At its annual awards ceremony in Seattle on Saturday night, 21 October, the Project Management Institute (PMIЎ) announced that its 2006 Project of the Year Award has been won for the Rocky Flats Closure Project in Golden, Colorado, USA. The award was presented to CH2M Hill Corporation before a crowd of approximately 600 PMI leaders and guests at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, site of PMI's 2006 Global Congress - North America from 21-25 October.

CH2M Hill was the prime contractor on the large complex environmental restoration project in Colorado for the US Department of Energy (DOE). Accepting the award were Allen Schubert, Vice President of Strategic Planning for CH2M Hill; Frazer Lockhart, DOE manager of the EMBC Office of Technical Services; and Nathaniel Quintana, Vice President of the PMI Mile Hi Chapter in Denver.
According to the presentation featured at the Awards Ceremony, the project was to cleanup a former operating DEO plant that had been severely contaminated over the past forty years from a variety of operations and projects. The location was one of the so-called "super fund sites" that have been identified by the US government for environmental restoration. The Rocky Flats project had a US$7 billion cost over a 10-year schedule and was completed 14 months ahead of schedule with a $500 million savings. The presentation in Seattle showed dear grazing in a park-like setting, a representation of the successful restoration of the site.
The Project of the Year Award is one of PMI's top honors, and is the result of a rigorous three-stage evaluation process each year. We at PMForum.org want to congratulate CH2M Hill, the DOE and the PMI Mile Hi Chapter for winning this prestigious award.
With nearly 220,000 members in over 150 countries, PMI is the world's largest and best known project management professional society. PMI is engaged in advocacy for the PM profession, setting standards, conducting research and providing access to a wide variety of information and resources. PMI also promotes career and professional development and offers certification, networking and community involvement opportunities. PMI was founded in the USA in 1969, but is now a global organization with members, chapters and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.pmi.org.At its annual awards ceremony in Seattle on Saturday night, 21 October, the Project Management Institute (PMIЎ) announced that its 2006 award winners in all categories. The award winners were honored at a formal Awards Ceremony before a crowd of approximately 600 PMI leaders and guests at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, site of PMI's 2006 Global Congress - North America from 21-25 October.

