Samoa, 2024
Prepared by Merv Lindsay and reviewed Pratarp Singh For CEC From the 16th October to 26th October 2024 Pratarp Singh and Merv Lindsay attended CHOGM 24 in Samoa. It’s very difficult to summarise such an expansive range of experiences, meetings and people we met into a short report. However I’ll do my best! CHOGM has 4 main components these are:
Within each of these groups there are numerous components. For example there were four forums. These were:
We also attended the side event, the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Initiative (CSCI) workshop, called ‘Strengthening Urbane Resilience for All’, which was one of a huge number of side events. Of course we also attended some of the related social functions (including an informal dinner to meet some of the other association delegates, and we took the opportunity to sit in on the Commonwealth foreign ministers meeting, just to see how it worked (or didn’t work). On the last day at lunchtime there was also a reception for association representatives, hosted by the Commonwealth secretary general, that was a great opportunity to meet representatives I hadn’t met and debriefed with others I had met. We were working out what was what on the run and it definitely would have helped to have attended Arif Zaman’s ‘Arif’s session for CHOGM first timers’. It’s worth commenting here that despite the name, some very important heads of government did not attend. Trudeau (Canada) snd Modi (India) weren’t there and one would need to wonder why it clashed with BRIC? I was told Uganda’s leader also chose BRIC over CHOGM so there may have befn others. Outside CHOGM we took the opportunity to meet 3 members of the Samoa Engineers Association (I don’t know the correct name). This included Sebastian Mariner who is current chair of the South Pacific Engineers Association (SPEA). The other 2 Samoa engineers were Perelini Perelini (a bit of an elder statesman of the Samoan engineering community and still quite influential) and Tom Tinai. I’ll report separately about that meeting. Also outside CHOGM, on the Sunday before, Pratarp arranged for us to visit a NGO aid project and we had dinner with some of the people running it. It was a project to turn baby nappies into soil. It’s a tiny project but fascinating not just for what this project is achieving, but to understanding the funding model and implementation structure sitting behind it and these type of projects generally. So those were the official meetings inside and outside CHOGM. However without a doubt the greater benefit was the numerous one on one discussions we had with various other participants from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds. So many of these discussions challenged our thinking on a wide range of issues. In particular we met many of the representatives of commonwealth associations and most if not all those representing associations connected to the CSCI. Specifics Within the people forum (which ran for 2 days) there was a wide range of topics discussed. These included:
It’s worth adding a shift in wording. The word ‘justice’ was almost the word of the week. So it was ‘climate justice’, ‘health justice’ ‘freedom of expression justice’ etc. not sure the full implications of this shift in language. The business forum was obviously business focused but in many ways was even more diverse than the people’s forum with numerous parallel streams. Some of the best discussions that I attended were about financing emerging businesses in emerging economies, supporting women in business and the opportunities and impediments to accessing finance in emerging economies. It was difficult choosing the best stream to sit in on. The Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Initiative (CSCI) This was a side event on Wednesday. It was an excellent insight into this initiative but there is no doubt that it was not allocated anywhere near enough time. It could have had a full day! Many people including us didn’t get the chance to contribute or challenge the initiative. For example right at the end a speaker raised the impact of changing communications infrastructure and the opportunities this presents and how this will impact the objectives. This for me was a light bulb moment. He was from a company that delivers satellite communications (not spaceX but a competitor) I was left wondering what more could have been teased out with more time. And I was left wondering where to from now. What is the next steps to achieving outcomes? We need to stay on top of this project and become more engaged. One of the benefits was now knowing many of the players who also need to be followed up. Some of the key people include: Jeremy Cross - Kings Foundation Lucy Slack Commonwealth local government forum Kelley Moore Commonwealth Association of Planners People I couldn’t begin to list the people we met but every conversation and every meeting was insightful. The challenges and different perspectives from a very local level to the differences from country to country. I’ll give a few examples: 1. Renewables in smaller countries: We were given great insights into the economic and engineering challenges in Samoa with their transition to renewables. Their challenges are typical though every country will have its differences. Some of Samoa’s challenges included being sold inferior solar products that needed to be renewed far sooner than expected (impacting power costs), cyclone damage to both solar and wind, maintaining stable voltages and frequency which has forced the indefinite need to maintain a large diesel generation component, and keeping power affordable with the level of redundancy needed for renewables. 2. Chinese influence - it’s seen as both a positive and a negative and definitely a complex issue. If nothing else the Chinese have generated competition for influence. 3. Unintended consequences was an often used expression. As things change in countries for whatever reason, the social status quo is challenged sometimes with unfortunate consequences. I could write a lot more about this but I’m sure others would understand this topic far better than I. It’s all too often too easy to impose simplistic solutions onto a country or region without insight into the cultural and economic nuances that can lead you to these sometimes very serious and sometimes even irreversible unintended consequences. There were many other issues discussed and people we met. All interesting and all challenging our thinking. However I think we both came away with a sense that will changes result? and how can change for the better become an outcome? My sense is that it needs to be generated by one step at a time from each and every participant taking the awareness of the challenges and turning them into actions that are within our individual range of influences. No doubt at government levels many will have their aims and objectives but CHOGM is far more than the Heads of Governments. The thousands of other people have a role. Thats us.
