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Proceedings of the 18
th
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris 2013
Appendix 2: Regional Reports
Report from the Vice-President for Africa
S. Ejezie
ISSMGE Vice-President for Africa
1
INTRODUCTION
The positive impact on African member societies of the last
international quadrennial conference of ISSMGE held in
Alexandria, Egypt, is still being felt. Some hitherto dormant
national member societies were apparently re-awakened and
they have been trying their best to remain active. To date, at
least eleven member societies exist in the Region though at
different levels of activity. They include South Africa, Tunisia,
Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, CTGA (Comité
Transnational des Géotechniciens d’Afrique), Sudan, Morocco,
Libya, Algeria, and Kenya. We are currently making serious
efforts to re-energise those of them that are considered to be less
active. The desired results are yet to be achieved owing to the
peculiar political, social and economic climate prevailing in
most parts of the Region.
Since the last Council Meeting, some of the member
societies have carried out various activities which in some cases
were international in scope. In fact, these countries have
remained consistently active till date and are responsible for the
vibrant Geotechnical Engineering activities occasionally
witnessed in the Region. These activities have been more
pronounced in the two longitudinal extreme zones of the
continent, namely North and South. The mid zone (sub-Sahara)
is expected to catch up sooner than later.
The events/activities in the various member societies since
the last Council Meeting are summarised subsequently.
1.1
South Africa
The South African Member Society organised a well-attended
International Seminar in Pretoria on 30 July 2010. The
President of ISSMGE, the Secretary General, the Immediate
Past President of ISSMGE, the Vice-President for Africa, the
Immediate Past Vice-President for Africa and the one before
him were all there to grace the occasion and actively participate.
This was preceded on 29 July by hosting of two meetings. The
first one was a meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee
(CAC) of the 15th African Regional Conference that took
place18-21 July, 2011, while the second was a meeting of the
African Regional Council.
1.1.1
Other activities of the Society include:
Leadership role in the Scientific Committee for the
15ARC comprising members from 11 African countries
tasked with adjudicating papers.
Repeat of the prestigious Rankine Lecture on 30
November 2010 (presented by Prof Chris Clayton of
Southampton University).
10th Jennings Memorial Lecture in early 2011 delivered
by Prof Roger Frank.
Participation of members in ISSMGE Technical
Committees and other initiatives.
Series of Evening Lectures on diverse topics presented by
eminent Geotechnical Engineers.
1.1.2
Publications:
•
A number of geotechnical related papers and articles
have been published in the April Edition of the
SAICE Civil Engineering magazine; an edition
dedicated to geotechnical engineering;
•
Launching of the new Site Investigation Code of
Practice (SiCop) document, a SAICE Geotechnical
Division Initiative during August 2010.
•
The reprint of the SAICE Code of Practice on Lateral
Support has been successfully done.
1.1.3
Awards: SAICE Geotechnical Division made the
following awards at their AGM on 25 November 2010:
•
SAICE Geotechnical Division Gold Medal, which
honours members of SAICE who have made a
significant contribution to geotechnical engineering in
South Africa. This was awarded to Alan Parrock of
ARQ Consulting Engineers;
•
The Jennings Award, which is awarded to the
author(s) of the best paper relevant to geotechnical
engineering by a member of the SAICE Geotechnical
Division. Papers are currently under review and a
winner will be announced shortly.
•
The Barry van Wyk Award, which is presented to the
student producing the best final year project report on
a geotechnical subject at a South African University.
This was awarded to Mr Charles MacRobert for his
final year project entitled Correlations between the
DPSH and SPT and their application in South Africa;
and
•
Nomination of Mr Michael Pavlakis (senior
geotechnical engineer and owner of Pavlakis and
Associates) for SAICE Fellowship.
1.2
Tunisia
The Tunisian National Member Society, ATMS (Association
Tunisienne de Mechanique des sols) was very active during the
period under review.
In March 2010 a new Committee was elected to pilot the
affairs of the Society. This Committee is composed as follows:
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