PMI's Project of the Year Award was won by the Rocky Flats Closure Project in Golden, Colorado, USA, a large complex environmental restoration
project managed by CH2M Hills corporation for the US Department of Energy (DOE). PMI's Person of the Year Award was given to Frank Saladis, PMP,
a well-known PMI leader, instructor and consultant based in New York City.
Other individual award winners included the following:
PMI has a robust awards program and honors each year's winners at a formal Awards Ceremony, followed by a reception, in conjunction with its North American Congress each year. We at PMForum.org want to congratulate these 2006 award winners.
With nearly 220,000 members in over 150 countries, PMI is the world's largest and best known project management professional society. PMI is engaged in advocacy for the PM profession, setting standards, conducting research and providing access to a wide variety of information and resources. PMI also promotes career and professional development and offers certification, networking and community involvement opportunities. PMI was founded in the USA in 1969, but is now a global organization with members, chapters and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.pmi.org.
The largest ever Leadership Meeting of the Project Management Institute (PMI Ў) concluded on Friday, 20 October, with a gala reception in the Washington State convention center in Seattle. The PMI Leadership Meetings is a 3-day series of meetings of PMI "component" leaders from various chapters, specific interest groups (SIGs), colleges and committees around the world. The PMI Leadership Meetings are scheduled to coincide with each of PMI's four regional project management congresses each year.
A PMI Leadership Meeting was held in Seattle during 18-20 October, just prior to PMI's Global PM Congress- North America, scheduled to begin on 22 October 2006. A gala reception was then held on the evening of Friday, 20 October, for PMI component leaders, the board of directors and guests to celebrate and network.
David Pells and Greg BalestreroAccording to Greg Balestrero, CEO of PMI, on Friday evening, "This is the largest Leadership Meeting in the five years that I have been with PMI. We had about 550 component leaders here. It's tremendous!"
PMI conducts four global PM congresses each year, in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. PMI Leadership Meetings of component leaders are held just prior to each of those congresses. Generally, attendees at each regional congress and leadership meeting are residents of the region, although leaders from any PMI components are welcome to attend any of the Leadership Meetings.
Bruce Rodrigues, David Pells, and Dr. O. Chima
OkerekeSurprisingly, the PMI Leadership Meeting in Seattle attracted component leaders from around the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe and
South America. PMForum.org representatives met PMI leaders from a variety of countries on Friday evening.
According to Dr. O Chima
Okereke, who was representing the Port Harcourt, Nigeria (potential) chapter, "we are trying to promote professional project management in
Nigeria. I wanted to come to this meeting to learn and network with other PMI leaders so I can return to Port Harcourt with some ideas for
growing our chapter, and PM in our country."
With nearly 220,000 members in over 150 countries, the Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's largest and best known project management professional society. PMI is engaged in advocacy for the PM profession, setting standards, conducting research and providing access to a wide variety of information and resources. PMI also promotes career and professional development and offers certification, networking and community involvement opportunities. PMI was founded in the USA in 1969, but is now a global organization with members, chapters and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.pmi.org
One of the lectures promoted by PMI Sуo Paulo, Brazil Chapter (PMI-SPЎ) covered the advantages of applying the Project Management best practices to the world of Marketing. The initiative is part of a series of events intended to discuss various aspects of Project Management in Sуo Paulo.
On October 18th, Mr. Phillip Klien, Technology Director, and Mr. Tomсs Penido, Operations Director for Predicta, a winning young firm which deals with Interactive Communications, demonstrated how to put into practice the concepts and guidelines present in the Guide to the PMBoKЎ in the routine of firms that deal with marketing projects.
The five typical phases that we find in every project were discussed: from initiating a project to finalizing it, Mr. Klien and Mr. Penido proved that if marketing projects are managed according to the best practices adopted by the Project Management Institute (PMIЎ), the company might be more successful than if they are not.
To illustrate the project initiation phase, the well-known "briefing", always present in marketing campaigns, was compared to the "project charter". During the planning phase, the importance of scheduling the project was highlighted, justified by the crescent dynamism present in the business ('You Tube' may be a good place to ad now, but how long will it be?)
After an advertising campaign is launched, an emerging challenge takes place: the possibility to promptly interact with target customers and change the message being delivered brings the need for assessing, measuring, evaluating the behavior of the public and quickly adjust the campaign to foster its objectives. "Performance Measurement" and "Change Management" are, then, two expressions historically present in the Project Management jargon that are also valuable for Marketing projects now.
In an age where Europeans are starting to spend more time exploring Internet than reading newspaper and magazines and Americans are replacing watching TV programs with surfing on the web, the opportunities to explore the interactive media are growing rapidly. Therefore, the presence of a Project Management methodology is definitely starting to make a difference to agencies and marketing companies.
Speakers Mr. Phillip Klien, Mr. Tomсs Penido and
Mr. Douglas Tokuno.Mr. Douglas Tokuno, responsible for implementing the project management office (PMO) at Predicta, shared his lessons already learned from the ongoing initiative. According to Mr. Tokuno, who is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMPЎ), this endeavor is pioneer in the marketing industry, because the PMO is not being built to manage the IT projects of the company, often done by other marketing firms, but to manage and assist the core business marketing projects.
More information about Predicta can be found at www.predicta.com.br.
The lecture was held on October 18th, at FEI - Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial, in Sуo Paulo, Brazil, and was part of a PMI-SPЎ program that has already promoted events discussing PM tools, Information Technology, PM Maturity, Government Project Management, Telecommunications and PM in Education, among others. More information about PMI-SPЎ events can be found at www.pmisp.org.br.
Reported by Alcides Santopietro in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Project Management Institute (PMIЎ) has announced the availability of an updated edition of the Government Extension to the PMBOKЎ Guide. The Government Extension was developed to address challenges faced by project management practitioners in the public sector and others involved with government contracts.

