PMFORUM Breaking News

Reported by Jouko Vaskimo in Helsinki

The International Project Management Association (IPMA) Latin America and Caribbean Countries (LACC) Project is achieving excellent results. The Mexican and Peruvian subprojects have been completed, and the main project continues with other Latin American countries such as Chile under the management of Dr Jesús Martínez-Almela.

The basic conceptual and strategic targets of the IPMA LACC Project are:

• To identify the interested parties in each country
• To help establish an IPMA Member Association (MA) and Certification Body (CB) in each country
• To help establish the strategic operations in each country
• To help establish the collaboration between established and future Member Associations and Certification Bodies
• To help take advantage, and to become more competitive in promoting the new IPMA products and services
• To help increase IPMA presence and influence in the LACC area
  

The Mexican and Peruvian subprojects achieved completion when the two prospective member associations presented their membership applications to IPMA Council of Delegates at the council meeting at The Hague, Netherlands, on March 27th 2010. It is expected that the Chilean application will be presented to IPMA Council of Delegates at their next meeting in September 2010.

(photos courtesy Jouko Vaskimo)

In the photograph (from left to right): Mr Germán Zevallos, APDP (Asociacion Peruana de Dirección de Proyectos) President, Dr Jesús Martínez-Almela, IPMA LACC Project Manager, Dr Oscar Figueroa, AMIP (Asociacion Mexicana de Ingenieria de Proyectos) Board member, Dr Benjamin Figueroa Sandoval, AMIP President, and Mr Jorge Peart, AMIP Board member and Chairman of the AMIP Certification Body

Dr Martínez-Almela, Project Manager of IPMA LACC Project, is very happy with the success of the LACC Project: "The LACC Project has been an authentic challenge and a constant source of inspiration and of overcoming for all the interested parties. The geographical area of Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, over 20 in total, with more than 350 million inhabitants, ranges from the Mexican border with the USA in the north to the Patagonia and the Antarctic in the South in the limits of Argentina and Chile. The six largest countries of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Chile have more than 60 % of the Spanish-speaking population." Dr Martínez-Almela can be contacted at jma@bioagroprojects.com.

Mrs Brigitte Schaden, IPMA President, comments "IPMA becomes stronger and stronger. I am really happy to welcome Mexico and Peru as new IPMA members. It is very important for our representation in Middle and South America. And I am sure that IPMA will also support the Project Management Associations of Mexico and Peru to become stronger and stronger." Mrs Schaden can be contacted at Brigitte.Schaden@ipma.ch .

Mr Miles Shepherd, IPMA Council of Delegates Chairman, commented that the accession of these two important countries to the IPMA family marks another major step for IPMA as well as for Spanish speaking Project Managers: "The work of Dr Martínez-Almela has been quite outstanding. He has provided the catalyst to bring our unique certification process to these new Member Associations, and supported their efforts to establish effective full service professional societies. Mexico and Peru are significant additions to our family and we welcome them. I look forward to meeting their delegates at Council and to their active participation in the further development of the profession worldwide." Mr Shepherd can be contacted at Miles.Shepherd@msp-ltd.co.uk .

Founded in 1967 and registered in Switzerland, International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the oldest project management professional organization in the world. IPMA is an international federation of more than 50 national project management societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA annual World Congress is one of the largest and most important gatherings of project management authorities and leaders each year. The president of IPMA for 2010 is Mrs Brigitte Schaden. For further information please navigate to www.ipma.ch.