WYG celebrates 50 years of consulting

WYG, of which DeLeeuw International has been a subsidiary since April 2007, celebrates 50 years of consulting.  



The company started when Ernest Green set up an engineering consultancy 50 years ago. White Young then formed in 1964 as a partnership between Ron Young and Terence White. White Young and Partners followed which became White Young Green and then rebranded to WYG in 2008.
 
Today, WYG’s head office is still based in its native Leeds and employs over 2,500, operates in over 40 countries.
 


Paul Hamer, Chief Executive, WYG Group, said: “Today marks a huge milestone for our people, our company and the city of Leeds. We have consistently delivered professional consultancy services on thousands of high profile projects, not only here in Yorkshire and the UK but throughout the world. We are extremely proud of our heritage and I am personally proud to be Chief Executive of WYG on this significant occasion.
 


Some historical projects that WYG has worked on during the 1960s 70s and 80s include Bradford & Bingley Headquarters in Bradford, the Pilkington Glass factory in Doncaster, Farnborough low speed wind tunnel for the RAF, Barclays Bank’s first UK computer centre, Crown House in Huddersfield, Byker Housing Development project in Newcastle, Dover’s ferry terminal, Stevenage Arts and Sports Centre, Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre, Cardiff City football stadium, and internationally, Cyprus Lanarca refinery, Libya’s Abu Kammash Chemical Complex, Cairo Plaza Project, Abu Dhabi Sports Stadium, Doha Hotel and Conference Centre in Qatar and Riyadh Stadium in Saudi Arabia.
 


More recently, WYG continues to build on its experience, and within the last month, the company has won significant contracts with high profile clients.
 
For more information about the history of WYG, historical photographs and staff comments, please visit our dedicated ‘50 years of consulting’ website at www.wyg.com/50years.

  IGEP Closing Conference

The Closing Conference of IGEP, financed by the European Union and implemented by İstanbul, İzmir, Ankara and Bursa Metropolitan Municipalities with the technical assistance from the consortium led by DeLeeuw International, was held on May, 10-11 2010 at İstanbul. Füsun Çiçekoğlu,Sector Manager from the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey; Muhsin Altun, Head of Central Finance and Contracts Unit; Hüseyin Çelik, Deputy Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the representatives of beneficiary provinces and senior government officials have attended the Conference. At the Conference, the outcomes of IGEP were shared with stakeholders and the sustainability of the project was discussed.

  “Lessons Learned” topic discussed at the International Project Management Congress

“International Project Management Congress - Dynamics” held annually by the Istanbul Project Management Foundation aims to bring participants together from different sectors. The event was held on the April 2 and 3, 2010 at the Istanbul Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel. This year, the main topic of the international congress was “Lessons Learned”.

Dynamics, the longest running and unique project management congress in Turkey, addresses a wide range of audiences. The congress is aiming to bring professionalism and quality to the practice of project management in Turkey, by bringing professionals, academics and practitioners together to exchange views and experiences in the application of widely accepted global standards within the frame of ethics, as adopted by international organizations.

Levent Erkan, General Manager of DeLeeuw International, delivered a presentation in the Congress as a key speaker. Levent Erkan has shared the “lessons learned” from the “Promotion of the Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey” Project as a best practice of an EU funded project. The project has been implemented by Secretariat General for EU Affairs with the technical assistance from the Consortium led by DeLeeuw International and it has been completed successfully exceeding its proposed objectives.

The presentation about the Civil Society Project highlighted some important such as: 19.3 M Euro budget for 119 grant projects, 153 Civil Society Organizations from 23 EU member or candidate countries actively participated in the project as beneficiaries or partners, at the other side; 160 Civil Society Organizations with different capacities from 35 cities (Kırklareli, Hakkari, Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Adana, Bursa, Antalya, Kayseri, Konya, Erzurum, Elazığ, Adıyaman, etc) located in the different geographical regions of Turkey have attended the project as grant beneficiaries or partners.

Other important figures and key facts pointed in the presentation wee as follows:

- 76.000 people actively involved in the project events such as conference, meeting, seminar, workshops, and other forms of interpersonal events,
- More than 140,000 publications have been produced and distributed,
- In general, it has been estimated that the 119 projects ‘reached’ over 2 million citizens in Turkey and the EU,
- For 57% of all the organisations involved in the projects it was the first time that they had experienced working collaboratively between partners in the EU and Turkey,
- 68% of the EU Project partners have stated they have worked with a Turkish CSO for the first time.
- A total of 5.300 questions were answered and archived through “The Monitoring Information System” (MIS) which was operating within the Project website, (an average of 400 questions per month),
- A total of 1.389 small change requests were managed through MIS (an average of 10 small changes per Project)
- All process functioned automatically in the MIS and 4 different entities could approve the processes online which resulted a very productive project management system.

