President's Message
Istvan Berczi
President AAPG European Region
Dear Readers,
By now most of us in the Northern Hemisphere have concluded our vacation period and are back to our office, field operation, or class rooms.
Effective 1st July, the captain and part of the crew on the AAPG European Region ship has taken place. Thanks to the outgoing president John Brooks, I had the pleasure to assume the responsibility of the presidency in smooth conditions, having a safely floating ship of the region Looking forward, we have plenty to do to continue implementation of our strategic goals. Our goals for the next 12 months are focused primarily on enhancing the reputation and visibility of the Petroleum Geology profession and specifically, Petroleum Geologists in Europe.
In the last decades Europe has relied heavily on the importation of energy and (mineral) resources from outside the old continent. If we want to change this situation, new ideas, dedicated professionals and committed organizations are essential. We do have such professionals within and outside of the AAPG European Region. Which means that we have to invite these people to share their ideas with the professional public and to transmit them to the business world through professional organizations.. The European Region of the AAPG (and the whole AAPG) wants to be such an organization, playing the role of the transmission gear between professionals and the business world. This transmission role is the key element to enhance the reputation of our profession and to increase the visibility of petroleum geology as a key discipline for improving the future energy balance of Europe.
To implement our strategic plan with no compromise, we are going to:
- Organize events on a different level (conventions, conferences, specialists meetings, workshops, field conferences) to bring up new ideas (see Challenge Our Myths, Athens Energy conference and exhibition 18 – 21 November 2007)
- Participate with our membership and knowledge in similar events of sister organizations (SPE, EAGE, SEG, GSL) and vertically integrated professionals entities of the global petroleum industry (WPC,WEC)
- Highlight on investing human resources of the future i.e. the university training by recruiting students to be members of the student chapters of the APPG from the early period of their university carrier
- Highlight on extending the presence of the AAPG on the white spots of Europe.
To accomplish these ambitious tasks we need volunteers who are ready to work for their profession out of the business hours with moral reward only. We must admit that the most difficult task in our present world is to find people with this mentality. But being loyal is the most important characteristic of a good geologist; we do not give up until we reach our goals, we keep on believing in our missions, and never surrender because of the unfavourable circumstances.
I invite you to join in this important work.
Istvan Berczi
President AAPG European Region