The South American countries Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela make up BICSI's new Andean District. A district within BICSI is formed when more than 100 members are active within a geographic area. An area with more than 500 members is called a region. The Andean District has 110 members, including 24 corporate members, BICSI reports.
In 2001 the area achieved district status briefly. Membership numbers from the area have fluctuated since then, but BICSI reports that recently the are regained its official district status. In May the organization held a conference in Bogota that drew more than 600 attendees and 40 exhibitors--the largest BICSI event that has been held outside North America.
Nelson Farfan, RCDD and Carlose Jose Buznego Niochet lead the district as chair and secretary, respectively. Farfan said, "The Colombian steering committee helped us achieve success at the Andean Conference. Professionals from 10 countries were present at the event. As a district, we now have plans to do small events every two months to give the members updates on technology and products."