Page 6 - Annual Report 2016-2017

STATEMENT BY THE FEANI MANAGEMENT
President Prof. José VIEIRA
It is our pleasure as FEANI Management to present and introduce this FEANI Annual Report for the fourth consec- utive time. We believe it is fair to say that we have done well over the last two years despite some nancial constraints. We are an Organization where it takes time to develop and increase membership value and therefore we worked particularly hard over the last year to develop a longer-term scope and strategy. At the same time we invested a lot of our resources in optimizing and developing our network.
We were able to set the stage for reactivating the engagement of our National Members in Russia, France and Italy and with the accession and inclusion of TMMOB from Turkey since 2017, we now cover all major countries of the EHEA (some 6 million engineers). In addition, we further developed the FEANI National Members’ Forum which is now being held twice per year. This Forum continues to show increased participation by the National Members and will require formalisation in our Articles of Association in 2018.
Communicating in true partnership and exchange of best practices is paramount for ensuring a coherent strategic vision. The General Assemby remains the major decision
making body where occasional comments can be expressed, but the National Members’ Forum offers a platform for discussion and interpersonal contacts. These elements foster understanding and cross-border friendships which have now become an every day activity of our Organization. More then ever before our National Members are involved in corporate decision making.
Whereas the FEANI National Members’ Forum remains an internal matter, we have also started to seek how to unite others around the idea that international cooperation through FEANI-channels can be a means of guaranteeing collective progress in representing our profession. Based on common values, political will and transparency while operating on an equal footing should enable us to speak with one voice and being clear on all levels. We wish in the following years to upgrade, reinforce and promote the voice of engineers in Europe while attracting the involvement and co-operation of representatives from other European stakeholders, respecting and guaranteeing their continued corporate (legal and nancial) independence. These other stakeholders will consist of European employer organizations, multinational employers, other European organizations involved with the education, formation and representation of engineers, European parliamentarians and of cials, as well as any other relevant stakeholder relating to the engineering profession. This consortium, which should be broken down in various Working Groups, will develop more cooperative mechanisms between them to ensure accurate policy making dialogues about common issues affecting the engineering profession, such e.g. the development of common training frameworks, mobility instruments (European Engineering Education Database), recognition of quali cations, educational and professional standards, STEM, validation and accreditation, quali cations framework, professional development of teaching staff, etc.