Levent Erkan has underlined that:

“Unless the MIS was designed this way and functioned efficiently, it would be very difficult to sustain an effective communication between 160 CSOs in 35 different cities located in the different areas of Turkey, a lot of partners in 23 EU member and candidate countries, Technical Assistance Team, EUGS the Beneficiary, Central Finance and Contracts Unit and project stakeholder European Union Turkish Delegation therefore it would be difficult to reach successful project outputs. MIS resulted in great achievement which has been developed with the feedbacks and help of past experiences and previous projects. A similar monitoring system has been initialized for the “Western Balkans Projects” in Brussels for a similar project covering 6 countries.”

  Project Management Methodology Comparison’ Seminar held in Istanbul and Ankara

The ‘Project Management Methodology Comparison’ seminar, organized by the Istanbul Project Management Association, was held on the 1st of March 2010 in Istanbul Turkcell Akademi and on the 3rd of March 2010 in Ankara at DeLeeuw International HQ. Kyle Milne, Project Management Consultant from New York, delivered a presentation at the seminar as the key speaker. The event was sponsored by Turkcell Akademi, Turk Telekom and DeLeeuw International.

The event participants profile was mainly the ones working in the field of project management in the private and public sector in Istanbul and Ankara. Presentation of Kyle Milne attracted high interest in which different Project Management methods were discussed and different experiences were shared. The participants have declared their satisfaction and wished such events on Project Management were held more frequently, which is a fast growing sector in Turkey.

  IGEP Study Visit has been carried out to the United Kingdom

The 3rd IGEP Study Visit has been carried out to the United Kingdom between the 18th and 22nd January 2010. The Study Visit focused on the strategic planning and performance monitoring processes in the UK and also on the administration of structural funds in Glasgow. The group consisted of 14 senior administrators and planners from the 4 municipalities, including Ömer Vural, Deputy General Secretary of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and Serpil Baran, Deputy General Secretary of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. İGEP was represented by Levent Erkan, Project Director and Managing Director for DeLeeuw International.

The Study Visit was an overall success and the participants found it to be beneficial. Mustafa Kemal İşler, Strategic Planning Director for the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality stated; “content wise, the program was very good. We had the opportunity to evaluate our own weaknesses while observing similar processes. I believe we will have the opportunity to use what we have learned.”

  The 4th IGEP Steering Committee Meeting was held in Bursa

The 4th Steering Committee Meeting in the scope of the Internal Migration Integration Project (IGEP) financed by the EU and implemented simultaneously in the Metropolitan Municipalities of Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Bursa, was held in Bursa.

Officials of the four beneficiary municipalities, as well as representatives of the Central Finance and Contracts Unit and the European Commission Delegation to Turkey participated in the meeting which was hosted by the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. The meeting, held on February 4th , also hosted Turkish and foreign experts and bureaucrats, and focused on the progress made in the project and activities carried out since the last Steering Committee Meeting that was held in Ankara.

  Jean Monnet Scholarship Programme Award Ceremony

An ‘Award Ceremony’ was held on 20 November 2009 for the Scholars of the 2008-2009 academic year. At the ceremony held at CER Modern in Ankara, hosted by Mr Egemen Bağış, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, the scholars received their Award Certificates from Egemen Bağış and Ambassador Marc Pierini, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey. Marc Pierini congratulated all the scholars and wished success in their future professional career.

For Details, please  click here

  EKOSEP Conference

“Solutions for the Impact of Internal Migration Over Cities” Conference was held on 11 November 2009 to discuss the impacts of internal migration and to raise awareness on the issue. The representatives of beneficiary provinces and public institutions issues attended the conference. Following the Conference, EKOSEP Closure Event was held on 12th of November. Representatives from beneficiary provinces and Technical Assistance Team participated in the Closure Event during which beneficiaries elaborated on their gainings from the project.

For Details, please   click here

  Closing Events of the Civil Society Dialogue Project

An international conference was organized on November 4-5, 2009 to both celebrate and share the success of the Promotion of Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey Project. On the first day ‘Good Practices & Lessons Learnt’ Workshops and on the 5th of November, ‘Achievements Sharing Conference,’ hosted by Egemen Bağış, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, were held. Grant Beneficiaries, their partners from EU countries, senior government officials, representatives of civil society organizations and media have attended the Conference.

