The itSMFI IEB have some great plans in store for our second Annual Chapter Leadership Conference, to be held this year in Barcelona, Spain.  We've been working diligently to plan a program that builds on last year's success and has taken your feedback into account.  To do this, we are planning a 2-day mix of plenary sessions, workshops and breakouts.  While the event program is still being finalized, we'd like to offer you a sneak peak into what's been planned to date.  Here are several items of note to keep in mind as you review the program:

On 31st July 2009 the Boards of itSMF International and itSMF UK signed the itSMF trademark agreement document.

As you are aware, the itSMF UK and itSMF International Boards of Management have been negotiating the terms for the acquisition of the itSMF trademark brand. This negotiation follows a motion carried at the November 2007 AGM to undertake this action and secure the International ownership of the movement brand and manage its protection, recognition and future growth.

Over the past number of years, itSMF International (itSMFI) has approved the formation of new chapters through a well established and long standing process.

This is a critical service of the itSMFI and one that nurtures and makes possible, the growth of our movement around the world. Consistent with our philosophy of continual service improvement for all itSMFI initiatives, we review our processes with a view to ensuring their continued relevance, effectiveness and value.

After almost two months in the job I am pleased to report that some important milestones have been reached.

Our new "Knowledge Repository"

My primary responsibility is to establish a new collection of material for our members worldwide. We will offer much more than books, the "knowledge repository" is going to provide not only somewhere you can go to get information, but also a place where our members can share their own knowledge with the global community. Our mission is for this to be your first port of call when you are looking for any Service Management related information. Whether you want a PowerPoint presentation, a template for a policy, an academic research article or a book, we expect to be able to provide it.

The Hong Kong Chapter held the fourth Annual General Meeting in the evening of 5th June, 2009.

We would like to inform the itSMF Chapters of an important change to the translation process that affects many of you.

For the last two years Mark Lillycrop has managed the translation project for itSMF International, and has been your single point of contact (SPOC) for all publications business. It wasn't an easy job and was complicated by restrictions in the contracts that were in place at the time. We would like to thank Mark for his excellent work on the project.

The Chapters of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Macedonia held their 3rd itSMF Regional Conference, held this year at Lake Ohrid, Macedonia and hosted by the itSMF Macedonia Chapter.

Here you can watch the video-clips and interviews with some of the presenters at the 3rd itSMF Regional Conference in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia, held on the 28-29th of May this year. The main topics of this two-day event were:

The APM Group, which is responsible for the ITIL Examination Scheme, has announced that the Information Communications Technology Infrastructure Management (ICTIM) qualification has been granted 'Complementary Qualification' Status within the ITIL V3 qualification scheme.

BCS-ISEB is delighted that this is the first qualification to be granted this status so that candidates who wish to take or who have already taken the ICTIM qualification will therefore gain 3.5 credits for this qualification within the V3 Scheme which can contribute towards their ITIL V3 Expert certification.

itSMF UK and TSO have announced a new edition of the hugely popular pocket guide the ITIL V3 Foundation Handbook, co-branded with itSMFI.

Fully revised to reflect the new ITIL Foundation syllabus (May 2009), this is the only pocket guide that offers fully up-to-date ITIL V3 guidance for students and managers alike. It's a quick reference tool for those interested in ITIL V3 and it offers basic information around each process and function in the lifecycle, with cross-referencing to the core books for more in-depth reading.

"Exploitation des Services" (Service Operation) is available in two versions - book (ISBN 9780113311477) or PDF (ISBN 9780113311484), and joins the recently announced French version of the "Introduction to the ITIL Service Lifecycle" (book 9780113311453 and PDF 9780113311491). These translations were the result of many hours of dedication by members of itSMF France, supported by reviewers from the other French-speaking chapters.