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8/11/2024 0 Comments MENTORS MASTERCLASS Series For Employers and Institutions in the Engineering and Construction Sector (Built Environment)
Over 4 sessions, explore foundational and advanced topics in mentoring—from mastering behavioural dynamics and overcoming human factors to developing sustainable, competency-driven mentorship. Plus, gain access to the KMG Mentoring App for 3 additional months, allowing interactive learning and on-the-go support from expert facilitators. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your mentorship journey, build lasting skills, and contribute to a stronger, more resilient engineering future!
Why Join the Mentors Masterclass? The Mentors Masterclass is more than just training—it’s a transformative journey designed to elevate mentorship standards in the engineering and construction sectors. With a rapidly ageing expert workforce in the global engineering and construction sector, the critical engineering skills deficit is now widely acknowledge as posing a serious risk to all infrastructural, climate and sustainability projections worldwide. In fact, some indicators are showing that 40% of the global GDP could be at risk due to the engineering skills crisis and that much of the potential $2.2Tn investment currently on the planning tables for infrastructural projects in Africa will never come to fruition through a lack of registered and experienced local professional engineering capacity. Africa alone is estimated to need 2.5 million new registered professionals by 2040 and the UK is projecting a shortfall of 1 million engineers by 2030. There has never been a more important time to implement structured graduate and apprenticeship mentoring across the local and international engineering and construction sectors (Built Environments) as the hundreds of thousands of collectives hours of human experience and lessons learned in the project design offices and construction sites of the world, need to be transferred as effectively and efficiently as possible from a knowledge-rich but rapidly ageing baby boomer generation, to the next generation in order to save the many billions of dollars that will be wasted through repetitive and predictable human factors. In fact, research indicates that the annual costs of “Human Error” alone when measured as the costs of disputes, claims and extensions of time is now approaching $0.5Tn per year, which does not include the actual costs of the rework or repairs required in terms of manhours, machinery and material costs. It is also evident that many professional bodies and registration boards, and especially those in developing countries, are consistently reporting that either a lack of mentoring, or just a poor quality of mentoring practices, is causing an increase in the number of ill-prepared professional registration applications, which in turn is clogging over-whelmed institutional application windows. This lack of access to quality mentorship is driving frustrated graduates to increasingly rely on the use of AI-enhanced professional registration applications, which is an alarming red flag situation many registration boards are facing. Solution: In recognising that traditional or generic mentoring cannot cater for the unique nuances and highly stressed environment of the very complex engineering and construction sector, the CEC and KMG have partnered to offer a MENTORS MASTERCLASS series which will equip Mentors with a set of skills, knowledge and behaviours that will transform their mentoring journeys and quality of knowledge sharing into sustainable competencies that will deliver increasing returns on investment year-on-year. Brief insights into content covered over 4 x 3 hour webinars:
The KMG mobile App will be setup and configured to stimulate enhanced experiential learning through group sharing and interaction with the facilitator, before, during and after and for an additional 3 months to ensure the learning is embedded. Company and Institutional courses also available and can be configured as 2 full day online, or 4 half day online sessions About the Facilitator: Philip Marsh Pr. Eng; CEng; is the Founder and CEO of Knowledge Mentoring (Global) in the UK and Mentoring 4 Success in South Africa (Philip Marsh LinkedIn Profile) will be delivering 4 stimulating 3-hour webinars on how to develop high impact mentoring skills and sustainable mentoring programmes for Managers, Mentors, Coaches, Supervisors, Referees and HR or L&D Teams. Philip spent 4 decades in the South African and UK Built Environments, working on projects like Ellis Park Rugby Stadium, ULCO Cement Factor, Lethabo Power Station, before taking up a