THE 52nd Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Asia and Pacific Regions will be held in Manila from October 28 to 30 at Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. Held under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) Asia-pacific region, this annual event will gather the civil aviation authorities (CAAs), international aviation organizations and associations, civil aviation partners and stakeholders from 38 states in the Asia-pacific region. High-level Icao officials are expected to attend this affair which will tackle vital issues in regional and global civil aviation. Caap will host this conference after 13 years since it was last held in the Philippines in 2002 in Cebu City, hosted by then-Air Transportation Office. It is even worthy to note that first DGCA conference was held in Manila in 1960.
The 52nd DGCA Conference will be preceded by the fifth Meeting of the Regional Aviation Safety Group and the third Meeting of the Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum on October 26 and 27, which will hold its sessions in tandem.
An Icao study undertaken in 2011 forecasted a burgeoning global need for pilots, maintenance personnel and air-traffic controllers by the year 2030 citing the urgency of upgrading current education and training capabilities and facilities to produce qualified aviation professionals. In ensuring that this concern is addressed, it established the Next Generation of Aviation Professional initiative in 2009 to update and modify the regulatory environment, to improve the effectiveness of training and education, and to mobilize the air transport community toward a common effort that would help revitalize the image of aviation professionals. It also seeks to engage the stakeholders of civil aviation on how they can be involved in increasing the training capacities on a regional level.
Consistent with this objective, the theme of the 52nd DGCA Conference—“Evolving the New Generation Aviation Professional toward a Harmonized, Safe, Secure and Green Asia Pacific Sky” highlights the clear and basic responsibility to establish an education and training framework that will create a generation of well-trained and technically competent aviation professionals founded on a platform for the growth and sustainability of global
civil aviation.