Project management professionals at all levels and experience in the government sector should find the standard very useful in helping them deliver more efficient, effective and accountable project results, despite often fluctuating public demands.
The updated standard focuses on three main areas:
Government Extension to the PMBOKЎ Guide -Third Edition is available from the online PMI Bookstore at the special introductory price of $28.95 (US) for PMI members and $34.95 (US) for nonmembers through the month of October. Thereafter prices will be $33.95 for PMI members and $39.95 for nonmembers.
The Government Extension serves as an addendum to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOKЎ Guide)-Third Edition and should be used in conjunction with it.
With nearly 220,000 members in over 150 countries, Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's largest and best known project management professional society. PMI is actively engaged in advocacy for the PM profession, setting standards, conducting research and providing access to a wide variety of information and resources. PMI also promotes career and professional development and offers certification, networking and community involvement opportunities. For more information, visit www.pmi.org.
A Project Management Lexicon Project has been established by the Project Management Institute (PMIЎ) to define, unify and codify the terminology of the project management (PM) profession. The project will enable practitioners and stakeholders across the globe to use project management terms consistently and with shared understanding.

Results ofџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџ management practitioners to demonstrate that they possess the skills and expertise to manage multiple projects that tie back to an organization's overall strategic objectives."
Candidates pursuing the new credential must meet specific eligibility requirements and agree to adhere to a code of professional conduct. Candidates' competence will be evaluated through a sequence of assessments:
The PgMP credential will give professionals who manage programs a distinct advantage in accessing new opportunities and increasing visibility within their organizations. The credential will also be intended to help employers determine whether current and prospective employees possess the skills needed for effective program management. Individuals need not be PMI members to apply for the PgMP credential. An online application process will be available 24/7 via the Internet, and computer-based examination facilities (as well as paper-based testing locations) will be available worldwide. Additional information regarding this new credential can be found in the Certification Program section of PMI's website (http://www.pmi.org).
With nearly 220,000 members in over 150 countries, Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world's leading membership association for the project management profession. PMI is actively engaged in advocacy for the profession, setting professional standards, conducting research and providing access to a wealth of information and resources. PMI also promotes career and professional development and offers certification, networking and community involvement opportunities. For more than 36 years, PMI has advanced the careers of practitioners who have made project management indispensable in achieving business results. For more information, visit http://www.pmi.org.
The third and last day of the biggest seminar ever produced by Project Management Institute Sуo Paulo, Brazil Chapter (PMI-SP) proved that the event has excelled the mission to share project management state-of-the-art concepts and envisions for the future with the community. At the end of the day, the audience was touched by a real maestro and his thirty-member orchestra.

On October 6th, after the concurrent presentation of three academic papers in the morning, the keynote speaker Timothy Kloppenborg, distinguished professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Author of four books, professor Kloppenborg discussed "Offensive and Defensive Strategies of Project Sponsors". His presentation was particularly interesting because defensive strategies are not always covered by the literature.

Mr. Claudio Porto, president of Macroplan, was the following keynote speaker of the day: discussing Brazilian governmental initiatives involving strategy, project selection and project control, he demonstrated how projects whose objectives are related to social, economical and environmental development have been successfully managed in Espэrito Santo state.

The last presentation in the morning covered the program entitled "Embraer 170/190", from Embraer, a Brazilian airplane company. His speech covered the challenges that Embraer faced when they identified a market opportunity to launch a new set of middle-capacity jets. The company had to reinvent itself in terms of processes, partnership policies and organizational frameworks to deal with the challenge properly. He also demonstrated that project management methodology was crucial for the success of the initiative.

In the afternoon, Mr. David Pells, president of iWorld Projects & Systems, Inc., Managing Editor of www.pmforum.org, and PMIЎ Fellow, discussed the growth and future of modern project management through an analysis of the third economy wave, characterized as the information age. After providing seven clear examples of trends in economy, he proved that the future will demand much more project management than ever, suggesting everyone be part of this new age.

