PM World Today Editorial September/October 2005

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DO WE REALLY NEED ANOTHER “INTERNATIONAL DAY OF”?

An editorial by Hugh Woodward

International Day of Peace.
International Day for Disaster Reduction.
International Day of Older Persons.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
There is an even an International Day of Action against Video Surveillance.

And now we have International Project Management Day.

Do we really need another “International Day Of”?

International Project Management Day is the brain child of PMI New York City Chapter President Frank Saladis. He began promoting the concept among PMI chapter leaders and colleagues earlier this year. The International Institute for Learning (IIL) soon agreed to support it as did pmforum.org. IIL offered to conduct free webinars both prior to the event and on the day itself. pmforum.org donated a web site and committed to promote International Project Management Day through its Breaking News service.

The goal of International Project Management Day is “worldwide recognition of the many project managers and project teams in every industry including non profit organizations and health care who contribute their time, energy, creativity, innovation, and countless hours to deliver products, services, facilities, and provide emergency and disaster recovery services in every city and community around the world.” It is intended to “encourage project based organizations worldwide or organizations who utilize project management methodologies to schedule some type of recognition event within their organizations or coordinated locally with others to truly demonstrate appreciation for the achievements of project managers and their teams.”

As this editorial is being written, it is clear that organizations around the world are embracing the concept of International Project Management Day and planning recognition events. Among the interesting examples trickling into pmforum.org are:

It is of course appropriate to recognize the contribution of project managers and project teams. We give credit to the inventors of the devices that are fundamental to our way of life: the light bulb, the electric motor, the telephone, the transistor, and the coffee machine. But in reality, these inventions would simply be sketches in a dusty file cabinet at the patent office if it were not for the visionaries that brought the idea to life and packaged it for the consumer: visionaries we now call “project managers”.

And so why not set aside a day to recognize and celebrate the contributions project managers and project teams have made to our way of life? We at pmforum.org salute Frank Saladis for his groundbreaking idea and urge our colleagues to observe International Project Management Day on November 3.

We will be celebrating here. Not in a big way, but celebrating nevertheless. We will have an extra cup of coffee and pause to thank each other for their contribution to project management and to society in general.

And we will reflect on what Frank Saladis said in explaining the purpose of International Project Management Day: "Lots of things need fixing in project management but it is always appropriate to take time to appreciate what has been accomplished, thank those that have worked hard and contributed, and recognize project managers who achieve great things. I would like the project management community to take a few minutes to say thanks to the project managers and project teams, without whom, many of the things we use and enjoy today would not exist."

Hugh Woodward is the President and Managing Editor of pmforum.org, and an internationally recognized leader of the project management profession. He served two terms as Chair of the Project Management Institute and almost six years as a member of PMI's Board of Directors. His professional experience includes projects and programs in manufacturing, construction and IT, and involving both the public and private sectors. He continues to promote the profession as a frequent conference speaker, having addressed audiences in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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