 In this Edition
|
|
|
|
Message from the President
|
|
|
World Engineering Day was approved unanimously on 17th April by the UNESCO Executive Board, to declare 4th March each year, the birthday of WFEO, as this special Day.
We are delighted with this opportunity to celebrate engineering all around the world on 4th March each year and to create a focus on the work of WFEO. My thanks to the many institutions that supported our effort and the 40+ countries that provided their support for the proposal at the UNESCO Executive Board.
|
|
|
We also had a very successful set of WFEO Extended Board meetings in Ljubljana, hosted by the Slovenia Chamber of Engineers and the University of Ljubljana, both celebrating their centenary in 2019.
WE also participated in the World Construction Forum (WCF2019) which was attended by 700 delegates from 51 countries and which had UNESCO patronage.
A Declaration, which considers the way the construction sector can advance the UN 2030 Agenda was a successful conclusion of the Forum.
Dr. Marlene Kanga
President
|
|
|
|
World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development - 4th March
|
|
|
The UNESCO Executive Board adopted a draft decision on 17 April in plenary session, recommending that the General Conference in November 2019 “decide to proclaim 4 March of every year, the founding day of WFEO, as World Engineering Day.
The proposal was led by Namibia and China and supported by more than 40 nations, including Nigeria, UK and France. Our sincere thanks to all delegations that supported this crucial step in the approval process for a historic decision for engineering. Thanks also to the some 80 institutions including members of WFEO that provided letters of support.
For more information, click on the following links:
WFEO Communication Plan for World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development
The World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development – Item 36 in the agenda of the 206th UNESCO Executive Board session
The World Engineering Day webpage
|
|
|
WFEO Extended Board Meetings, University of Ljubljana
|
|
|
WFEO Extended Board at University of Ljubljana, 8 April 2019
|
|
The WFEO Executive Board and Extended Board met in Ljubljana over 6-8 April 2019 at the University of Ljubljana, which is celebrating its centenary in 2019.
The meetings were very successful and were an important opportunity to bring together WFEO leaders including the Chairs of the WFEO Board, Technical and Policy Committees.
|
|
|
Extended Board meeting, University of Ljubljana Rector’s Welcome, 8 April 2019
|
|
|
WCF2019 in Ljubljana, Slovenia
|
|
|
The World Construction Forum 2019 (WCF2019) was held on 8-12 April 2019 and hosted by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations along with the Slovenian Chamber of Engineers, a national member of the Federation, and the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering of University of Ljubljana, under the patronage of UNESCO.
The Forum celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the Ljubljana Engineers Chamber, predecessor of the Slovenian Chamber of Engineers, and the 100th Anniversary of the University of Ljubljana. It attracted more than 700 delegates from 51 countries.
It was pleasing that the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the construction sector was a key theme of the Forum. The World Construction Forum focused on six Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related to water, energy, innovation, sustainable cities and infrastructure and action against climate change.
|
|
Experts from every region of the world discussed the latest technologies and advanced engineering for the design and development of infrastructure, such as roads and tunnels, and for the operation and maintenance of facilities and buildings and the restoration of heritage structures. Importantly, the use of energy efficient technologies was on the agenda, critical for sustainable living in increasingly urban populations around the world.
The preservation of our cultural heritage and infrastructure that is resilient against natural disasters such as earthquakes and the increasing impact of climate change was also discussed. An important theme was capacity building in engineering especially in developing countries and the need for quality education in engineering so that the world has the engineers that it needs to advance the goals of sustainable development. It was pleasing that there were 700 participants from 51 countries from five continents at the Forum. There were 109 lectures.
Four important keynote lectures were given at the forum opening, by Prof. Peter Fajfar from Slovenia, Prof. Antonia Moropoulou from Greece, Prof. Jinxiu Yan from China and Dr. Mark Coleman from Great Britain.
The collaborative approach among the international experts that attended the Forum will no doubt be a powerful catalyst to develop the best solutions that the world needs for sustainable development.
The legacy of WCF 2019 is available on the internet. All the lectures are available for free on forum’s website.
WCF 2019 concluded with the Ljubljana Declaration - available in this page -, which states the commitment of the organisers and participants to advancing the UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030.
WFEO thanks the President of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce Mr. Crtomir Remec and Prof. Matjaž Mikoš Dean of the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering University of Ljubljana for organising the Forum. WFEO also thanks UNESCO for patronage and Ms. Anna Luiza Thomson Flores, Director of the UNESCO Office for Europe for attending the opening of the Forum.