A "CEO Panel" also took place on the third day of the seminar: three presidents of very relevant and influential companies were interviewed by Mr. Paulo Y. Sabbag, president of the Council of PMI Sуo Paulo Chapter: Mr. Marcos Ribeiro, president of Brazilian subsidiary of RR Donnelley Moore, the biggest enterprise in the graphic industry, Mr. Luiz Ernesto Gemignani, president of Promon Engenharia, an icon in the construction and engineering industry and Mr. Luiz Vieira, vice-president of Booz-Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting firm.
During the panel, the executives could share their vision about project management in the future and discuss how they deal with this subject in each company. Certainly it was a tremendous opportunity for the professionals to be in contact with this strategic vision of project management.

The audience was, then, gifted with the presentation of Maestro Walter Lourenчуo, a real maestro who entertained the 600 professionals present at the seminar discussing the relationship between managing an orchestra and managing people in a corporate environment such as project management. Different aspects of people management and change management among others were discussed. Maestro Lourenчуo also interacted with the audience, asking a few volunteers to be part of the group, sitting beside the musicians so they could report the experience from that perspective. The 'gran finale' came when the orchestra played the Brazilian national anthem, closing the event under a very emotional climate.
The International Seminar on Project Management is an annual conference sponsored by the Sao Paulo chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-SP). The 2006 International PM Seminar, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was the 6th annual event sponsored by PMI-SP and the largest one to date. This 3-day event had over 600 attendees and 20 corporate sponsors. PMI-SP is the largest PMI chapter in South America and one of the most active.
For more information about PMI-SP: visit:
www.pmisp.org.br
For more information about the seminar: visit:
www.pmisp.org.br/viseminario
Reported by Alcides Santopietro and David Pells in São Paulo, Brazil.
In his keynote speech at the 6th International Project Management (PM) Seminar in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Thursday morning, 5 October 2006, Mr. Gilles Caupin presented the latest status of various PM certifications around the world. Mr. Caupin is the Chairman of the Certification Board for the International PM Association (IPMA) based in Switzerland. In Sao Paulo, Mr. Caupin explained PM certifications and competency to the audience of approximately 600 executives and professionals.

Mr. Caupin's speech was the third keynote speech on day two of the international conference, the largest in Brazil this year. The conference was sponsored by the Sao Paulo chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the world's largest PM professional society.
During his presentation, Gilles reviewed the following PM certification topics:
An interesting aspect of Mr. CaupinДs presentation was his review of the following PM certifications now in existence worldwide:
Mr. Gilles Caupin is a well known international professional leader and speaker on the subject of modern PM. He is former president and chair of IPMA; past founder, president and chair of the French PM Association AFITEP; and past chair of the Global PM Forum initiative. He is also a Global Advisor to PMForum.org.
The International Seminar on Project Management is an annual 3-day conference sponsored by the Sao Paulo chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-SP). The 2006 International PM Seminar, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was the 6th annual event sponsored by PMI-SP and the largest one todate with over 700 paid attendees and 20 corporate sponsors. PMI-SP is the largest PMI chapter in South America and one of the most active. For more information, visit www.pmisp.org.br.
Reported by Alcides Santopietro and David Pells in São Paulo, Brazil.

More than 600 attendees were present on the second day of the 6th International Seminar on Project Management, sponsored by the Sao Paulo, Brazil chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMIЎ).

The 3-day event has been a success. After the first exciting day, which was preceded by a leadership meeting, the second day had some important keynote speakers, such as Mr. Elcio Anibal de Lucca, president of Serasa S/A, a Brazilian company awarded as the best company to work for by "Great Place to Work Institute Brasil" in 2006. He discussed how project management is aligned with strategy at Serasa S/A and how the company converts its projects into reality, pointing out that almost 100% of them are concluded on time, unlike the average statistics on the topic.

