22nd CAFEO & 11th YEAFEO in Yangon, Myanmar, REPORT

CAFEO, Conference of ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organization, is the engineer's conference which purposes are to deepen the friendship among ASEAN countries and to exchange their ideas and  experiences in engineering. YEAFEO, Young Engineers of ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organization, is a subcommittee of CAFEO formed only by young engineers.

CAFEO is held every year, and the place is rotated among ASEAN countries. It was held from December 18th through 19th last year in Myanmar.

Three delegates; Takashi Kiyota, Hideki Yamada & Minoru Saito, international exchange working group member of YMIPEJ, participated in the 22nd CAFEO and the 11th YEAFEO in Myanmar. The main purpose to join CAFEO & YEAFEO was to establish a close relationship between young Japanese engineers and ASEAN’s engineering associations.

First day (18th, Dec, 2004)

The 22nd CAFEO was opened at Sedona Hotel. It is one of the most exclusive hotels in Myanmar. Prime Minister, Soe Win, gave the opening speech. The ceremony was more superb than we expected. (Photo. 1)

After coffee break, each subcommittee started. Of course, Japanese delegates joined in the 11th YEAFEO meeting. The room of YEFEO seemed to be small, and country flags and microphones were set on each table. The participants of YEAFEO were mainly from ASEAN countries; Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Philippine, Indonesia, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and the host country, Myanmar, and the rest of ASEAN were Hong Kong and Japan that participated as observers. The subject in the morning was County reports from each country. All of participants gave their presentation on their activities and situations as young engineers. We introduced the activities of IPEJ and YMPEJ with power point. Even though the time of presentation was very short, we think, we were able to make some good impression and distribute leaflet of IPEJ to all country. (Photo. 2, 3)

The subject in the afternoon was what they could do to make international exchange better among ASEAN countries. The main subject was the maintenance of web site of YEAFEO. Japanese and Hong Kong delegates watched and didn’t disturb them while they were discussing because we were just invited as observers. However, Hong Kong delegates gave them some advice at the meeting.

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Many gifts were exchanged at the closing ceremony of YEAFEO. We gave Japanese traditional cloth wrapper (Furoshiki) to all participants. Japanese art was printed on them. The committee of YEAFEO presented a memorial shield to all country. (Photo. 4, 5)

Second day (19th, Dec, 2004)

All YEAFEO members went to sightseeing in Yangon. We visited Shwedagon Pagoda at the first. Shewedagon Pagoda is one of the oldest Pagodas in Myanmar, and there is a very long history of about 2,500 years.

 Religious Myanmarese visit Pagoda almost everyday and we saw a lot of people praying there. The birthday week has special meaning for Myanmarese. There are seven main shrines at this site. (Photo. 6, 7)

After that, YEAFEO stuff took us to Myanmar nation village. According to the stuff, there are many tribes in Myanmar, and we saw their traditional life styles in this village. (Photo. 8)

Finally, we visited the largest market in Yangon, Bogyoke Aung San Market. YEAFEO stuff guided us and negotiated at the shops for foreign delegates because the general public in Myanmar does not speak English. (Photo. 9, 10)

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In the evening, the closing ceremony of CAFEO started. Japanese delegates attended the closing party, dressed in Yukata (Yamada & Saito) and Myanmar traditional wear (Kiyota). We sang Karaoke at the “Country stage”, and many other counties also sang Karaoke. It was great! Feeling over the festival ran high. It gave us unforgettable memory. (Photo. 11, 12, 13, 14)

Conclusion

YMIPEJ sent delegation to 22nd CAFEO & 11th YEAFEO in Myanmar. Despite the time shortage, we made a good relationship with delegates from every ASEAN country. We will try to keep in touch with them to establish closer relationship as young engineers.

All YEAFEO stuffs helped us during all stay in Yangon. Financial support from the YMIPEJ is greatly acknowledged.

 Takashi Kiyota International exchange group of YMPEJ

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