For Details, please   click here

  Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon

Since 1983, the “Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon” has taken place every year, and the 2009 event was held on the 18th of October. DeLeeuw International participated in this huge event, along with thousands of others from all over Turkey and the world. The 22 Runners from DeLeeuw had prepared for the event many weeks in advance, with systematic workouts and practice runs, culminating with all completing the 15 km run. This was a fabulous occassion and all enjoyed the experience of running with so many others through the historic streets of Istanbul.

  International Migration and Urban Poverty Symposium

In the scope of İGEP Project, aimed to support the solution of socio-economic integration problems in in-migrant destinations, “International Migration and Urban Poverty Symposium” was organized. At the Symposium, which is held on 16th October 2009 at Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Conference Hall, academicians, migration experts and government representatives came together to adress the important migration challenges in Turkey.

For Details, please   click here

  2009 WYG Staff Awards

WYG Group, has rewarded its talented employees for their dedication during an extremely challenging year for the company. The top 10 winners were presented with their awards by the company’s chief executive, Paul Hamer, on the 13 October 2009. Managing Director of DeLeeuw International Levent Erkan has landed the prize in the field of “Excellence in Leadership.” One of the reasons for the award was implementing multi-disciplinary projects with improved Project Management Techniques and innovative IT solutions.

For Details, please  click here

  EKOSEP Study Visit was held in Barcelona

Study Visit of “Technical Assistance for Supporting the Municipalities of Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa and Erzurum for the Solution of Economic and Social Integration Problems, Turkey (EKOSEP)” Project was held in Spain to observe the international experience on social inclusion.
Representatives from Governorates and Municipalities of the Project Provinces participated to the visit which was organised with cooperation of Catalonia Regional Goverment and Barcelona Municipality. 

  RRC Project Study Visit was held in UK

As part of technical assistance services being provided for the “Technical Assistance for the Reception Centres for Asylum Seekers and Refugees and Removal Centres for the Illegal Migrants Project,” Technical Assistance Team carried out a study visit to the two Removal Centres in UK between 1st July – 4th July 2009. Representatives from the Beneficiary Institution and Members of Technical Assistance Team participated to the visit which they have found chance to enlarge their knowledges in design and operation prerequisites by acquiring/observing the solutions adopted and the lessons learnt with regard to the design, materials, security and operation of these centres. 

  Jean Monnet Certification Award Ceremony

Jean Monnet Scholars of the 2007-2008 academic year who returned to Turkey after completing their programmes successfully, received their Award Certificates from Mr Egemen Bağış, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator and Ambassador Marc Pierini, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey at a ceremony on 29 June 2009 at the Anatolian Civilisations Museum in Ankara.

For Details, please click here

  Opening of the EU Info Point

The EU Info Point Project, funded by European Union with a budget of 1.3M Euros, started to be implemented by “WYG International”. Within the scope of the project, an EU Info Point, which will serve as an open access centre for EU and its political and legal structure, main politics and activities, was set-up.“The EU Info Point” located at Nicosia, opened its doors to the public with a reception and cocktail party on the 23rd of June, 2009 in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat. Beside M. Ali Talat, EU Commissioners and a large number of invitees attended to the opening.
 

  Opening of the IGEP Head Office

The head office of “Internal Migration Integration Project” (İGEP) has been launched on May 22, 2009 in Ankara. A great many of distinguished guests have participated in the office opening launch event. Luc Zwaenepoel, the Team Leader of IGEP; Ozan Ceyhun, currently SPD member and former member of European Parliament; and Levent Erkan, General Manager of DeLeeuw International cut the ribbon at the opening of IGEP Head Office.

For Details, please click here

  Project Aligns Turkish Management of Migration and Asylum with EU Standards

Technical Assistance for the Reception Centres for Asylum Seekers and Refugees and Removal Centres for the Illegal Migrants Project officially commenced on November 2008. The project which is aiming the promotion of better implementation of asylum policies of Turkey is supported by the European Commission and implemented by Turkish Ministry of Interior / National Police with the technical assistance from the consortium led by WYG.

For Details, please click here

  Professional Career Platform  

Companies and business persons from different sectors attended "Professional Career Platform" that was held on May 11-13 at the Çankaya University. Managing Director of DeLeeuw International Levent Erkan participated in this event as a speaker and gave important informations about business world and EU Projects. Moreover he came together with university students and gave advices for their career plans.

For Details, please click here

  “Internal Migration Integration Project” (İGEP)  

“Internal Migration Integration Project” (İGEP), that has started in 1st December 2008, has been designed in a way that would provide solutions to today’s internal-migration problems both at local and national level. The project is implemented in the largest cities of Turkey; İstanbul, İzmir, Ankara and Bursa, and its main objective is to solve the economic and social integration problems that arise from internal-migration.