consulting position at Alan Baxter and Associated in London and then moving to Richard Lees in the Midlands, where he led a team of 65 engineers working on Canary Wharf in London. Philip then partnered with Gang Nail in the UK and started International Truss Systems in 1991 in South Africa. In 1997, Philip founded the KM Institute group and has given 15 years of pro-bono services to the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Education Training Panel. In 2015, Philip was given a Global Knowledge Management Leadership award in Mumbai, India, for his concept of “Knowledge Swarms and Experiential Hives” which put forward a model for empowering large groups of graduates in developing countries with world class mentoring support. Through an invitation from the UK Gov. Global Entrepreneur Programme, Philip relocated back to the UK and launched KMG in 2019 to scale a mobile App-enabled candidacy mentoring platform & professional development programme which accelerates the journey to professional competency and registration readiness for young engineers and apprentices. Philip is currently leading multiple large scale engineering graduate mentoring initiatives in Africa, such as the “Women in the Built Environment” (WITEB) initiative, “Women in Water and Sanitation” (WIWAS) Graduate Mentoring Programme and the MASELULEKANE Candidacy Mentoring and Professional Development Programme – all in strategic partnerships with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as well as SAICE. Contact Philip at [email protected] to book and find out more information. The Global Engineering Conference (GECO) 2024, hosted by the Institution of Engineers Rwanda (IER) in collaboration with the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the Federation of African Engineering Organizations (FAEO), was a landmark event from October 15-17 at the Kigali Convention Centre. Bringing together over 700 delegates, 25 exhibitors, and six sponsors, including a key Platinum Sponsor “DAR”, the conference highlighted Africa’s critical role in advancing sustainable development goals through engineering innovation.
Themed "Engineering Innovations for a Sustainable Future," GECO 2024 was more than a conference; it was a dynamic forum where engineers, policymakers, and private-sector leaders gathered to address the world's most pressing challenges. From the start, Dr. Jimmy Gasore, Rwanda's Minister for Infrastructure, set the tone by emphasizing the role of engineering in driving progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As keynote speakers and panelists explored topics like clean water, renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and climate resilience, the conference underscored engineering’s essential role in achieving a sustainable future. Resolutions and Key Outcomes One of the core achievements of GECO 2024 was the establishment of actionable resolutions for six primary SDGs, each highlighting specific challenges, objectives, and pathways forward:
GECO’s commitment to these resolutions aligns closely with the mission to drive engineering as a key force for sustainable development, one that promotes capacity building, ethical practices, and innovative solutions. The engagement of sponsors and exhibitor showcased the strength of public and private sector collaboration in supporting these ambitious goals. Infrastructure Insights: The Study Tour The conference concluded with a study tour on October 18, spotlighting Rwanda’s infrastructure achievements, including Bugesera International Airport (an exemplar of modern aviation infrastructure), Nyabarongo II Multipurpose Dam (a milestone in renewable energy), the newly renovated Amahoro Stadium, and the Bridges to Prosperity suspension bridge, illustrating the role of engineering in connecting communities. These site visits provided firsthand insights into how infrastructure projects are transforming lives and promoting sustainable development in Rwanda. GECO 2024 was more than just a conference; it was a springboard for solutions and partnerships that will propel the engineering profession toward achieving sustainability goals, reinforcing the power of engineering to build a resilient, inclusive future. 23/5/2024 0 Comments Built environment professionals across the Commonwealth renew their commitment to confronting global challenges together. May 2024Commonwealth associations representing architects, engineers, planners and surveyors have relaunched the ‘Built Environment Professionals in the Commonwealth’ (BEPIC), a voluntary collaboration that aims to advance advocacy, capacity building and climate action in response to the global challenges posed by climate change and rapid urbanisation.
