• PMI^® Global Congress 2008—EMEA Location Changed to Malta
• Volunteer Orientation Was an Excellent Start to 2008
• Recognize Your Component with a 2008 Component Award
• PMI Component Annual Charter Renewal Due 29 February
• Is Your Component's Contact Information Correct on the New PMI.org?

• Hoping to Become a More Dynamic PMI Component Leader? Join Us in Sydney

We are pleased to announce that PMI Global Congress 2008—EMEA will be held in Malta, an island in the Mediterranean Sea situated midway between Italy and the northern coast of Africa.

The location of the congress had to be changed from Marrakech, Morocco to Malta due to unforeseen circumstances, including some logistical challenges that could not be overcome.

The congress and associated events will be held at the Hilton Malta, in the heart of the Portomaso waterfront in St. Julians, Malta, about 14km from the Malta International Airport. The dates for the congress remain the same as originally scheduled: 19–21 May, 2008.  The Leadership Institute Meeting will occur on 16-18 May, also in Malta.

For more information, see Hilton Malta and the Official Tourism Site for Malta.

We look forward to hosting inspiring educational sessions and exciting networking events that congress attendees have come to expect from PMI. Thank you for your support.

The Component & Community Relations (C&CR) and Leadership Institute Program (LIP) departments held their annual volunteer orientation 16–19 January in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

PMI staff members from the Practitioner Markets group

PMI component mentors and members of the component services, Leadership Institute, community development, virtual communities and Component Mentor Program Member Advisory Groups participated.

CEO Gregory Balestrero and COO Mark Langley provided an overview of PMI’s 2008 activities. These cascaded into the C&CR and LIP department activity updates as delivered by managers Brantlee Jacobs, CAE and David Arnold, MBA. Work teams provided user feedback and insight into the following initiatives:

• Powering the profession through strategic alignment
• Performance management framework
• Business planning in community development

Each group was introduced to new team members, reviewed their 2007 accomplishments and set their 2008 deliverables and milestones.

“PMI is proud of this group of dedicated and committed individuals,” Ms. Jacobs said. “Through teamwork, trust and transparency, our staff and volunteer teams will build integration and linkages to propel and strengthen PMI’s strategic objectives.”

Meet members of these MAGs at the next Leadership Institute Meeting in Sydney, Australia and receive the latest updates while providing your valuable feedback on these initiatives.

PMI annually distinguishes its components for exceptional achievements. Your component could be one of them!

Use the 2008 component awards application package that was sent to all component presidents and chairs on 24 August to nominate your component for an award. The PMI component awards program recognizes innovative and successful component programs, products and services.

PMI and the awards program sponsors encourage you to apply for as many awards as your activities will support.

Please carefully review the PMI Component Awards program FAQ and program description documents in your packages for guidelines. Award information is available on the Component Leadership Online Community and can be accessed by each component's Board of Directors.

The deadline to submit component award applications is 30 April 2008. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Anne Jenemann.

It’s annual PMI component charter renewal time. PMI components chartered prior to Tuesday, 1 January 2007 are required to submit their charter renewals to PMI Global Operations Center by Friday, 29 February 2008.

The PMI Component & Community Relations Department is happy to introduce to you the new online charter renewal process that is now part of the Component System (CS).

Chartered PMI components provide PMI’s membership with services and networking opportunities and, as such, play a critical role in PMI's member benefits program. The component annual charter renewal provides PMI with validation to ensure the component’s operations align with its charter agreement.

Only officers with the proper permissions set in the CS can access the charter renewal, as follows:

1. Logon to PMI.org
2. Once logged on, click on Get Involved in the top navigation bar
3. From the menu bar on the left, click Components & Communities
4. Component System/DEP will be the last selection under Components & Communities
5. The 2008 Charter Renewal link is located on the first page of the Component System (CS) on the left hand side of the page

Follow the submission process:

Before starting the charter renewal process, it is important that you carefully read the frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the Component Leadership Online Community under Policies. The information contained in the FAQ is critical to the successful completion of the submission process.

If you have questions, please call Anne Jenemann at +1-610-356-4600, ext. 5035, or e-mail to charterrenewals@pmi.org.

Every PMI chapter, SIG and college has their primary contact information listed under the Get Involved section of the new PMI.org.

Please confirm that your component’s information is correct. If changes are needed, please e-mail the updated contact information to Philomena Aiuto.

Register for the Asia Pacific Leadership Institute Meeting in Sydney, Australia on 1–2 March 2008 at the Hilton Sydney Hotel. For more information, please visit the meeting website or contact Gil Marder.

Friday Facts is a weekly report on PMI events and opportunities. Information contained herein may be reprinted in PMI component newsletters.

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