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FOUNDATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION
Corporate Brochure and the revisions were to achieve great success and were given to
Member Societies for distribution among their members and to local organisations and
governments involved in decision making in the region.
Extensive use of best practice and guidance documents by IIW also indicated the
fundamental shift in how IIW was seeing itself in a rapidly changing world. IIW stated
its Mission as ‘To act as the worldwide network for knowledge exchange in joining
technologies to improve the global quality of life’. By doing so, one of its principal objectives
was to identify, create and transfer world’s best practices for sustainable development
in a sustainable environment, very much an integral part of IIW’s latest Business Plan.
33
Marquis, IIW President 2014-17, in expanding on the importance of this, commented that
‘Many units pursue ambitious programmes to develop IIW Best Practice Documents and
IIW Guidelines. These documents are in great demand to industries who view the IIW logo
as a symbol of quality and scientific and engineering excellence. They also serve as a key
starting point for new international standards and new research fields.’
34
In line with the continuing success of these initiatives a novel
communications survey was conducted at the Denver Annual Assembly in
2012. The results of the questionnaire were overwhelmingly positive and
expressed a need to engage the wider community in attracting young leaders
and people to become members of the IIW family. Earlier, identifying the
means of attracting young engineers to IIW was raised in the preliminary
discussionsof IIW’sBusinessPlanat theFlorenceGeneralAssembly in2000.
35
Consideration was given to the application of lower registration rates and better
promotion to universities where many prospective young welding engineers originated
from. At the time, many members of IIW were known to subsidise young professionals
to attend IIW Annual Assemblies, conferences and congresses, either directly or through
sponsorships with welding companies.
The initial steps to communicate with young people to encourage them to participate
in IIW were put in place in 2009 through the creation of a special registration category for
IIW events. This was done with the support of DVS which already played a significant
role in the encouragement of young professionals to attend IIW Conferences and Annual
Assemblies, particularly for the 62
nd
IIWAnnual Assembly and Conference in Singapore in
2009.
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As a result of encouragement by IIW and through the organisers of IIW events, the
representation of young professionals increased significantly to such an extent that the first
Young Professional International Conference (YPIC) was held in Hungary in September
2014. It was presented under the auspices of the Hungarian Welding Society which showed
great initiative in staging this conference to communicate and establish a dialogue with
young professionals. Supported by IIW as an associated event, it also encompassed an
international welding competition for young persons involved in the practical side of