Reported by Sdr. Cham Kok Soon

In conjunction with the 20^th Conference of the ASEAN Federation Engineering Organizations (CAFEO), the 9^th meeting Young Engineers of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organization (YEAFEO) was held on 2^nd to 4^th September 2002 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The meeting is an annual event, participated by the young engineers from the ASEAN countries, to encourage interaction and share experience as well as help solving problem among the young engineers in the ASEAN region.

     This year YEAFEO was attended by representatives from as many as 8 countries: namely Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.  Ms. Janice Lai of Young Member Committee, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE, YMC), was invited as a guest and observer. Other delegates include En. I Kayan Sutrisna and En. Amal Witonohadi of Persatuan Insinyur Indonesia (PII), Mr. Kromchet Vipanpong and Mr. Suchatvee (Vince) Suwansawat of the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT), En. Amer Hairunuddin Zakaria and En. Shaharuddin Khairul of Pertubuhan Ukur Jurutera & Akitek (PUJA-Brunei), Mr. Ng Chee We of Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) and Ms. Tu Kien Dang of Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA). The host was represented by the Engineering Institution of Cambodia – Young Engineer Section’s (EIC-YES) chairman, Mr Heng Sokbil as well as Ms. Prak Chhay Kalyan, Mr. Sorn Sun Socheth and Mr. LY Sarann. 2 delegates representing IEM G&S are Mr. Clement Tan Pey Bin and Mr. Cham Kok Soon

     The event began with the arrival and registration of the delegates on 1^st September (Sunday). Upon registration, the delegates were treated with a welcome banquet dinner at the Royal Phnom Penh Hotel. Being tired due to travel, the delegates were allowed to rest early and prepare for the following days’ events.

      On 2^nd September (Monday), the delegates gathered as early as 8.00 a.m. at the hotel lobby of the Inter-Continental Hotel for the official opening ceremony of the 20th Cafeo by Mr. H.E. Keat Chhon, Senior Minister of the Minister of Economic and Finance of Cambodia. However, YEAFEO event only officially kicked off with the YEAFEO Board Meeting at 2.30 p.m. Nevertheless, the delegates were introduced and got to know each other at a lunch ahead of the meeting. As scheduled, the board meeting chaired by Mr. Heng Sokbil of the EIC proceeded after the lunch. The meeting proved to be a fruitful one, as the board had decided on the logo for the YEAFEO. The new logo was later presented to the AFEO Governing Board and was accepted officially. The YEAFEO board also noted that not all of the organization at the AFEO had a Young Engineer Section, and hoped that the by CAFEO 21, all organization would be sending Young Engineer Section representatives to the YEAFEO. Existing Young Engineers Section shall provide information and assistant if required, to help the other organization set up their Young Engineer Section. As for continuity and communication after the meeting, Mr. Suchavee Suwansawat informed that EIT had set up the YEAFEO website and would be maintaining and updating the website. YEAFEO Strategic Plan, proposed by PUJA during YEAFEO 8^th at Brunei will be finalized and later placed at the YEAFEO website. Finally, it was also proposed that a Student Exchange Program within the AFEO countries be held to expose students and young engineers in the region to gain more experience and exposure as well as help them understand and adapt to the working environment within the ASEAN region.

      The meeting ended at about 5.45 p.m., 45 minutes later than the scheduled time but the delegates were satisfied with the outcome and vowed to strive their best in contributing their efforts. The day was ended with a dinner where the delegates got to interact better with each other through traditional dances, and singing.

      The group got together again the following day at 9.00 a.m. at the conference hall of the Inter-Continental Hotel for the presentation of the Country Report of Member of YEAFEO. In the report, the representative from each country presented and informed the others of their activities through out the year. Mr. Cham presented for the IEM, G&S Section and explained to the other delegates of G&S’s activities such as Delegation to Beijing, China, Membership Drive, G&S Nite and various courses and talks. However, other organizations also presented their Country Report as follows:

  YEF, PII

Accordingly, YEF (Young Engineer Forum) of the PII had been formed only 2 years ago. Its vision statement includes being a professional organization with a global network, to build a continous developing system for the members as well as to be independent in financial. Currently, the chairman of the YEF, PII is En. Lamhot Sinaga and En. Amal Witonohadi is the Vice Chairman. Among the activities organized include the MARITIME Discussion where a Indonesia Maritime Minister, Ir. Sarwono Kusumaatmadja was invited as the speaker, HYSIS Software Training, Course on Quality Standard in Industry and maintenance and failure analysis training.

Young Members Committee, HKIE

Ms. Janice Lai presented briefly on the activities by the Young Members Committee, HKIE that include charity walks and launching of HKIE Toastmaster Club to boast members’ presentation skills. According to her, 12 young engineers and 2 advisors had participated in a delegation visit to England/Scotland to seek efficiency in building energy saving and environment friendliness for the year. The HKIE’s Young Members Committee will also be organizing a similar visits to China and hope to invite all the YEAFEO organizations to participate later the year.

YMEIT, EIT 

YMEIT (Young Member Committee) consist of engineering students, young engineers and oversea engineers. YMEIT was established in late1999, and Mr. Sutchatvee was the first president of the YMEIT. Activities of the YMEIT include organizing job and technology fairs; site visits as well as organizing oversea delegates to USA, Europe and Japan.

      The presentation ended at about 12.00 p.m. for lunch. By 2.00 p.m., the chairman of the YEAFEO Board Meeting, Mr. Heng Sokbil reported the outcomes of the YEAFEO board meeting to the AFEO Governing Board. Meanwhile, the rest of the delegates were brought for a visit at the national museum. By 5.00 p.m., the delegates were gathered at the Wat Phnom, a popular park in Phnom Penh for a session of Khmer popular games to encourage interactions among the delegates.

      After that, the group was invited to a social function (dinner and get together) at a restaurant at the Mekong riverside, where the delegates took part in singing Cambodian traditional songs and taught of Cambodian traditional dances. By 10.30 p.m., the dinner ended after a souvenirs and gifts exchange session.

      On the 3^rd Sept (Thursday), the delegates woke up early to board the bus at 6.30 a.m. for a visit to the Mt. Oudong. The journey to Mt. Oudong took about 1 hour and 45 minutes but allowed the delegates to have some sight seeing at the Cambodian countryside. However, that was not all as Mt. Oudong itself offer various beautiful sights on its own. The group also brought to visit some old and new Buddhist temple built around the area. By 2.30 p.m., after lunch, the group was sent to the Chaktomuk Conference Hall for the closing ceremony of the 20^th CAFEO by Mr. Samdech Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia and Honorary Chairman of AFEO. Finally, the delegates were invited to a farewell dinner where they were treated with performances presentations from each country. 

      G&S’s representative would like to express their appreciation to the host and the members of the EIC-YES for their hospitality throughout the event and make the event a memorable one.