The 14th Young Engineers of The ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organization Conference

The 14th Young Engineers of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organization Conference (YEAFEO) – prepared by Mr. Chin Yik Ming and Engr. Yau Chau Fong

Background to YEAFEO

YEAFEO was formed on November 9, 1993 in Singapore, pursuant to Article 6 (c) of the joint communiqué of the Governing Board of AFEO.

The Vision:
To be a dynamic and progressive organisation that leads to the development of young engineers in the ASEAN region.

The Mission:
• To promote understanding, goodwill and co-operation among young engineers;
• To promote and exchange ideas, concerns and experiences; and
• To support the purposes and objectives of the AFEO

YEAFEO 14

Date: 24^th November -1^st December 2007
Place: Cebu Waterfront City Resort, Cebu City, Philippines.
Participating Countries:

Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
Australia (Guest)
Hong Kong (Guest)
Japan (Guest)

Mabuhay (Helo in Tagalog) Philippines! After the successful organization of the 13^th YEAFEO which we hosted, the 14^th YEAFEO was unfold.

Led by our head of delegation, Engr. Yau Chau Fong, who is also the Chairperson of Graduate & Student Section – The Young Engineers Section of The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM G&S-YES), the Malaysia’s delegation consisting of 15 young engineers and students embarked on a one week trip to attend Young Engineers of ASEAN Federation of Engineering (YEAFEO) in Cebu, Philippines. It was the biggest ever YEAFEO delegation. The delegation was made even sweeter with the participation of 2 delegates from the IEM G&S-YES Penang Branch.

24^th November 2007 (Saturday)

The delegation departed to Philippines via Cebu Pacific Airlines at the wee hours in the morning. The plane took off safely at 1am in the morning. Everyone was filled with excitement. The journey began.

Check in Counter at LCCT before departing

25^th November 2007 (Sunday)

After nearly 4 hours of flight, our plane finally touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila at around 5am in the morning. Although it was still early in the morning, we could already feel the hospitality of our Filipino counterparts as Robin Rabin, Rina Guzman, Noelle Santa Cruz and JP from Young Engineers Philippines (YEP) welcomed us at the airport!! It’s so nice of them!

After putting our luggage and having our breakfast in one of a local restaurant, we started our exploration tour in Makati City, the most modern city in Metro Manila. Unlike the old city of Manila, the Makati city is really a well planned city where many reputable offices and hotels set their bases here.

The well-planned Makati City

At night we were treated by Young Engineers Philippines for dinner.

Nice Restaurant recommended by our Filipino friends, famous for grilled food

One day stopover in Manila was really not enough for us to fully experience the culture of this capital city of Philippines, but we are satisfied for what we had seen and experienced here so far.

26^th November 2007 (Monday)

We depart straight from our hotel to the airport for our domestic flight to Cebu. The flight time from Manila to Cebu takes approximately an hour. At around 3pm in the afternoon, we finally arrived at our desired destination – Mactan-Cebu International Airport. As soon as we stepped out from the immigration checkpoint, we were surprised and greeted by the warmth and hospitality shown by the Organizing Committees who welcomed us.

In the heart of the Philippine archipelago lies Cebu, a prosperous island endowed with natural beauty and rich heritage. Known as the “Queen City of the South”, although it has no bustling city like it is in Manila, its tranquil and peaceful atmosphere makes it a great holiday destination. While on the way to our hotel, we saw a village style living standard of people here, very slow pace and laid back. In addition to its historical prominence where it was the first arrival point of Ferdinand Magellan in Philippines, Cebu also offers stretches of white sand beaches and pristine waters, but too bad we didn’t have a chance to visit any beaches in Cebu due to the heavy conference schedule.


At night, we had our dinner at a local Filipino restaurant serving the Filipino local food. Young engineers from Japan, Indonesia and Myanmar were invited to join us as well. Through a series of conversations, we knew the delegates from different countries better and built and strong sense of friendship.

27^th November 2007 (Tuesday)

Today marked the beginning of the YEAFEO conference officially. The day kicked off with the YEAFEO Board Meeting, chaired by the host country, Philippines by Engr. Robin Rabin.

The outcome of the YEAFEO 14 Council Board Meeting was as follows:

YEAFEO Website
Malaysia agreed to update regularly and maintain the website with provided some fund from the YEAFEO board.

ASEAN Young Engineers Register (AER-YE)

Malaysia briefed members on the proposal Young Engineers in the ASEAN Engineers Register (AER-YE). The proposal has been approved by AFEO Board Members. The approved proposal includes the objectives, Membership Requirement and organization as the paper attached in Appendix A.

Malaysia explained that AER-YE registration would be part of the AER registrars and all Young Engineers (depending on the each country’s criteria) are eligible to apply without any subscription fees.

Members agreed that some issues on privileges, certification, title to be given and processing fees are to be tabled in the AFEO Board Meeting for their concern.

Members agreed unanimously on the free registration for the AER-YE.