The audience also had the opportunity to attend to the presentation of a Brazilian government agency. Mr. Tadeu Barreto Guimarуes and Mr. Thiago Toscano, representatives of Secretary of Planning of Minas Gerais state showed that the project management methodology has been applied to governmental agencies with a high level of success.

After a coffee-break, where the public could also interact with the exhibitors of the event, Mr. Gilles Caupin, Certification Board Chairman of International Project Management Association - IPMA, explained some of the most important frameworks to certify project management professionals around the globe according to a competence-based model. He presented how Australian, British and Japanese associations are structured to assess and concede certifications, in addition to the PMPЎ model and the 4-level certifications present at IPMA.
Before lunch time, Mr. Luiz Bairуo, director of Microsiga - TOVTS, presented his way of managing projects in a very peculiar scenario where over 500 projects are in place simultaneously. He also took the opportunity to associate this challenge with The Standard for Program ManagementЎ and The Standard for Portfolio ManagementЎ, both published by Project Management Institute - PMIЎ.
Nine papers were presented in the afternoon in addition to these key presentations and, at the end of the event, there was a cocktail party, where the public could network and explore the exhibitor's area.
Reported by Alcides Santopietro and David Pells in São Paulo, Brazil.
An interesting story surfaced at the PMI Leadership meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil that was held on Wednesday morning, 4 October 2006 just prior to the kickoff of the VI International Seminar on Project Management sponsored by the Sao Paulo chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI-SP).
Joуo Gama Neto & Alcides SantopietroAccording to Joуo Gama Neto, PMI-SP chapter Director for Technical Development, "I am now coordinating 15 Yahoo discussion groups related to project management, with over 7,000 participants. The program has been very successful, and has generated a lot of interest in project management and PMI."
The Yahoo discussion groups were established for PM professionals in specific industries or topic areas to meet and discuss PM. So far the PMI-SP chapter has established Yahoo Groups for the following:
The Yahoo Groups are conducted in the Portuguese language for Brazilian PM professionals. But according to Mr. Neto, "not all participants are PMI members. The discussions are open to anyone who is interested in PM and we have many who have never heard about PMI. Some of those people then decide to join, of course, so it offers good promotion for our chapter." "Even though the language is Portuguese," he added, "sometimes we have people in other countries participate. We had someone from Mexico respond in both Spanish and English, not using Portuguese at all. It was pretty interesting!"
For more information, contact Mr. Neto at etecnicos@pmisp.org.br. The PMI-SP website is www.pmisp.org.br.
Reported by Alcides Santopietro and David Pells in São Paulo, Brazil.
The 6th International Seminar on Project Management, sponsored by the Sao Paulo, Brazil chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI), began on Wednesday, 4 October 2006 with professional meetings, vendor presentations and some excitement. The theme of the 3-day conferences is "Toward New Frontiers in Project Management." The 2006 PMI-SP conference will include keynote speeches, professional presentations, vendor presentations and a vendor exhibition, receptions and networking opportunities.

According to the conference Project Manager Celio Mello, "this will be the largest conference hosted yet by the PMI-SP chapter and in all of Brazil, with over 700 delegates expected and with nearly 20 corporate sponsors. We expect it to be very successful!"

The two other members of the core conference team include Ms. Regina Blanco and Mr. Alcides Santopietro. Ms. Blanco is responsible for conference registration, facilities, financing, infrastructure, audio/visual, vendor area and related matters. Mr. Santopietro is responsible for conference speakers, papers, promotion and publicity, and press relations.
Unofficially, the day began with a gathering of PMI leaders from around Brazil, with representatives of 8-10 chapters participating in a PMI Leadership Meeting. (See separate breaking news story about this meeting).

