coordinate related events* Work closely with YPF within FIDIC* Raise the awareness and understanding of the profession’s requirements and practices
and explore global developments and activities within FIDIC* Encourage volunteering work and team spirit
Communication Platform
For the meantime the forum has an active group profile on “LinkedIn” to reach the largest
numbers of YPs, to ease and enhance the networking, sharing knowledge and experiences,and enhance the culture of effective discussions among YPFJ members:(http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Young-Professionals-Forum-in-Jordan-4574989)
We have a lot of ambitious plans and ideas that need to be translated to tangible activities in
the near future. The first upcoming milestone we are looking for is the official announcementof the forum.
We are aware that our current steps are initially not many; however we are committed to work
hard to ensure that they are fixed and continuous.

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HOW TO BECOME PART OF THE FIDIC YPF GROUP
Become part of this young dynamic group of people and receive updates, newsletters andinformation on upcoming events such as FIDIC conferences and training opportunities.
International YPF Groups: find out what the YPs in your country are doing and how to connect
with them! Please register on the YPF homepage listed below.

Communications
Chairperson
FIDIC YPF Steering
Committee

Once we have your details, we will send you our newsletter and other info as it comes up.
Please remember to keep your details updated!
For general information or if you need help to connect. Go to www.fidic.org
For more information or if you need help to connect, contact myself at:
fidicypforum@gmail.com
Selena Wilson
Communications Chairperson
FIDIC YPF Steering Committee...................................................................................................................................................

Selena Wilson
CanadaStarting your own YPF in your country
If you liked what you saw in the FIDIC YPF and YPFs across the world, why not start yourown? This is best achieved through your country’s Member Association (MA) of FIDIC.
However, if no such association exists, or your MA does not want to have their own YPF, you
can contact us to find out how to start your own YPF. Through FIDIC we may have resources
to make it easier or help partner it with you. All you need is your enthusiasm for Engineering!
From there you decide what it is that you want your YPF to represent. What is your focus?
Is it just socializing with your peers? Or is it all of the above? As the FIDIC YPF, we will doall we can to support your new endeavor!
Contact us at fidicypforum@gmail.com!