FIDIC has named the Ethiopian Consulting Engineers and Architects Association (ECEAA) as the winner of its annual Member Association Excellence Awards for 2026. The award was presented on stage by FIDIC CEO Susanna Zammataro and FIDIC president Alfredo Ingletti at a gala dinner event held in New Delhi, India, on 15 September 2026, during FIDIC's Global Infrastructure Conference (GIC26).
The awards, now in their seventh year, highlight the achievements and campaigning successes of FIDIC's international member associations and the work they do in representing the global engineering consulting industry. This year the judging panel made four awards – one winner and three highly commended entries.
ECEAA won the award for its ECEAA Strategic Advocacy and Systemic Reform Framework (2022–2026), a multi-year initiative that has transformed the association's standing with government and other stakeholders in Ethiopia.
The award judges said: “The level of impact this MA has made is genuinely impressive and something for others to emulate. They have moved from being an association that was not being recognised and sidelined to one that is now sitting at the top table with government and making decisions. They have truly raised the bar with their advocacy. They are a great example of an MA that has considered how to increase their impact and then just ‘gone for it’, which was inspiring and great to see.”
Commenting on the awards, FIDIC CEO Susanna Zammataro said: “It's really inspiring and encouraging to see the wide variety of countries entering these awards. It’s inspiring, too, for other member associations, who can see that their work can be recognised on a global stage alongside their fellow MAs. We want to see even more members entering next year – we know from the conversations we’ve had during this conference, and at this awards dinner, that there is some fantastic work going on around the world.”
FIDIC president Alfredo Ingletti added: “The entries showed that there is some fantastic work being done across FIDIC’s MA community. Their continuous striving to improve the service offered to members is to be commended, and it’s a real hallmark of FIDIC's member associations. Our MAs care, and they want to offer the best possible service to their members – and that really shone through in these awards.”
The three highly commended prizes in this year’s FIDIC Member Association Excellence Awards went to the Indonesian National Association of Consultants (INKINDO), for INKINDO Strategic Synergy: Synchronizing National Professional Standards with FIDIC Global Excellence toward Roadmap 2030; to suisse.ing, the Swiss Association of Consulting Engineering Firms, for 8 daily4future – From Gaming to Real-World Engineering; and to a joint entry from FIDIC's Italian and Spanish member associations, OICE and Tecniberia, for their OICE – Tecniberia Partnership: a Mediterranean joint strategy for global consultancy cooperation and growth.
