March 17 - The Worldwide Project Consortium (WWPC) raised an impressive USD31,000 for the Hanseatic School for Life during the charity auction at its 14th annual conference in Phuket - the largest amount the network has raised at one of its conferences so
Network members from around the world gathered in Thailand from March 14 - 16 in what was described by Wolfgang Karau, operations director of the WWPC, as a "most successful conference".
The consortium heard from the Hanseatic School for Life's project manager, Sommart Krawkeo, and deputy project manager, Christian Buerckel, about the work that the charity, which is based in Phang-Nga, has done to improve the lives of children affected by the 2004 tsunami, as well as other Thai children in need.
Wolfgang Karau and his wife, Maarit Karau, visited the charity earlier in the week and saw first hand the kind of facilites that the money raised would be spent on.
Auction items were donated by Atlas Air, Ruslan International, BNSF Logistics, Hansa Heavy Lift, Rickmers-Linie, Heavy Lift PFI magazine and ITJ.
As well as the charity auction, the network also heard speeches from new WWPC members, including B&B International from France, Kaleido Ideas and Logistics from Spain and RRL Rail & Road Logistics from Uzbekistan.
Sponsors of the conference - Leo Global Logistics, Atlas Air, Rickmers-Linie, Hansa Heavy Lift, Ruslan International and BNSF Logistics - also presented to the group and spoke about a range of topics, including the "light at the end of the tunnel" for the struggling shipping sector and upcoming opportunites for project forwarders across the whole range of transport modes.
Moreover, all of the WWPC members got the chance to participate in one-to-one meetings with other members from different countries, discussing future business opportunities and imminent projects.
At the end of the weekend, members voted to hold the network's 15th annual conference in Spain next year.
