General Information

The Board of the Foundation is constituted of between eleven and thirty board members headed by a Chairman. The auditor and legal counsel report to the Board of Directors. Representation on the board is from all continents. Furthermore, the various energy sources worldwide are reflected in the experiences of the board members.

The Executive of the Foundation consists of the Secretary General, two Under Secretaries, a Treasurer, and an Administrative Coordinator. The Executive is responsible to the Chairman and the Board of Directors.

Standing committees include Goals and Objective; Publications and Public Relations; Constitution and Bylaws; Membership; External/Internal Meetings; External Administrative Centers and Finance. In addition to these standing committees, the Board is establishing Regional Headquarters headed by a President, which are the administrative offices of the Foundation. Chapters of the Foundation also assist in promoting the objectives of the Foundation and enhancing and strengthening the cooperation, coordination and communication within the region and among the regions. This bottom-up decentralized management approach is the strength of the Foundation.

The Foundation desires to have a large and broad-based membership. To this end membership is open to any body of government, corporation, educational institution, or research institute that has an interest in energy production, distribution, consumption, efficiency and environmental impact or any individual employed in any field of energy or any full-time graduate student having an expressed interest in energy. Registered delegates at the official series of global energy forums, Energex, and other Foundation sponsored events automatically are registered as members.

There is no initial or annual membership fee for any of the above member categories.

The Board of Directors may, at its discretion, appoint honorary or emeritus members or fellows when such individuals have made significant contribution to the Foundation or to energy consumption, distribution, production, efficiency or environmental impact.

Background

The International Energy Foundation (IEF) traces its historical beginning to 1979 when it was conceived to hold a conference to allow the international community the opportunity to present their views and needs with regards to energy production, consumption and conservation. This was the brainchild of Dr. Peter J. Catania who presently serves as Chairman, Board of Directors. The conference was called Energex and was held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1982. It was a technical conference and exposition wherein 50 countries participated. Impressed by the success, the delegates unanimously approved another international energy forum.

Two years later, the second Energex Conference, Energex '84, was held once again in Regina. That year delegates from 60 countries attended. They recommended that the Energex Secretariat arrange for future forums to be held in various centres around the world. And so in 1988, Energex '88 was held in Tripoli, Libya. On the recommendation of the delegates to that conference a formal body known as the International Energy Foundation (IEF) was established. The Energex Secretariat established an interim Board of Directors and the IEF was officially inaugurated on March 26, 1989.

The Board of Directors soon realized that as the Foundation grew and developed it was necessary to have Regional Headquarters to effectively coordinate, cooperate and communicate with a broad based membership from academia, industry, and government. This bottom-up or decentralized approach to management allows a direct regional input on the issues of energy as reflected in regional seminars, workshops, symposia or conferences.

To insure that an international perspective on issues related to the growth and development of the Foundation is guaranteed, the Foundation relies not only on Regional Headquarters but also on input from the International Advisory Committee (IAC) in excess of 165 countries. The Americas Headquarters in Las Vegas presently serves the International Headquarters. The long-term goal as per the 1993 Seoul Resolutions ratified by the Board and by the Beijing Resolutions in 1996 and again in Bahrain in 1998 is to establish the international headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The 1998 Bahrain resolution recommended the establishment of the Americas Headquarters in Las Vegas. A mailing address has since been established. The Las Vegas 2000 resolution recommended the establishment of a 300 acre Green Energy Park. Discussions are underway with the city of Boulder, Nevada with a project international design competition being finalized in December 2002.

The official conference of the Foundation, the series of ENERGEX international energy forums, have also been held in Puerto Rico (1990), Seoul, Korea (1993), Beijing, China (1996), Bahrain (1998), Las Vegas, USA (2000) and Krakow, Poland (2002).

The next forum is scheduled for Lisbon, Portugal in 2004. Future events are for the year 2006 in Stavanger, Norway, 2008 in Melbourne, Australia, 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand, 2012 in Graz, Austria and Singapore in 2014 (to be confirmed). In addition, the Foundation is developing a focused energy and environment conference in China (2003). Supporting the Regional WEC Conference in Singapore in 2003 and a renewable energy conference in Japan in 2005.

Objectives

• To act as a non-profit eleemosynary Foundation fostering world education and scientific research.
• Promote communication among people interested in energy consumption, production, exploration, conservation, global climatic change, standards and learning.
• Disseminate knowledge in energy consumption, production, conservation and global climatic change, through symposia, publications and other electronic and print media.
• Promote and coordinate research and education in energy consumption, production, conservation and global climatic change.
• To assist national and international associations and organizations in the promotion of energy conservation measures related to consumption, production and distribution.
• To advance the scientific aims and purposes of the various divisions, chapters, and affiliated institutes of the Foundation to the extent that such aims and purposes are consistent with these objectives.
• To provide scholarships for the education of students in fields of interest consistent with these objective.
• To promote forums for discussion, dissemination and generation of information to increase capacity, capability, efficiency and effectiveness of education, research, consultancy, industrial, and training institutes operating in the field of energy conversion, conservation, environment and management, and to help nations to attain energy self-reliance.
• To administer awards for the purpose of recognition and encouragement of outstanding achievement in areas of study consistent with these objectives.
• To do everything and anything reasonably or lawfully necessary, proper and advisable for the attainment or the furtherance of any or all the above objectives of the Foundation.