For more information, click on the following links:
The Ljubljana Declaration on Buildings and Infrastructure Resilience
WCF 2019 Report
WCF 2019 Video lectures
WCF 2019 Website
|
|
|
From left to right: Prof. Matjaž Mikoš, Dean of the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering of University of Ljubljana, Mr. Simon Zajc, Slovenian Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Dr. Marlene Kanga, President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and Mag. Črtomir Remec, president of the Slovenian Chamber of Engineers
|
|
|
WFEO Executive Vice President Mr. Crtomir Remec, and President of IZS Slovenia, speaks at the opening of WCF2019
|
|
|
Participants at the opening session of WCF2019
|
|
|
The presentation of the Ljubljana Declaration at the end of WCF2019
|
|
|
World Engineers Convention 2019 - WEC 2019 - Early Bird Registration
|
|
|
"Engineering a Sustainable World: The Next 100 Years"
Engineers Australia and WFEO welcome you to Melbourne for the World Engineers Convention (WEC) 2019 - a coming together of some of the greatest engineering minds from around the globe, hosted in one of the world’s most livable cities.
This ”Olympics of Engineering”, held every four years, is expected to attract global participants from over 80 countries.
The convention program will offer three full days of content featuring six themes, each aligning to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This is a unique opportunity to take an integrated approach to solve many of the problems that the world is facing – all of them requiring engineering.
|
|
The Key themes will be the following:
• How new technology and innovations are reshaping engineering
• Engineering for humanity: responsive design for greater livability
• Fostering diversity and inclusion
• Preparing the next generation of engineers
• Engineering leadership, governance and influence
• Our changing climate: mitigation, resilience and adaptation
|
|
|
EFS Africa - International Conference on Engineering and Food Security in Africa
|
|
|
The Order of Tunisian Engineers organizes, in collaboration with WFEO, an international conference on «Engineering and Food Security in Africa», that will take place in Tunis, Tunisia, 24-25 June 2019. It will be held in French, English and Arabic with simultaneous translations.
This conference will focus on the SDG number 2 “Zero hunger” and number 12 “Sustainable consumption and production”, will highlight the role of engineers in food safety and will come out with recommendations to follow.
This conference aims to create a platform where the knowledge, innovative ideas, experiences, capacity building and work fields results of engineers, scientists, policy-makers as well as representatives of civil society involved in this field, will be discussed, shared and disseminated in order to implement the “Declaration on Food Security as viewed by Engineers”.
This conference is organized under the patronage of UNESCO.
The World Food Programme / Programme Alimentaire Mondial (WFP/PAM) and The Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO) are among the sponsors of the conference.
|
|
The Conference main topics are :
- Agricultural policy and engineering needs to meet the challenges of food and water security
- Role of technology in the preservation of natural resources and agricultural development in a changing climate context
- Organization of sectors and development of value chains
- Human Resources Development, Engineering, Institutional Capacity Building and International Cooperation Development
|
|
|
STI Forum 2019 - Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs
|
|
|
The fourth annual Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum) will take place on 14-15 May 2019 in UN Headquarters, New York.
The theme of the STI Forum is chosen to promote in-depth discussions on the SDGs that will also be in focus at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) meeting in July, as well as on crosscutting issues relating more broadly to the general area of STI for the SDGs.
In this context, the theme of the 2019 STI Forum is: “Science, Technology and Innovation for empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality – Focus on SDGs 4 - Quality education, 8 - Economic growth, 10 - Reduce inequalities, 13 - Climate action, and 16 - Peace and justice".
|
|
During this event, the Scientific and Technological Community Major Group – composed by WFEO and International Science Council (ISC) – and the Children and Youth Major Group will hold a side event entitled “The role of Engineering and Science Education in empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality” on 15 May 2019; 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. at the Conference Room 12 in the UN Conference Building.
WFEO will be represented by its UN Relations Committee (WURC) members, headed by its chair Reginald Vachon and WFEO President Elect Gong Ke.
For more information, click on the following links:
STI Forum 2019 website
STI Forum 2019 presentation
Report on the WFEO participation in the STI Forum 2018
|
|
|
Report on the Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs
|
|
|
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in collaboration with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) organized a Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to collect inputs for the development of the Online Platform – a component of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM). The Workshop was held at United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), ESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand.
The aim of the Workshop was to contribute to the preparations of the STI Forum 2019 by mobilizing all stakeholders to share information on trends in the deployment of science, technology and innovation for the SDGs 4 - Quality education, 8 - Economic growth, 10 - Reduce inequalities, 13 - Climate action and 16 - Peace and justice.
|
|
|
Participants of the workshop
|
|
|
Report on Mobile Learning Week 2019
|
|
|
The Mobile Learning Week 2019, under the theme “Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable development” co- organized by UNESCO, the International Telecommunication Union, the ProFuturo Foundation and Skillogs, was held from 4 to 8 March 2019, at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.
The five-day event started with the “Global Conference – Principles for AI: Towards a humanistic approach ?“, followed by a one-day Policy Forum and Workshops, a two-day International Symposium and a half-day of Strategy Labs.
Throughout the global conference, academics, representatives of intergovernmental organizations, government ministers, the private sector, members of the technical community, the media, and civil society called for the development of ethical principles to govern AI on the basis of transparency and accountability.
