In July, the Tunisia GOLD AG of Region 8 was awarded a highly-coveted place in the IEEE MGA GOLD Hall of Fame for 2013. Congratulations to the Tunisia GOLD team for their remarkable work. This is the third time in a row that a GOLD AG from Region 8 has won this award.

The Region 8 GOLD Committee is also proud to announce the winner of the Region 8 Outstanding GOLD Affinity Group Award, based on activities conducted in 2012. The award goes to Finland! The Finland GOLD Affinity Group was acknowledged for its many successful and diverse activities, as well as their continued efforts to motivate volunteers and inspire IEEE GOLD members.

Are you an active GOLD member in a Region 8 affinity group? Have you made an impact on GOLD activities? R8 GOLD has established a new Region 8 GOLD Exceptional Volunteer Award to recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals to Region 8 GOLD activities. Get ready! The call for nominations for the Region 8 GOLD Exceptional Volunteer Award is coming soon.

In 2014, Student Branches and GOLD Affinity Groups from across Region 8 will gather in Krakow, Poland for the IEEE Region 8 Student Branch and GOLD Congress. This gathering is billed as the biggest IEEE networking and experience sharing event in Region 8 – so stay tuned for further announcements.

In the meantime, cross-Section Student Branch Congresses are being held across Region 8. The GOLD Committee engages in many efforts to increase the visibility of

GOLD presentation at the Central European Student Branch Congress
GOLD, from materials and advertisements to presentations performed by committee members. This year, R8 GOLD has been showcased at the Iberian SBC in Porto, Portugal; the Central European SBC in Opole, Poland; the Middle East SBC in Beirut, Lebanon; EUROCON 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia; the UKRI SBC in Bath, UK; and the Hellenic Student Branch and GOLD Congress from in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Article contributed by Amir Zahoor, R8 GOLD Subcommittee Member