• Component Leaders Gather in
  the PMI Middle East Region
• Virtual Communities Project (VCP) Frequently Asked Question
• New VCP Status Report is Online

• Download Presentations from the 2007 Latin America Leadership Institute Meeting
• Registration is Open for the 2008 Asia Pacific Leadership Institute Meeting. A component leader describes why you should attend ...

• PMI Says “Thanks” on International Volunteer Day

On 15–16 November, more than a dozen leaders from the PMI Arabian Gulf Chapter, PMI Lebanon Chapter and PMI MENA Chapter met in Bahrain with PMI Director of Organization Markets John Engman, MBA, and PMI Component and Community Relations Manager Brantlee Jacobs, CAE.

Yahya Khader, PMP, incoming component mentor of PMI's Middle East Region (Region 12), arranged the session, which focused on PMI strategic initiatives and regional activities.

Ms. Jacobs presented Powering the Profession through Strategic Alignment. Other topics included a community development update, component mentor program review, a discussion of the regional market, and collaboration among chapter leaders and PMI Global Operations Center.  

Q. Since incorporation of the Specific Interest Groups (SIGs), SIG leaders served in roles autonomous of PMI due to their legal and fiduciary obligations as organization officers. How will this autonomy change? Will current leaders be impacted by the transition to the new virtual community model(s) that result from VCP?

A. Existing leaders are essential for the successful transition to, and implementation of, the new community models and their future success. 

Since the new virtual communities will not be incorporated, leaders of these communities will not be legal fiduciaries. They will not be responsible for legal compliance and reporting.

Instead, these leaders will serve in a refreshed role as subject matter experts of their communities. Leaders will focus their efforts and attention on delivering value to the community participants through the creation and sharing of knowledge.

Current SIG leaders will be invited to participate in the development of roles and responsibilities for the subject matter experts of the new communities.

For more information, please see the Community Development Web page and Virtual Communities Project FAQ. You are also welcome to e-mail your questions to ctp@pmi.org.

A new Virtual Communities Project status report dated 30 November 2007 has been posted to the Component Leadership Online Community. You will find it in the Communications section > Virtual Communities Project > Status Report folder > November subfolder. We expect to post a new status report every two weeks.

International Volunteer Day is Wednesday, 5 December, so we at PMI would like to recognize and thank our volunteers for working hard to improve the lives of others through the project management profession.

Many PMI volunteers and members also devote service to their local communities and beyond, and apply project management experience to further these efforts.

The International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. Since then, governments, the UN system and civil society organizations have successfully joined volunteers around the world to celebrate the day on 5 December.

To find out more, please visit the World Volunteer Web, a global resource that supports volunteerism on all continents.

Presentations from this year’s Latin America Leadership Institute Meeting are now available. You can access information from the general session as well as the educational sessions on association governance, individual leadership development and PMI institutional knowledge, which comprise the Leadership Institute’s core knowledge areas.

Discover some of what you missed if you were not at the meeting, or review and share what you learned if you attended the meeting that was held in Cancun, Mexico on 10–11 November.

The Asia Pacific Leadership Institute Meeting, 1–2 March 2008 in Sydney, Australia, is an opportunity for professional development, skills improvement and networking.  

Gus Sabatino, secretary of the PMI Sydney, Australia Chapter, is now a veteran of the Leadership Institute Meetings.  He said:

“The PMI Leadership Institute Meeting held in Hong Kong in 2007 was my third meeting. I continue to attend and will do so in the future, as I find that [the meeting] provides an opportunity to introduce and reinforce leadership qualities that will assist not only in the running of our component, but also those qualities that help enhance PMI as a whole.

"At the meeting, regional and global leaders come together to collaborate with colleagues and peers in creative and productive educational sessions. What we learn from this session and the time spent together assists us with not only the skill but the opportunities to take on additional roles within the PMI network.

"The meeting is a fantastic way to build relationships through networking opportunities. These occur through the simple action of working as teams within workshop sessions, sharing lunches and breakout sessions with peers from diverse communities and countries, or in the many sessions where colleagues and friends —and friends to be — gather and tell project and component stories of 'back home' in the many post-meeting events that are held.

"If you are serious about developing your leadership qualities then you must not miss the next Leadership Institute Meeting.”

PMI e-mailed to component presidents and chairs a code to receive one complimentary registration for their components to attend the meeting in Sydney. Additional registrations are available at a per diem cost. For more information, please visit the meeting website. If you have questions, please contact the Leadership Institute Administrator Gil Marder.

Friday Facts is a weekly report on PMI events and opportunities. Information contained herein may be reprinted in PMI component newsletters.

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