WFEO President Jorge Spitalnik was invited to become an Advisory Board member of the International Centre for Engineering Education (ICEE), which is a new Category II Centre under the auspices of UNESCO. Yashin Brijmohan, Chair of the WFEO Committee on Engineering Capacity Building, will be a member of Governing Board.

The Category II Centres under the auspices of UNESCO are selected based on the strength of their specialization in one of UNESCO’s fields of competence. Through capacity-building knowledge sharing and research, they provide a valuable and unique contribution to the implementation of UNESCO’s strategic programme objectives for the benefits of Member States.

ICEE is jointly hosted by the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and Tsinghua University, aiming to promote global engineering education, especially for developing countries.

For more information, click on the following link:

Jorge Spitalnik invited to be an Advisory Board member of ICEE, UNESCO’s Category II Centre

WFEO is pleased to welcome the Engineering Associations of Mediterranean Countries (EAMC) as a new International Member.

EAMC, created in May 2014, aims to develop a partnership between European and Arab Mediterranean Engineering Associations, fostering collaboration and mutually beneficial programs, and establishing co-operation with WFEO and other international and regional organizations.

EAMC is active mainly in Engineering Education and Professional Qualification, Energy and Renewable Energies, Environment and Infrastructure and Construction.

The 2017 Economic & Social Council Youth Forum took place between January 30-31, 2017 at the United Nations HQ in New York City. Bringing together hundreds of youth alongside ministers, UN agencies, and other stakeholders to discuss the role of youth in poverty eradication and promoting prosperity in a changing world.

In that context, Donovan Guttieres, member of the WFEO Committee on Young Engineers / Futur Leaders and member of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, participated in a side event on the role of technology and youth for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information, click on the following link:

WFEO at the 2017 ECOSOC Youth Forum

In the late Dec. 2016, the Science & Technology Commission of the Chinese Ministry of Education announced the annual award of “Top-10 Science and Technology Progresses of Chinese Universities”.

The research on “the key technology and application of autonomous-synergic automatic reactive power and voltage control system for complex power grid”, led by Vice Chair of WFEO Committee on Energy Prof. Hongbin Sun from Tsinghua University, was listed as one of them.

For more information, click on the following link:

Professor Hongbin Sun’s research achievements listed as “Top-10 Science and Technology Progresses of Chinese Universities” in 2016

The 11th February is the UN’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) is founded on the principle of leaving no one behind, including women and girls who continue to be systematically under-represented both as users and as leaders in the science, technology and innovation space.

On this occasion, UNESCO organized round table discussions under the theme "Gender equality in science: myth, reality and future perspectives" that looked at the current situation of women and girls in science and engineering, their empowerment and their visibility as scientists and researchers, as well as the current data and trends on women and girls in in Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Speakers included experts and representatives of scientific networks and NGOs.

WFEO Executive Director Jacques de Méreuil attended the event.

The Women in Engineering Workshop: “Think Pink – Hard Hat Challenge” has also been organized. It was dedicated to young women between 13 and 17 years of age and aiming to encourage more young women to consider careers in STEM.

For more information, click on the following links:

UN Sustainable Development Goal number 5

International Day of Women and Girls in Science on UNESCO website

Each year, World Water Day is held on 22 March and highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The celebrations in 2017 will highlight the theme of Waste Water, providing an important opportunity to underline the importance of managing Waste Water as a resource, an undervalued and sustainable source of water.

UNESCO will  celebrate  this Day  by  revealing, in Johannesburg  (South  Africa) and Brasilia  (Brazil), the 2017  edition  of  the  United  Nations  World  Water Development Report (WWDR) entitled "Wastewater, The Untapped Resource".

Water will be also an important topic in 2018, as the 8th World Water Forum, the world’s biggest water-related event, will be held in Brasilia, Brazil, from 18 to 23 March 2018.

Along with the World Water Council (WWC), the Forum's mission is to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels. It also aims to facilitate the efficient conservation, protection, development, planning, management and use of water in all its dimensions on an environmentally sustainable basis for the benefit of all life on Earth.

For more information, click on the following links:

World Water Day on UN Water webpage

UNESCO's World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) webpage

8th World Water Forum website