For Details, please click here

  Events supported by "Interpretation/Translation Facility"  

Civil Society Organisations all around Turkey and in EU Member States are benefiting from Interpretation/Translation Facility of "Promotion of the Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey Project". Some events such as “Istanbul Water Tribunal” (Heinrich Böll Stiftung), “7th International Filmmor Women's film Festival” and “Analysis on Foundations Law” (TESEV) were held on March, 2009 in İstanbul with the support of the the Interpretation/Translation Facility.

For Details, please click here

  EKOSEP Conference on Social Policies Held in Ankara  

The Conference on Social Policies with an aim to ensure the sustainability of the pilot projects which are being implemented under EKOSEP is held on 3 February, 2009 at TEPAV conference hall, Ankara. At the conference there were 150 participants consisting of academics, public authorities and representatives of NGOs.

For Details, please click here

  DeLeeuw PCM Training Document in Braille 

“Project Proposal Preparation in International Norms and Forms Training and Workshop” of DeLeeuw International implemented for the Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Administration For Disabled People, was held between November 3 - 7, 2008. The training documents were prepared in Braille Alphabet for a visually impaired participant in the workshop to facilitate the interaction of the disabled participant.

For Details, please click here

 

New brand for WYG has been introduced on November, 10th 2008. The new brand is made up of three key elements: clientism, which is at the heart of the business; the values of being dependable, imaginative and purposeful which, WYG needs to demonstrate in all it does; and its public commitment to offer “creative minds, safe hands.”

For Details, please click here

  Ekonometri Magazine "Turkey’s Business Persons"

“Turkey’s Business Persons” in 30 different sectors was covered at November – December 2008 issue of Ekonometri Magazine. Managing Director, Levent Erkan of DeLeeuw International was interviewed as the “Business Person” and succesful represetitive of consultancy sector in Turkey.

For Details, please click here

 A Successful Model For Urban Renewal Projects

“Rehabilitation of Fener and Balat Districts Programme” with a budget of 7 million Euro has officially started in January 2003 and implemented by a consortium led by Foment Ciutat Vella SA and in strong partnership with WYG International (UK), GRET (France) and Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work (FSWW -Turkey).

The Programme aimed to improve the living conditions of inhabitants of the districts by the restoration of the historical buildings, establishment and management of two social centres, rehabilitation of the historical Balat Market and raising awareness about waste management.

A total of 120 buildings were restored and 2 social centres which provide social activities to children, teenagers and women were established. Moreover, some waste collection boxes were distributed to 2.500 households in order to raise the awareness for waste management understanding among the district dwellers.

The programme is counted as “An Exemplar for Similar Regeneration Projects” by UNESCO in June 2008 report.

Picture shows the opening of the Social Service at Fener & Balat by Minister of Culture and Tourism – Ertuğrul Günay, Head of ECD of Turkey Marc Pierini, Major of Fatih Municipality - Mustafa Demir, Team Leader of WYG International Luis Mezzano, Co-Director - Burçin Altınsay.

Project website: http://www.fenerbalat.org

 November 20: World Children's Rights Day

Today, millions of children live under conditions which are harmful to their physical, psychological, social, and cultural development. The Convention of Children’s Rights was declared by United Nations in 20 November 1989 and endorsed by 191 countries to eliminate these conditions and provide better lives to them. Turkey fully adopted the Convention in 1990.

Please find detailed information from the links below about The Convention of Children’s Rights and its affirmation that people under 18 years old need special care and protection.
 

 Human Rights Presidency
 Society for the Protection of Children
 Çocuk Hakları.Net

 PMI^® Promoted DeLeeuw to Global R.E.P.

PMI^® (Project Management Institute), one of the most prestigious associations operating in the area of Project Management, promoted DeLeeuw International’s “Registered Education Provider” (R.E.P.) status to “Global Registered Education Provider”. As a Global R.E.P., besides the right to provide various trainings to public and private sector institutions, we have also received the opportunity to unlimitedly register our trainings to the PMI^® R.E.P. database. DeLeeuw International, as a project management and consultancy company delighted to be accredited as a Global R.E.P. by PMI^®.

