AIA International Celebration: A Reception Honoring Global Sections & Design Award Winners at AIA24, Washington DC.
June 5, 2024
A memorable evening of celebration: a reception recognising AIA International sections and design award winners. So many smiles, so much fellowship.
In my Opening Remarks, I focused on three key points:
1. Who we are and where we are now.
2. Vision for Synergistic Leadership, emphasizing the 3Vs of Value, Visibility, and Voice. We will continue to align with our shared values through engagement with National, enhance visibility across various social media platforms, and uphold the esteemed AIA branding. Moreover, we remain committed to advocating for our members in over 100 countries.
3. The President’s initiative to publish a commemorative book, serving as both a resource and recognition, guiding us as we embark on AIA International’s second decade while honoring the achievements of the first.
Setting the tone, we honored four past and present AIA International presidents for their dedicated service. We celebrated the establishment of two new sections this year, AIA Latin America and AIA Sub-Sahara Africa, along with a number of recipients of AIA International Design Awards, whom we had not yet had the chance to honor in person. Fittingly, the reception ended with the announcement of two submissions for hosting the AIA International Conference 2025 in Berlin, Germany, and Colombo, Sri Lanka. The conference venue will be announced at a later date.
A special thanks to AIA Secretary, Britt Lindberg, for gracing us with her presence and presenting certificates to our new Sections. A big shout-out to our event co-chairs, James Wright, FAIA, Past President of AIA International, and Genie Khmelnitski, Executive Director, for their instrumental roles in ensuring the event's success.
Lastly, we thank Paul Gao, CEO of NorthGlass, for joining us and being our generous event sponsor for the evening.
See you in Hong Kong in October 2024 for our AIA International Conference with the theme, Artificial Intelligence.
Yew Kee Cheong, FAIA, MSIA
2024-2025 AIA International President
2024 President, AIA Southeast Asia