The collaboration also responds to the findings of the Survey of the Built Environment Professions in the Commonwealth, published in 2020, which identified:
The findings of the survey are particularly important in light of the fact that nearly 50% of the projected increase in the World’s urban population to 2050 is forecast to be in Commonwealth countries where 95% of the cities most at risk from climate impacts are to be found. This growth represents a doubling of the urban population across the Commonwealth, from 1bn to 2bn in the next 30 years. BEPIC members include the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP), the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE) and the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council (CEC). The collaboration also recognises the work that has been undertaken by the members of the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Initiative and the Declaration on Sustainable urbanisation adopted by Leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting which took place in Kigali, Rwanda in 2022. First launched in 1997, BEPIC aims to strengthen the impact of its members through joint advocacy, knowledge sharing and continuing professional development. CAA President, Peter Oborn said: “The CAA is pleased to have renewed its commitment to BEPIC and looks forward to collaborating with built environment colleagues from around the Commonwealth as we work together to help leverage the Commonwealth advantage for greater impact.” CAP President, Jua Cilliers said: “Recognising the urgency of our shared challenges in urbanization and climate change, the Commonwealth Association of Planners is deeply committed to the principles and goals of BEPIC. Together, we can forge transformative pathways that not only respect our diverse cultural landscapes but also strengthen the resilience of our cities”. CASLE President Joseph Ajanlekoko said: “CASLE is delighted to renew our collaborative efforts with our colleagues in BEPIC. The challenges facing our professions within the commonwealth are numerous and diverse and only by facing them together do we have a chance of success.” CEC President, Dawn Bonfield MBE said: “What we know as built environment professionals is that none of us can work independently from one another, and this collaboration represents the reality of the systems in which we all exist, so we are delighted to be working together with BEPIC colleagues on these shared objectives.” BEPIC Objectives
Background to the members of BEPIC
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) takes place biannually and will next take place in Samoa in October 2024. BEPIC are working to build on the Declaration on Sustainable Urbanisation to align with the theme of One Resilient Common Future. END Paper on events related to Climate Change in Mauritius
Between 13th and 19th January 2024, Mauritius was severely impacted by Cyclone Belal and Candice and some of the headlines read : Cyclone Belal causes heavy flooding in Mauritius after battering Reunion Mauritius is a tropical island regularly visited by cyclones and cyclones such as CAROL and ALIX in the late 1960’s brought a cultural change with construction of homes and other buildings in reinforced concrete as part of resilience building. Also, from experience over the years, Mauritius has in place, a tested and proven warning system with timely evacuation of residents from vulnerable areas to safe refuge centres. In this context we have a National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) since 2010. This centre becomes operational 24/7 the moment notice of heavy rainfall or cyclone is issued by the Meteorological Services. However, the recent cyclones and in general, weather patterns are showing that heavy deluge of rain are occurring over short periods leading to chaos leading to closure of schools and offices and heavy traffic jams, due to all trying to get home at the same time. In anticipation of these floodings, landslides, coastal erosion and coastal reprofiling, water security, Engineers are engaged in preparing a national drainage masterplan which is already being implemented in the worst flood prone areas. Cutoff drains upstream of residential areas as well as new drains in towns and villages are urgently being built to minimize overflooding by redirecting flows into newly created flood plains. For the low-lying area in the centre of Port Louis, where many parked vehicles were swept away, engineers have identified and recommended, that such areas are decreed as a no-parking zone when the meteorological services forecast 100 mm of rainfall in that catchment area for the duration of a specific timeframe. The coastal zone is proving to be the biggest challenge to prevent any coastal erosion and floodings because of 1) the waves (energy) impacting on the shore are from different direction depending on the coordinates of the cyclones and 2) when cyclonic conditions coincide with high tide resulting in backup of floods inland. Engineers contribution both in terms forecasting impacts from Cyclones and floodings to dealing with unforeseen situation such as resilience building for roads, and infrastructure are critical. The Institution of Engineers Mauritius is also driving a project for Engineering Graduate Degree courses, run by National Universities to be benchmarked with Washing Accord standards so that the Engineers of the future are educated to deal with as yet, unforeseen challenging issues. Raj H Prayag GOSK. PDSM. CEng. FIEM Commonwealth Engineers’ Council International Women’s Day Event, March 2024 Speaker BiographiesWelcome to the International Women’s Day webinar organised by the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council. WE invite you to join us to hear from four inspiring women from the Commonwealth talking about the 2024 theme of #InspireInclusion. Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84307428083 Moderator: Dawn Bonfield President, Commonwealth Engineers’ Council Dawn Bonfield MBE FREng is Professor of Practice in Sustainable Development at King's College London, and Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering at Aston University, working with young people on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as ethics, equity, diversity and inclusion in the engineering sector. She is currently President of the Commonwealth Engineers' Council. She is also the Founder & Director of Towards Vision, a not-for-profit which works towards a vision of diversity and inclusion in engineering, and founder of Magnificent Women, a social network exploring the history of women in engineering. She is former CEO of the Women's Engineering Society (WES), founder of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), and an Executive Board Member of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations. Speakers Michelle Meaclem Co-lead WFEO Young Engineers/Future Leaders Working Group Michelle is a Civil Engineer at Tonkin + Taylor New Zealand with over 5 years’ experience across civil and stormwater design, climate resilience, and water infrastructure advisory. Michelle is a Commonwealth Engineers Council President’s Future Leader and is a passionate advocate for aligning the infrastructure sector to climate targets and the inclusion of young people, especially those in STEM, in climate policy making. She does this through her roles as the co-lead of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations’ Young Engineers/Future Leaders’ Working Group on SDG13: Climate Action (Working Group) and a Steering Committee member of the Commonwealth Youth for Sustainable Urbanisation network. In 2023, Michelle was a COP28 International Youth Climate Delegate and a finalist for Young Engineer of the Year. Michelle Maphosa Author and cofounder - Sibo the Engineer Program Michelle is the author of Sibo the Engineer series, an African educational children's program on STEM. A civil engineer and certified project manager, she is a passionate advocate for the increased quality of STEM education in Africa, as well as the uptake and retention of women in STEM. She is the co-founder of Tea in 60, a virtual mentorship and networking platform for Zimbabwean girls and women in STEM, and its offshoot STEMExplorers, which focuses on the early introduction of STEM to children under 12 years. Michelle has experience in construction and project management in government, private and development sectors. Michelle is an awardee of the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Catalyst Program (Phase 4 and 5), and sits on various global, regional and national committees on Engineering Education and Capacity Building. Trudy Morgan President of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers Ing Trudy Morgan is President of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers, Council Member of the Professional Engineering Regulatory Council; Co-founder and first President of the Sierra Leone Women Engineers; a trustee with the UK based charity Engineers for Change (Sierra Leone); and the International Representative for the UK Institution of Civil Engineers. Following her first degree from Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone, she started her career with Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons working on iconic buildings in London, followed by 11 years designing and building railway bridges and infrastructure across the UK. She completed her MBA at Cranfield and spent the next 10 working as a management consultant and business development specialist leading teams across 17 countries designing and constructing offices for a large UK government agency. She returned to Sierra Leone in 2010 where she has worked as a Consultant with the IFC, World Bank; and the United Nations. She has worked in many sectors including transportation, health, ICT amongst others. Passionate about youth and women empowerment, she has started several initiatives that support the growth and development of young people and women. Ing Trudy made history by becoming the first female Fellow from Africa, of the UK Institution of Civil Engineers. She has won several awards locally for her work with women engineers. In June 2020, she became the first female President of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers in its 50 year anniversary. And in November 2023, she was named as one of 274 engineering icons by Transport for London and the Royal Academy of Engineering. Valerie Kelsick Past President, Association of Professional Engineers, Trinidad and Tobago Regional Representative of the Caribbean and Americas Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad & Tobago (APETT) Ms. S. Valerie Kelsick has an extensive and diverse background covering over 35 years combined experience in project management, project finance, banking, financial and management consulting, facility maintenance and consulting engineering. Her formal professional career culminated with a Project Officer/Analyst position at the Caribbean Development Bank followed by managerial positions at Republic Bank Limited. Ms. Kelsick holds an MBA in Finance & International Business, from Columbia Business School (USA), a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Southampton (UK) and the PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) (USA) credential. She is a Registered Engineer with the Board of Engineering as well as a Fellow of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad & Tobago (APETT). She also possesses various professional credentials having completed courses including Chartered Director Programme from Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute (TT), public private sector partnerships, mediation and construction contracts. Serving as Board Director on public and not for profit institutions, she has a passion for strategic governance efforts and influencing public policies. Ms Kelsick is a Past President of APETT, former Chair of the National Insurance Property Development Company Limited as well as a former Trustee of the Colleges of Science, Technology & Applied Arts of Trinidad & Tobago. She also serves on the Board of the Fondes Amandes Reaforestation Community Project (FACRP) 28/2/2024 0 Comments Young Engineers/Future LeadersA recent call out to young engineers across the Commonwealth appealed to a group of 50 or so new individual members, who expressed an interest in getting directly involved in project work in a number of identified areas. Of the respondents, 23% were female; there was a good spread of countries represented, with the biggest numbers from Nigeria and Zimbabwe; there was also a good spread of job roles represented, with 57% working in the private sector, 20% in government or public sectors, 13% for an NGO or charity, and 8% in academia. Respondents were interested in working in the following areas: governance and communication; membership and partnerships; sustainable urbanisation; indigenous engineering; standards and policy; engineering education; and mentoring.
