WFEO Executive Director reports on the Executive Board Meetings at UNESCO - 8 - 12 April 2013
On the occasion of its spring executive board meeting, WFEO headquarters in Paris organized several meetings at UNESCO during the week of 8 - 12 April 2013.
The six voting members of the executive board met to follow up on the business of the Federation after the 2012 executive council meeting in Slovenia and to prepare the 2013 general assembly meetings in September 2013.
The meeting of the World Engineering Forum Initiative proposed by president-elect Marwan Abdelhamid and approved by the WFEO Slovenia executive council gathered some forty people and was attended by the UNESCO Assistant Director General for the Science Sector, Mrs. Gretchen Kalonji and by Mark Weichold - Dean and CEO - Professor at the Texas A&M University in Qatar. The meeting lasted several hours and the initiative was strongly supported by all participants.
The marketing task group discussed means of highlighting the brand name of WFEO and stressed the importance of the STCs activities.
The WFEO STC Chairs and other interested executive council members met to review the feasible expectations of results of STCs efforts and to comment the new tools and guidelines for STCs to make their activities known to members and the public.
The extended executive board meeting gathered some 60 people and was inaugurated by the UNESCO Assistant Director General for the Science Sector, Mrs. Gretchen Kalonji, during this meeting:
STC Chairs presented their progress reports.
The Chair of the WFEO-UN relations committee presented the terms of reference of this committee and commented the work done so far.
The Singaporean host of the 2013 general assembly meetings and the World Engineers' Summit reported on the preparations for these events.
The Nigerian Society of Engineers reported on the preparations for the 2014 executive council meetings in Abuja.
The Japanese host of the World Engineers' Convention and the WFEO general assembly made a presentation on these events.
The United Arab Emirates presented their proposal to host the 2019 World Engineers' Convention in Dubai.
To read more about this report, please go to WFEO website
UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters
CTI Engineering, as the secretariat of the WFEO-CDRM, has supported a special high-level session on water and disasters, convened by the UN Secretary-General H.E. Mr. Ban Ki Moon on 6 March 2013. This event marked the first high-level UN thematic event discussing issues at the nexus of water and disasters. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Orange of the Netherlands presented keynote addresses to the assembled audience of 500 experts and officials from UN member states, international organizations, private sector and civil society.
Overall messages from the Special Session reflected the consensus that water-related disasters, increasing in frequency and severity as the climate and human demographics shift, are a significant barrier to sustainable development and that linkages between water disasters and poverty are undeniable. Speakers and panelists agreed that integrated and holistic approaches to policy-making are necessary to address water and disasters issues, and that the international community can do much to guide concrete actions towards reducing disaster risk. Many discussed upcoming opportunities to integrate water disaster risk reduction into the post-2015 development agenda as negotiations are underway to craft policies and goals to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change and the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), all ending in 2015. In particular, inclusion of water and disasters in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a central pillar of the post-2015 agenda, will frame much of the UN action for decades to come.
1st International Symposium on Water Environment
Dr. Yumio Ishii, the WFEO-CDRM chair participated to the 1st International Symposium on Water Environment at Chou University on the occasion of the World Water Day on 22 March. The General Assembly of the United Nations declared March 22, 2013 as the "World Water Day" in the "International Year of Water Cooperation" in order to draw the world's attention to water-related issues.
World Engineers' Summit (WES)
The official invitation to WFEO's General Assembly 2013 and the World Engineers' Summit (WES) 2013: "Innovation and Sustainable Solutions to Climate Change" was sent out on 8 April 2013.
In addition to the prominent keynote speakers at the WES 2013 the co-located Build Eco Xpo (BEX) Asia 2013, and the International Green Building Conference (IGBC) 2013 joint opening ceremony and conference sessions, the exciting week will showcase:
The World Engineers Summit
The World Engineering Expo 2013
A Workshop on Infrastructure Climate Risk Assessment: Tools & Processes
The WES 2013 Sustainability Leadership Forum
Technical Site Visits
WES Biennial Photography Competition
WES Young Engineers Competition - "Trust Us, We Are Engineers"
For more information on this event, please go to WFEO website
WES Biennial Photography Competition
Jointly organized with The Photography Society of Singapore (PSS), the Competition themed 'Environmental Sustainability - The Challenges' is open to all photo enthusiasts.
Send us your best photos capturing the essence of the environmental challenges facing the world and what is being done to overcome them.
Please log onto http://wes2013.org/photo-competition for information on FIAP medals and cash prizes up for grabs. Submission deadline: 30 June 2013
WES Young Engineers Competition - ''Trust Us, We Are Engineers"
Calling on budding engineers to develop viable solutions to energy sustainability and climate change, the competition will focus on three key themes: Energy, Water and Waste.
Entries will be judged based on the following criteria: Creativity, Technical Feasibility, Quality of Deliverables, Relevance and Cost Effectiveness.
