The
Europe Region of AAPG has high ambitions for new development within
the region over the coming years.
The long outstanding
concern for many AAPG members outside the United States is the ever-recurring
question for most international organizations: "What can AAPG as an
organization do for me?"
This challenge
has been recognized and discussed for a number of years within AAPG
and resulted in the establishment of the six international regions,
including the Europe Region.
The European
oil industry (as well as the region's academic and research institutions)
has continued to grow. Many geoscientists working within the industry
are faced with the challenge of which professional organization to enroll.
AAPG is not
the only professional organization serving professional geoscientists
within the Europe Region, so our biggest challenge to existing and potential
new members will continue to be the question about service.
Service to members
is founded in the AAPG constitution and forms a key building block from
which to build and develop an organization. The advancement of the professional
well-being of its members, however, means different things to different
people. Our challenge is to cover a broad enough spectrum of services
that petroleum geologists recognize as adding value to their professional
career and social life.
The Europe
board has, in practice, limited means of developing and implementing
service to regional members. We can build a strategy, a plan for activity
and encourage and support the implementation of such a plan.
Therefore,
the introduction and appointment of Country Team Leaders (CTLs) is our
way of ensuring local contact within a limited area, from individuals
who know the local environment in which they operate to its full extent.
CTLs are identified
to initiate local activity in cooperation with the Europe board, and
to form a network of key service providers to AAPG and its members.
The Europe
Region is represented in the House of Delegates with a number of representatives
dependent on total membership in Europe. We are currently entitled to
19 representatives in the HoD.
In the past
few years we have had great difficulty filling all these slots, and
we continue to encourage European members to take a more active part
in AAPG's future development by volunteering for these positions. The
commitment is limited — but is an important way to have an active influence
on new developments in the organization.
The current
focus of activity is on the initiation and development of active student
chapters around Europe, where good progress was made last year through
the Halliburton student-sponsoring program. In addition, there is activity
with the annual Distinguished Lecture tours and Visiting Geologists
Program that forms a traditional and well-received service to many of
our members.
The largest
effort, however, has been with regards to new international regional
and local conferences and meetings. Last year's Hedberg research conferences
on Sicily and in Stavanger, and last month's international conference
in Barcelona are all great examples of how local and regional resources
can pull together with the larger AAPG organization to ensure a successful
event with a large participation of European members.
Next year's
regional meeting in Prague — set next October, the first such session
for the Europe Region — is another example of how service and support
can be provided through a team of dedicated individuals within AAPG
to support new and exciting activity. It will benefit us all.
The future and
progress of AAPG, and any other voluntary organization, is totally in
the control of its members. Activity and service cannot and will not
happen without an active involvement by the organization's members.
It is no secret
that the past involvement from AAPG's European members has been very
limited. I will take this opportunity to encourage you all to flag your
interest and dedicate some of your time to serve the current and future
activity within the Europe Region. It's a fantastic learning experience
that will benefit not only existing members, but also yourself through
contacts within the industry and the AAPG organization.
Together we
can, and will, make a difference in providing improved service to our
existing and potential future members and grow the organization through
active involvement.