Following the morning coffee break, the photo at right was taken of congress leaders, PMI chapter representatives, speakers and visiting dignitaries.
The schedule of official conference events for the day included the following:
The dayДs events officially end with a reception in the vendor exhibition area where the excitement, friendly discussions and networking continued. The venue for the conference is the Centro de Convencoes Frei Caneca in the financial district of central Sao Paulo. The first few floors of the building offer conventional mall shopping, with the upper levels consisting of conference facilities. For more information on the VI International PM Seminar in Sao Paulo, visit the conference website at www.pmisp.org.br.
Reported by Alcides Santopietro and David Pells in São Paulo, Brazil.

During the morning of Ocotber the 4th, the VI Project Management International Seminar, promoted by PMI Sуo Paulo, Brazil Chapter (PMI-SPЎ), held a Leadership Meeting, where representatives of various Brazilian chapters had the opportunity to receive the most up-to-date information about the main actions that Sуo Paulo Chapter is taking to deliver more value to its members.

At the Leadership Meeting, representatives of other Brazilian chapters also shared their similar local initiatives with the group. The audience, composed by Brazilian PMI leaders, got aware of similar branch initiatives in place in Rio de Janeiro and also in Minas Gerais, two Brazilian states, also active in the project management community.
In addition, Mr. Mario Prieto, president of PMI Sуo Paulo Chapter, presented the status of CTP - Community Transformation Project, a global endeavor sponsored by PMI Global Operations Center that intends to reinvent the way PMI structure its divisions around the globe. According do Mr. Prieto, the rules that were in place in 1998 are not longer valid for forming new groups. Therefore, the new entities (such as chapters and branches) need to be formed under this new model.
The leadership meeting occurred prior to the three-day VI Project Management International Seminar, in the morning of its first day. The seminar is sponsored by Siemens, KPMG, Promon, Microsoft, ESI International and Grupo A&C and is taking place in Sуo Paulo from October 4th to October 6th.
For more information about VI International Seminar: www.pmisp.org.br/viseminario.
Reported by Alcides Santopietro and David Pells in São Paulo, Brazil.
Local chapters that participated in the PMI Cono Sur Tour during the first week of September are reporting great results from the event. More than 40 guest speakers shared their experiences with more than 700 professionals that attended the Tour, including sessions in Santiago de Chile (Chile), Lima (Perњ), Montevideo (Uruguay), and Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Local Chapters are reporting attendees to the tour are very satisfied with the content of all sessions. The results obtained by the survey performed by the PMI Santiago de Chile Chapter to the 150 assistants to the tour at Santiago deserves special note. In the survey 78% of the assistants claimed great level of satisfaction, and 67% of the assistants will recommend the Tour to colleagues and friends.
Yamile C. JacksonThe contribution of Dr. Yamile Yackson, Member of the Board of Directors of PMI is considered vital to the tour success by most of the local authorities of the PMI Chapters. Attendees showed special interest to Dr. Yackson's data about the growth of Project Management as a Discipline in the world, and particularly in Latin America, according to the increase in amount of members of PMI.
Claudio Arfeli, V.P., Buenos Aires PMI ChapterAs mentioned by Mr. Claudio Arfeli, vice president of the Buenos Aires PMI Chapter, during the Santiago de Chile session, the success of the tour is due to the strong relation that the Cono Sur PMI Chapters are maintaining. These Chapters are strongly interested in obtaining more attention to the southernmost region of Latin America. Being Santiago de Chile the host of the Global Congress Latin America during the next month is also considered by Mr. Arfeli as a great opportunity for the region.
For more information and material from the tour sessions visit the correspondent PMI Chapter Web Page:
Chile : http://www.pmi.cl/
Argentina: http://www.pmi.org.ar/
Uruguay: http://www.pmi.org.uy/portal/hgxpp001.aspx?9
Peru: http://www.pmilimaperu.org
For information about the Global Congress Latin America visit
http://congresses.pmi.org/LatinAmerica2006/
Special acknowledgment to the collaboration offered for this article by PMI Santiago de Chile Chapter's Journalist, Ms. Isabel Cruz.
Reported by Ana Maria Rodriguez in Rosario, Argentina.