Conferences, technical societies and development — A history of synergy

This paper is about IEEE Region 8 Conferences, their raison d'être and their impact on the development of Electro-technology in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which constitute the geographical area of the Region. The claim is that technology conferences, held by ‘learned societies’ in different parts of Region 8, were necessary for the technological development of the Region, in order to highlight and discuss the problems with which technology world is coping. In order to set up these conferences, technology experts needed technical societies, such as IEEE, to enable — among other activities — this facility. On the other hand, the holding of these Conferences contributed to the technological development of the Region and to the contact between scientists and engineers, for the benefit of Humanity. Thereby, IEEE Region 8 and the series of EUROCON, MELECON, AFRICON etc. conferences had a synergetic effect on the technological development of EMEA during the last 50 years (1960–2010). In a business application, synergy means that teamwork will produce an overall better result than if each person within the group were working toward the same goal individually and it is claimed that by creating the awareness about the latest inventions, issues and concerns of technology among technologists, IEEE Conferences, organized by Region 8 Operating units, have largely contributed to the technological development of EMEA in the fields related to IEEE activities.