The Cyprus Civil Engineers and Architects Association (CCEAA) was established in 1940 by a group of pioneer Architects and Civil Engineers. However, due to the breakout of WWII it operated unofficially until 1956, when it was registered as a Limited Liability Non-Profitable Company based on its foundation declaration and memorandum.
The first statutory change was made in 1970 aiming to partially establish the two branches, of the Architects and Civil Engineers, as autonomous. A provision was introduced according to which both Branches would be equally represented in the Board of Directors by separately electing delegates from each Branch. Next, with the amendments of 1990, the institution of District Departments was introduced.
New amendments followed in December 1997. According to them, a provision was introduced for the operation of two autonomous Branches within the Association under the naming “Civil Engineers Association” and “Architects Association”, with separated administrative bodies and General Assemblies. Under the jurisdiction of the Branches fell both scientific and professional issues including international representations of the Branches. Furthermore, the Association’s Central Board of Directors was now formed by the Boards of Directors of the two Branches. Apart from the above basic provisions, others were also introduced in order to cover gaps in procedures and to improve existing provisions. Additionally, the institution of the Electoral Committee and the election Runners-Up were also introduced, while the responsibilities of the District Departments were also clarified.
CCEAA’s primary concern has always been the promotion of the Civil Engineers’ and Architects’ role in the production procedure of the construction industry and the society in general. In all its efforts this objective functioned as the association’s guiding principle. The contribution of the CCEAA in the establishment of the Technical Chamber of Cyprus (ETEK) was also important since members of our Association such as our late colleagues Nakos Protopapas, Stavros Oikonomou and Alexis Theodosiades, as well as Charis Thrasou, played a vital role in its foundation.
Within the line of its involvement with professional issues, the Association contributed in resolving chronic problems such as Remuneration Regulations, Compulsory Supervision, Branch Responsibilities, Government Projects Contract Award Regulations, as well as other special issues.
The contribution of the Association in government bodies has always been important. Delegates of the CCEAA participate in the Boards of Directors of various Organisations governed by public law, while its representatives work constructively in various Work Committees which deal with various issues.
The CCEAA, either by itself or in cooperation with other Architect and Civil Engineer Bodies, represents Cypriot Civil Engineers and Architects in overseas Organisations. Some of these organisations include the International Union of Architects (UIA), the Union of Mediterranean Architects (UMAR), the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), the European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE), the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (ENGINEERS EUROPE) and the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO).
The Association has, for two decades now, been aiming at uniting the Civil Engineers and Architects Associations all under one united body. The whole unification procedure of the Organisations was successfully completed, after a lot of efforts, in 2009 when a Basic Principles Transformation Protocol of the three Organisations was signed by the Presidents of the CCEAA, the Cyprus Civil Engineers Association and the Cyprus Architects Association, our colleagues Antonis Pelekanos, Stelios Achniotis and Constantinos Constanti respectively.
The protocol’s fundamental provision was that the CCEAA would be the link between the Cyprus Civil Engineers Association and the Cyprus Architects Association and therefore, after the necessary memorandum amendments have been made, the two bodies now constitute its two members.
On September 22nd 2012 the CCEAA held an Extraordinary General Assembly during which a discussion led to the approval of the New CCEAA Memorandum, thus completing the procedures of the Basic Transformation Principles Protocol for the three organisations, namely the CCEAA, the Cyprus Civil Engineers Association and the Cyprus Architects Association, which led to the fulfillment of the vision to unite Architects and Civil Engineers under one body, something which would extend the history as well as upgrade the profession of both Civil Engineers and Architects and at the same time ensure the cooperation of the two fundamental specialties of the construction industry. Both the Cyprus Civil Engineers Association and the Cyprus Architects Association maintain their full autonomy as separate Bodies with full independence to act and total competence on matters of interest.
According to Article 25 of the New CCEAA Memorandum, which was approved by the Registrar of Companies on January 8th 2013, the new Board of Directors consists of six (6) members as follows:
Three (3) Civil Engineer officials who are appointed by the Civil Engineers Board.
Three (3) Architect officials who are appointed by the Architects Board.
Furthermore and in accordance with the Transitional Provisions of the Memorandum (Articles 65 & 66) the Board Members are increased to eight (8) during the first two-year tenure by adding two (2) additional Members. These additional Members, a Civil Engineer and an Architect originate and are appointed by the respective Civil Engineers and Architects Boards of the CCEAA.
This new development creates new potential and challenges for the two branches that will allow them to have a more assertive and intervening role, since the association is now more powerful as a result of the prestige acquired by this new collective and unified effort. |