Gong Ke, President-Elect of WFEO, was invited as keynote speaker at the international symposium and represented the Scientific and Technological (STC) Major Group of United Nations, which includes WFEO and the International Science Council to call for:
- Getting consensus on AI ethical principles;
- Studying on how to convert these consensuses to policies, rules, laws, etc;
- Setting technical standards, to ensure the ethical requirements to be effectively embedded into AI system and could be tested and verified;
- Educating people, who design, manufacture, sell and use AI, on how to responsibly conduct with AI.
For more information, click on the following links:
The full report on WFEO website
Mobile Learning Week website
|
|
|
WFEO President-Elect GONG Ke speaking at the Mobile Learning Week 2019
|
|
|
WFEO at the CSW63
|
|
|
The 63th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) has been successfully held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March 2019.
Some 5000 women & men representing Civil Society Organizations, together with nearly 2000 Member State delegates and 86 ministers attended the event. The theme of CSW63 was “Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls”.
The ten-day session included a ministerial segment with round tables and other high-level interactive dialogues, a general discussion, as well as interactive and expert panel discussions. Stakeholders organized many side events to draw attention to critical aspects of the work on gender equality.
As a member of WFEO Executive Council, Committee on Women in Engineering, & WFEO-UN Relations Committee (WURC), Dr. Ruomei Li attended CSW63, and some of its side events. She made the presentation “New Energy Era – Opportunity for Women’s Leadership” during the forum “A Strategic Plan for Gender Equality in Agribusiness in the Nations”, organized by New Future Foundation (NNF).
|
|
|
WFEO Executive Council member Dr. Ruomei Li making her presentation on the parallel event “A Strategic Plan for Gender Equality in Agribusiness in the Nations”
|
|
|
World Robot Conference 2019
|
|
|
The World Robot Conference 2019 (WRC 2019) will be held from August 20 to 25, 2019 in Beijing, China. It is composed of the following three events:
- The World Forum on Robot 2019,
- The World Robot Exhibition 2019
- The World Robot Contest 2019
The WRC 2019 aims at promoting scientific and technological progress under the new industrial development trends in the world. It will be a good opportunity for participants to network with the international robotic community, to take advantage of international resources, to attract innovation resources, to use the platform for further international cooperation in the field of robotics and constructing long-term cooperation mechanism.
Around the theme of “Creating Intelligent Momentum for a New Era of Openness and Shared Benefits”, the WRC comprises three parts – Forums, Exhibitions and Contests.
It is supported by 21 international organizations, including:
- World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO),
- UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Society,
- International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science,
- International Foundation of Robotics Research.
For more information, click on the following links:
World Robot Conference 2019 Introduction
World Robot Conference website
World Robot Conference webpage
|
|
|
Planning education in the AI era: Lead the leap
|
|
|
An international conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and education will take place in Beijing, China from 16 to 18 May 2019. The conference will provide a platform for member states, international organizations, civil society and the AI industry to:
- debate whether skills needed to successfully cope in the AI era can be anticipated, and share experiences on the development of such skills that will enable humans to adapt to a society informed by AI;
- exchange information on the latest trends in AI and how the trends are shaping education and learning;
- assess lessons learned from emerging national policies and strategies for leveraging AI to achieve SDG 4 Quality Education; and
- strengthen international cooperation and partnership for promoting equitable, inclusive, and transparent use of AI in education.
The conference is expecting more than 500 participants, including approximately two high-level representatives from each participating Member State, as well as representatives of UN agencies and international organizations, leaders of the AI industry, academic experts, policy-makers and practitioners.
A synthesis report to document the main achievements and outcomes of the Conference will be published, as well as a Consensus, to be developed and adopted by the high-level representatives of the Member States.
WFEO President Elect Gong Ke will attend the conference.
|
|
|
The Report of GenderInSITE
|
|
|
GenderInSITE formally launched its report on “Pathways to Success: Bringing a Gender Lens to the Scientific Leadership of Global Challenges” - available in this page - at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 11 March 2019. This report explores the issue of women’s leadership in science.
Through interviews with women and men who lead international science and technology projects, the report highlights alternative pathways to success, and ways in which institutional change is so elusive and hard to achieve.
In these narratives, gender is recognised as an important factor in the career and leadership trajectories of individual scientists and in how science for sustainable development is carried out.
WFEO president Dr. Marlene Kanga was one of the interviewees of the report.
For more information, click on the following links:
The GenderInSITE Report
GenderInSITE Report is Launched at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris
|
|
|
WFEO’s 50th anniversary video
|
|
|
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations in 2018, the President and Past Presidents say a few words about engineering and the leadership and achievements of the Federation over the past 50 years.
The video was shown in avant-premiere to WFEO delegates for the Executive Board meetings held in Ljubljana, in parallel with the World Construction Forum 2019 (WCF2019) between 6-8 April 2019.
|
|
Copyright © 2019 World Federation of Engineering Organisations.
Our mailing address is:
secretariat(at)wfeo.org
unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
|
|
|
|
|
