PIANC

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PIANC
purpose International exchange in the field of shipping and waterways
Seat Brussels
founding 1885

president Geoffroy Caude
Website www.pianc.org

PIANC is a global association whose core competence lies in the field of technical, economic and ecological issues relating to water-based transport and related issues. The non-profit, non-governmental organization, which has existed since 1885, comprises a global network of experts in the planning, expansion and construction, operation and maintenance of inland and sea waterways , inland and sea ​​ports , coastal protection and marine technology . The members of the association, which is headquartered in Brussels, include national governments, authorities, companies, scientists and interested parties. PIANC acts as an international forum for the exchange of experience and knowledge as well as a source of information for state-of-the-art knowledge regarding the development of a safe, economical and sustainable infrastructure for inland and maritime shipping, including sport and leisure shipping.

history

In 1885 the Association Internationale Permanente des Congres de Navigation (AIPCN) was founded. In 1921 it was renamed the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (PIANC). The association still operates under the acronym PIANC as the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure. The following historical milestones show the global growth in size and importance of the association over the course of more than 100 years of existence.

1885 First PIANC congress in Brussels with 400 participants from 13 countries
1912 First PIANC congress in the USA
1926 First PIANC congress in Africa with participants from 36 countries
1990 First PIANC congress in Asia with 1185 participants from 48 countries

organization structure

The PIANC Association is open to everyone worldwide, with a distinction being made between different types of membership:

  • Qualified Members: Governmental and non-governmental organizations that represent a country
  • Corporate members: u. a. Authorities, scientific and technical associations, ports, universities, companies, consultants, chambers of commerce, user associations
  • Individual members
  • Student / members from developing countries
  • Platinum partner

The association has members in 65 countries, including 38 qualified members, approximately 450 corporate members and over 2000 individual members. It is led by a president. The highest decision-making body is the Annual General Assembly (AGA), which is held every year in one of the qualified member countries and is composed of delegations from the qualified members. The Executive Committee, which meets three times a year, controls the work of the association between the annual meetings. The PIANC Council, which includes the members of the steering committee, the honorary presidents and vice-presidents as well as the chief delegates of the qualified PIANC members and which meets twice a year, is the decision-making body between the annual meetings. The Executive Committee and Council primarily control the various commissions and working groups.

Government delegates and / or corporate members and individual members from the same country can establish a national section to facilitate processes and promote PIANC activities in the respective country. Each national section has a chairman, usually the chief delegate. There are currently 26 such national sections, including in countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, as well as the USA and Australia. There is also a national PIANC section in Germany. The German delegation is led by a representative from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure .

Fields of activity

The commissions and working groups that have been set up serve to bundle the specialist knowledge of the experts so that technical and scientific expertise and professional recommendations for action can be made available for the public and private sectors on the association's specialist topics.

PIANC commissions

The commissions reflect the variety of topics and issues that the association deals with on a global level. You implement the strategic objectives and coordinate the work of the working groups. Interested and professionally qualified members from every country are sent to the commissions as well as to the working groups. Technical and scientific activities are carried out by four commissions that focus on inland waterways and ports, maritime infrastructure (seaports and sea waterways), sport and leisure shipping and environmental issues on waterways, in ports and shipping. There are also four other supporting commissions.

  • Inland Navigation Commission (InCom)
  • Maritime Navigation Commission (MarCom)
  • Environmental Commission (EnviCom)
  • Recreational Navigation Commission (RecCom)
  • Finance Commission (FinCom)
  • Young Professional Commission (YP-Com)
  • Promotional Commission (ProCom)

Working groups

The guidelines and recommendations for action that PIANC issues - also promptly in response to current, urgent problems - are drawn up jointly by experts from the member countries and sometimes also with the participation of representatives from associations with which PIANC has concluded cooperation agreements. The international technical-scientific working groups describe the state of the art in many specialist areas, develop regular updates of the reports, support the international exchange of experiences and enable the initiation of new initiatives.

activities

Against the background of its strategic objectives, the association enables its members to access current specialist knowledge through various publication formats and regularly organizes national and international events, above all the PIANC World Congress, but also numerous other conferences and seminars.

Publications

PIANC guarantees and promotes global networking and advice for its members through regularly published products, such as the technical reports of the working groups. Other formats are the congress and annual reports, the electronic newsletter “Sailing Ahead” and the PIANC website.

Congresses and events

The international PIANC shipping congress, which is held every four years in one of the member countries, is the most important platform for exchanging views and experiences in the field of shipping, waterways and other relevant issues for water-based transport infrastructure presents and discusses scientific work that deals with topics of current importance for port and waterway construction and the infrastructure in the sea and inland areas. At the same time, PIANC also organizes every four years with the “International PIANC-SMART Rivers Conference”, a specialist event that is primarily dedicated to the subjects of “River Information Services” and infrastructure maintenance.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. PIANC-Infomap (last accessed: November 16, 2017)
  2. PIANC image brochure (last accessed: November 16, 2017)