Dear colleagues and friends,

The first word that everyone needs to remember this fall is of course "caution", because the COVID-19 virus is still raging, and everyone must preserve their health and help protect others.

Allow me to add two more words, which I believe reflect the values and missions of our Association:

"Exchange": Face-to-face meetings remain constrained by the pandemic, but we continue to share knowledge, for example through the PIARC webinars. The last one to date, on July 29th, brought together nearly 250 participants. Note the next PIARC webinar dedicated to the COVID crisis and the responses in the road world already; it will take place on September 30th, in Spanish. The experts of our 22 Technical Committees and Task Forces are at the heart of our activities. They will be holding their working meetings in the fourth quarter: these will be held by videoconference, and will enable them to advance their discussions and, in some cases, the drafting of reports, in order to share best practices and recommendations on the topics identified by our Strategic Plan.

"Responsiveness": With the approval of its governing bodies, our Association has been able to very quickly acquire effective videoconferencing tools, so that it can maintain its scheduled activities and ensure effective program management. For example, our Commissions and Executive Committee will meet "online" in September and October, and our Council will be invited in November to give its opinion "online" on a certain number of issues.

In any case, and even if communication technologies are up to the challenge, I am convinced that it is difficult to replace face-to-face exchanges. This is why I can confirm that we do plan to maintain our PIARC international seminar program, starting in 2021.

Please do not hesitate to contact us, as our primary mission is to meet your expectations and needs.

Stay safe!

Patrick Malléjacq