If your proposed solutions is shortlisted, we will FUND you to build a prototype for the final Round.
The best 8 finalists per category will be awarded a cash prize each (from SGD1,000 to SGD8,000)
The Galilee Basin, in Queensland's central west in Australia, an emerging coal seam gas industry has combined forces to develop an integrated assessment of known geology and hydrogeology across the basin - the first time such an assessment has been completed across the basin.
As the management of groundwater is a major issue surrounding the coal seam gas industry the Galilee Basin Operators' Forum (GBOF), a voluntary body established in 2010 by a group of coal seam gas (CSG) explorers, commissioned environmental consultancy RPS to undertake a desktop hydrogeological investigation aiming to build a conceptual understanding of different groundwater systems in the region and identify trends that might be apparent.
The E4C Learning Lab - Webinars
The Engineering for Change Webinar (E4C) Series of interactive webcasts provides a global platform for learning, interacting and contributing to solving global development and humanitarian engineering issues to improve quality of life around the world.
With new topics every month, you'll be able to learn, grow and connect to exchange about appropriate and scalable solutions. Previous topics include, "Designing with the Base of the Pyramid", "Navigating Cross-Cultural Differences on International Development Projects", and "Village Energy, a Systems-based Approached to Understanding and Addressing Rural Energy Needs", these and many more can be found in the archives, or on the E4C's YouTube Channel.
Next Webinars coming in May:
Careers in International Development
Find out more on how to jumpstart your career in the Engineering for Global Development field. This webinar will help determine which development career path is right for you and what actions you can take to help prepare for a career in international development. Date: 1 May 2013, Time: 11:00 a.m. New York, EST.
Using Low-Cost Communication and Computer Technology to Improve the Quality of Healthcare in Rural Nicaragua
This webinar will focus on the development of a telehealth system to improve the lives of rural Nicaraguans in the communities surrounding the town of Waslala in North Central Nicaragua, while examining the nursing component of the project, and will be followed by a discussion of the technology, software and hardware setup. Date: 9 May 2013 - Time: 11:00 a.m. New York, EST.
To participate in the upcoming free Engineering for Change Webinars, just register at least one hour before each webinar by following this link: www.engineeringforchange-webinars.org
The International conference on Engineering for Sustainable Energy in Developing Countries
WFEO Energy Committee is organizing in partnership with the China Association for Science and Technology, The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering and the China Southern Grid Co. Ltd, an "International conference on Engineering for Sustainable Energy in Developing Countries".
The International conference on Engineering for Sustainable Energy in Developing Countries 2013, aims at strengthening relations between the energy sector, research laboratories, and universities.
This conference will be an international forum for scientists, engineers, economists, and decision-making officials to exchange new ideas, share practical knowledge, discuss and analyze the various aspects involving the implementation of sustainable energy programs and the engineering associated to such implementation, giving emphasis to poverty eradication and relief in developing countries.
To find out more about this important event, please visit WFEO website
Save the Date: World Day
In Memoriam: Carlos Roberto Dos Santos Moura
A Civil Engineer, born on 17 February 1938 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Eng. Carlos Roberto Dos Santos Moura was President of the Brazilian Federation of Engineering Societies (FEBRAE) between 2007 and 2009, and of the Brasilia Clube de Engenharia between 1995 and 2010, as well as being a Director of Clube de Engenharia of Rio de Janeiro.
His activities within WFEO focused on the organization of WEC-2008, the WFEO World Engineers Congress which was held in Brasilia and within the WFEO Executive Committee to which he was elected in 2009 as a National Member.
He represented FEBRAE at UPADI, the Pan American Union of Engineering Associations between 2007 and 2009. In UPADI he contributed to implement several directives set up in the new Statute of the Organization and he served as a member of the Anti-Corruption Task Force.
In Memoriam: B. J. Vasoya
Engr. B J Vasoya, FIE had a distinguished career spanning over 5 decades as an eminent civil engineer and able administrator. He worked as the Chief Engineer in Department of Water Recourses and has handled the world's largest single canal irrigation project - Sardar Sarovar Project. He was then elevated as the Secretary-Administrator in the Government of Gujarat, India. He was further appointed by the Government of India as the Chairman of High Power Environmental Committee. Engr. B J Vasoya made significant contributions in various fields of engineering and had many achievements to his credit.
In recognition of outstanding competence, contributions, achievements and many other qualities of leadership he possessed, Engr. Vasoya was elected President of The Institution of Engineers (India) for the session 2004-2005. Engr. Vasoya had taken over as the Chairman, WFEO Standing Committee on Engineering and Environment (WFEO-CEE) in May 2005 and continued till the transfer of the Committee to Engineers Canada in 2007. Further, he was elected as the Vice President of World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) for the term 2007-2011. He was subsequently appointed an Advisor to Engr. Adel MMJ Al-Kharafi, President of WFEO.
