What Is?
IEEE Sections Congress
The Sections Congress provides a means for Sections
representatives to netowrk among themselves and with IEEE
leaders. It also serves as a forum for member ideas and
recommendations about and for IEEE activities. The following
description is taken from this year's brochure.
"Each Sections Congress, held every three years since 1984, has
provided the IEEE Section leadership from each of IEEE's ten
Regions a priceless opportunity to impact the future of the IEEE.
Sections Congress is the ideal place to network and share
knowledge, providing a means to increase leadership skills and a
working knowledge of the IEEE. It is also a venue for expressing
opinions and concerns through Recommended Actions, which
will be used by the IEEE Boards to guide the Institute into the
21st century.
"The goals of the l996 Congress reflect the theme of Ideas for
the Future, and are three-fold: to provide a means for the
attendees to become familiar with the resources available and the
means to access them, maximizing their abilities as IEEE
volunteer leaders; to create an environment conducive to the
sharing of ideas, concerns, and solutions, both during the
Congress and after; finally, and perhaps most importantly, to
serve as a forum for Section representatives and other local
leaders, enabling them to voice - on the behalf of the collective
membership - the ideas, issues, and recommendations which will
impact on the development and growth of the IEEE, reinforcing
its vitality and relevance to those it serves.
"In addition to the individual growth and networking fostered by
the Sections Congress, there are more far-reaching results. The
caucuses will generate specific, practical Recommended Actions.
On Monday morning, during the Closing Ceremony, the
delegates will have the opportunity to assign a priority level to
each of the Recommended Actions through the balloting process.
The results will be announced as part of the ceremony, and will
be delivered to the IEEE leadership for implementation in
strategic planning for the future of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc."
Dan Jackson reports that past Congresses have been attended by
representatives from about three-quarters of the Sections -
world-wide, and that the recommendations are taken very
seriously by the IEEE leadership.
David Livingston represented the Virginia Mountain Section at
the congress in Denver on November 1-4 and will have a report
in the next (January) issue of the Newsletter.