Proposal on setting up of ESAFEO

Malaysia briefly elaborates on the proposal and importance of forming Engineering Students of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations (ESAFEO).

In the afternoon, the session continues with the official country presentation by all countries including the non-ASEAN countries. Our country presentation was presented by Engr. Yau Chau Fong and once again the Malaysian took the stage by producing another splendid multimedia in introducing the IEM G&S-YES’s activities

Malaysian Delegates

All Delegates from Different Countries

The day ended with dinner which was hosted by the Governor Gwendolyn Garcia. Cebu’s first woman governor who was elected in 2004 at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Building. The guest of honour was the former President Fidel V Ramos who was later conferred AFEO Distinguished Fellow.

Former President of Philippines - Fidel V Ramos
Fantastic Performance by Filipino

28^th November 2007 (Wednesday)

Although the activities started yesterday, but the opening ceremony was held today. The opening ceremony was followed by the country report presentation and this was then followed by the poster presentations. The theme of this year’s conference is “Engineering, Energy and the Environment: Ensuring Survival For Future Generations.” The objective of the theme is to urge all engineers to use its engineering skills to tackle the burgeoning issues of the environment in ASEAN region or even in the world.

Delegation Head of Each Country

In the afternoon, the YEAFEO delegates were taken off via taxis by the YEP for some shopping at SM Mall, Cebu. We were brought to taste and purchase some local souvenirs to be brought back to Malaysia.

Happy Shopping!!!

At night, the Philippines Young Engineers (YEP) organized a fellowship for all the young delegates at a restaurant. All the young delegates attended this event till we needed to combine all the tables together to form one long table.. It looked like a global village where everybody shared their views from different the various countries. What was truly unforgettable and memorable during the dinner was the song we sang together during the dinner. Each delegates is suppose to render out their country’s folk song and others supported by clapping when they sing. Friendship bonding were fostered and strengthened.

Singing own country's song happily

Famous pose in Philippines...haha

29^th November 2007 (Thursday)

Today’s program was not that formal which we were brought to a technical tour at our own choice ranging from visit to shipbuilding facility, San Miguel Brewery tour or South Countryside discovery. All the young delegates joined the same program, which was the visit to shipbuilding facility.

The journey to the shipbuilding facility took about 2 hours. Most of the distance was up and down on a mountain, that’s where we could see the pretty scenic view of countryside. Seen from a distance, the Tsuneishi shipyard is an impressive sight. Even more impressive is that the shipyard – a joint venture between Tsuneishi of Japan and Aboitiz of Cebu — is located in Balamban, Cebu, a tiny coastal agricultural town on the western undeveloped side of the island. The yard is actually an assembly line of ships, capable of building 14 Handymax vessels a year. Each vessel is almost 200 meters long and 32 meters wide and weighs 56,000 tons without its cargo – larger than a modern aircraft carrier. We were brought to every stage of the shipbuilding process and there was one engineer explained to us in details what was going on there.

Time really flew. The night was then the closing dinner and time to bade farewell to the conference. Most of the young delegates dressed in their national costume to this culture dinner, reflecting the diverse culture we had in ASEAN region. The dinner was lightened up with the usual ending country performance. It was great to watch all the ten countries cultural performance in one avenue and the Malaysia delegation sang “Malaysia Truly Asia” song to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of independence.

Malaysia's team performance

Miss you guys!!

30^th November 2007 (Friday)

The conference is over. However, the trip is far from over. We had half day to tour around Cebu since our flight to Manila was in the afternoon. So early in the morning we had a chance to tour around Cebu city with YEP members to see the prominence history site of Cebu. Besides, we also grabbed the last chance to buy some souvenirs from Cebu before going back to Manila.

After all the rushing for souvenirs and we finally able to catch our flight back to Manila for a one day stopover. The sky was already dark when we arrived in Manila, so we were able to stroll around Pasey city which was in walking distance from our hotel.

The great place to buy souvenirs

The final farewell meal in Cebu

Farewell at Cebu Airport

1^st December 2007 (Saturday)

It was our last day for this trip.. So today we tried to ride on the modern MRT system of Manila, experience the special jeepney in Manila and visit to Fort Santiago and Jose Rizal Park, a national hero of Philippines.

Jeepney

National Hero (Rizal) Museum

In the evening, it’s time for us to leave this bustling city. Even right before we went in the immigration checkpoint, we had our last dinner with our Filipino friends from YEP in the airport to say good bye to them. Although hospitality and friendliness of them made us really reluctant to leave, but looking at our watch it was already half an hour before the boarding time, at last a hug and a kiss said it all.

Till we meet again in Bangkok for YEAFEO 15, November 2008.

The trip has definitely broaden the perception of engineering education and the role of engineers can play in this globalized world. The trip also exposes the delegates to experiences beyond the confines of the classrooms or work and makes us more understand the phenomenon of ASEAN engineering and challenges that ASEAN would face tomorrow in the pursuit of excellence in this engineering world.

So we urge Young Engineers to join us in the coming YEAFEO in the near future…a journey and experience that will never leave your memories forever.