Message from the Chair – Will Glamore
Happy 2022 to members and colleagues. I have just signed off on our Australia and New Zealand report for PIANC International’s Yearbook 2021, and it is a testimony to the PIANC A&NZ community’s continuing resilience, enthusiasm, and commitment to our shared goals and aims, despite the pandemic disruptions.
Many thanks to all involved, especially to our hardworking Working Group appointments, Young Professionals and Regional Chapter members.
While we look forward to another year of PIANC activities in 2022 including Coasts and Ports in New Zealand, and our second APAC conference, it’s also great to look back at what we achieved in the past year. Please take a moment to review the highlights from 2021 below. None of this could be done without your continual support and engagement.
Major achievements and events in 2021 for PIANC ANZ.
- Continued to support and engage our membership through the amazing work of regional chapters in NSW, NT/QLD, VIC, TAS, WA, and NZ, who between them organised twenty-one regional technical and networking events, in person, online, or as hybrid events.
- Continued to increase our online technical outreach through hosting and recording three technical webinars, now available on our YouTube channel .
- Continued with our very well-regarded Mentoring Program, which will start again soon for 2022.
- One sad note in 2021 was the sudden passing in September of our MarCom national representative and founding Board member, Peter Fountain. PIANC A&NZ has lost a great engineer, leader and mentor.
- Began the process of aligning PIANC A&NZ activities and processes with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), led by Board Member Jackie Spiteri, with the assistance of Anna Gudkov, one of our 2021 Board Observers.
- Launched our first women’s networking event – a lunch organised by our amazing WA Chapter, and sponsored by corporate member Maritime Constructions, which invited women in the ports and marine industry including coastal, management and research fields.
- Continued our frequent comms with members and colleagues, increasing our LinkedIn following to 1100, and creating a three minute About Us video – to explain who we are, and how we lead.
- Undertook a major review of our Constitution (Rules and Regulations), explored options for a higher return investment strategy, and prepared the ground for a new paid part-time position of EO to the Board.
- Carried out a membership survey with the assistance of Olivier Mineau, one of our 2021 Board Observers, which satisfyingly gave us the thumbs up from members.
- PIANC A&NZ members continued to participate strongly in PIANC’s International Working Groups, and in international initiatives such as the COP 26 two day workshop on ‘Practical climate change adaptation challenges and good practice solutions for ports’,
- Travel restrictions forced the postponement to 2022 of our biennial major conference the 2021 Coasts & Ports Conference being held in Christchurch, NZ, 10-13 April 2022. Due to continuing travel restrictions, this Conference has now gone completely virtual. We look forward to engaging online.
I wish all our members and colleagues a better year in 2022, and I urge you to stay connected with us – through getting involved in our regional chapters, and/or Young Professionals network, and staying informed through our LinkedIn account and our website.
Will Glamore
PIANC ANZ Chair