 White Young Green Named NCE/ACE “Major Consultant of the Year”

On Friday 14 March 2008 outstanding business performance by civil engineering consultancies across the UK was recognized in the prestigious NCE (New Civil Engineer Magazine)/ACE(Association for Consultancy and Engineering) Consultants of the Year Awards which are sponsored by Griffiths & Armour, BST Global, Hays Consulting Engineering and Kennedys. Amey, Halcrow, Mott MacDonald, Mouchel, White Young Green and WSP are shortlisted in the major firm category of companies. Although it was a very tough task to pick the winner, DeLeeuw International’s parent company White Young Green won the Major Consultant of the Year Award. WYG is proud to see that its project successes are recognized by international associations like NCE and ACE. This is a true outcome of good implementation between consultant and client.

  DeLeeuw International and WYG International Merged

WYG International (WYGI) and DeLeeuw International are pleased to announce a merging of their businesses in Turkey. Levent Erkan is the General Manager of the new business and also takes his place as a Director on the Board of WYGI, responsible for the company’s activities in Turkey and Cyprus.

The new business will operate under the name of DeLeeuw International, a subsidiary of WYG International Limited.

This purpose of this merger is to improve the quality of services to clients by strengthening the local management platform and providing direct access to international expertise and experience when needed.

Both companies have traditionally offered services in the areas of social and economic development, with a strong emphasis on training. The next step in the development of the business will be to broaden its range of services, drawing on the experience of WYGI’s parent, White Young Green plc, UK, in technical areas, such as construction and engineering, environment, water and sanitation, planning and transportation.

Commenting on the merger from WYGI’s headquarters in Nottingham, UK, Managing Director Cyril Davies said that the merger was excellent news for both companies and that the combination of their resources would both strengthen DeLeeuw International’s abilities in Turkey and reinforce WYGI’s position internationally. This deal provides our business with just the combination of international and local skills it needs to deliver quality, dynamic and result-oriented services in a rapidly changing region.

 WYG Website : http://www.wyginternational.com

 ABIGEMs Gives Full Support to SMEs

The Development of the European-Turkish Business Centres (TBC) Project, financed by EU and supported by TOBB (Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchange) and local Chambers (Kocaeli, İzmir and Gaziantep) commenced in March 2002 with an initial project period of 4 years. ABİGEM’s, were intended to support SMEs in their regions with a comprehensive range of services such as counselling, consultancy and trainings.

The ABIGEMs also utilised their growing expertise and experience to undertake joint initiatives with other SME support organisations (Gaziantep BC/GAP Gidems), national ministries (Ministry of Education) and other EU initiatives. ABIGEM Project has been successfully completed in June 2006 which was implemented by WYG International (UK), GOPA (Germany) and PEM (Germany) Consortium and deemed as one of the most fruitful EU Projects in Turkey. Sustainability was the crucial criteria in the project thus ABIGEMs have prosperous operations in their local areas.

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 Organic Farming Provides a Great Opportunity for Turkey

European Union funded project titled “Technical Assistance For The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs for the Development of Organic Agriculture in Turkey” is being implemented by SAC Commercial Limited (UK), WYG International (UK), Scottish Food Quality Certification Limited (UK), Environmental Resources Management Limited (UK) and DeLeeuw International (Turkey) for MARA (Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs) to assist the sustainable development of organic sector. As part of the project, 40 MARA officials have gone to see the situation in the UK, meeting with UK government officials in London and Edinburgh (Scotland), visiting organic farms and learning more about organic certification in Europe. The Study Tour has enabled the MARA staff to gain information about the implementation of organics in England and Scotland, organic standards, marketing and production as well.

At the end of the successful study tour the consensus of opinion was that organic agriculture is at a very good level in Turkey, it should become widespread, it should not only produce for export but also produce for the local market and that the domestic consumption should be increased.

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 DeLeeuw International Country Manager in Brussels

Levent Erkan, Country Manager of DeLeeuw has been invited as a key speaker to “The EU Projects in Turkey: Pre-accession Financial Assistance” Meeting which was held in Brussels on November 2006.

Many other essential key speakers from important organizations such as Head of the Turkish Desk of the EIB in Turkey, European Investment Bank, TUSIAD, Ernst & Young have attended the meeting as well as 50 other European Investors. Levent Erkan has addressed a speech regarding Turkey experiences, collaboration with foreign partners and lessons learned from the DeLeeuw implemented projects.

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 “Strengthening Social Dialogue for Innovation and Change in Turkey Project” Grant Projects Kick Off Conference held in Ankara

The grant projects funded under the EU-financed project - Strengthening Social Dialogue for Innovation and Change in Turkey - (a project implemented by the ITC-ILO / DeLeeuw International Consortium), provides assistance to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and a number of social partners.

The total value of the project is €4.29 million and has the overall goal of promoting social dialogue across the country to help these parties prepare for the responsibilities of European Union social policies.

For more details, please click here.