The next steps for this group will be an information session on Monday 11th March (Commonwealth Day), and from there, sub-groups will be formed and leaders chosen. If you would like to join this meeting, details are below. The meeting will be recorded and made available subsequently for those who are not able to join. Topic: CEC Young Engineers Information Session Time: Mar 11, 2024 09:00 AM GMT (London) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87831089659 Meeting ID: 878 3108 9659 I look forward to seeing you there. If you would like to join CEC as an indivual member, please fill in the online application form which can be found here. 19/2/2024 0 Comments Catching them Young through Sibo the Engineer Project- Where Fun and STEM Collide!![]() Introducing Sibo the Engineer, the ultimate inclusive and accessible STEM program on a mission to ignite the imaginations of African children everywhere! At the heart of the Sibo the Engineer program lies a series of enchanting children's books that follow Sibo, a young and curious Zimbabwean girl, and her friends as they embark on various adventures learning all things STEM. The innovative program comprises a captivating children's book series, engaging animations, and active learning activities, taking young adventurers on a thrilling journey through the fascinating world of STEM. Thanks to the Africa Catalyst Phase 4 grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2023, a pilot program of Catching them Young through Sibo the Engineer Project was launched through the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO). 120 children from 6 primary schools in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe experienced the thrill of STEM firsthand, donning their little helmets and reflector jackets, visiting Bulawayo City Council’s Criterion Water Treatment works and learning how water from various sources makes its way to their taps. After that the children watched the animation and were given fun toy water filter sets that they could create clean water with, just like at the water treatment works! The students and educators absolutely loved the day out, and special thanks to Bulawayo City Council, who partnered with Sibo to make it all happen. In addition to this, 2,000 copies of Sibo the Civil Engineer books were distributed to various schools across Zimbabwe, a digital learning platform was created for children across the country to access the resources at any time. Because of last year's success, Sibo the Engineer has won the Africa Catalyst Phase 5 grant this year. This time through the Southern African Federation of Engineering Organisations (SAFEO), the project will focus on introducing early childhood STEM education programs to professional engineering bodies in five other African countries. Two more captivating books and animations will join the series, spreading the joy of STEM education even further across the continent. Sibo the Engineer Project is proud to have partnered with the Commonwealth Engineering Councils in both phases of the grant. In this regard, the Project is inviting members of the CEC for knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices in STEM education. By leveraging the Council's network and resources, Sibo can learn from successful initiatives implemented in other Commonwealth countries and adapt them to suit the African context. Additionally, any support from the members in advocating for improvements to STEM education infrastructure, such as school laboratories, libraries, and technology facilities would be appreciated. Sibo is also looking at collaborating with CEC members to develop digital learning resources, such as online courses, interactive apps, and educational videos, to supplement traditional classroom instruction. These resources would provide students with additional opportunities to explore STEM concepts and enhance their learning experiences. If you would like to know more, or get involved further, please email Michelle Maphosa [email protected]. 17/1/2024 0 Comments New Year, New StrategyHappy New Year to all members and friends of the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council.
I am writing this message to update you on some recent changes that have been taking place at the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council. The Executive Board of the Council, whose members you can see here took the decision before Christmas to become a legally registered Company Limited by Guarantee. We have never, as an organisation, had a legal status in the past, but two drivers compelled us to take this decision. Firstly, the World Federation of Engineering Organisations require its International Members to have a legal status in order to be a ‘named’ International member. Secondly, having a legal status became a new requirement of the Commonwealth Secretariat, to whom we are accredited, in order for us to comply with reaccreditation requirements. Since this accreditation with the Commonwealth gives us an important platform for change and access to leaders across the Commonwealth at the highest level, we felt it to be important that we do everything in our power to retain this accreditation. Once this Company formation is complete, we will be required to make some changes to the Constitution in order to reflect this, which will come your way in due course. We have submitted a number of documents in support of the reaccreditation process, which can be seen here. The Strategy document comes directly from the Constitution that was agreed at our last General Assembly meeting in Prague, and from this the Draft Programme of Activities has been generated. In addition to this programme, we have launched an engagement exercise to enlist the support of individual young engineering leaders to join as members from across the Commonwealth, and we are hoping that they will identify and deliver their own programme of activities too – to be defined. If you have young engineers that you think would be willing to get involved as individual members, please forward this link to them so that they can join https://forms.gle/sxpeRoytWd8Q8ZVN7 So as you can see, there has been a lot going on. We would love to engage your help and support in these CEC activities, and to identify others, so I am proposing to create a short survey for you to respond to with your thoughts on our direction of travel, and your ideas for our future engagement, which I will send out to you within the next couple of weeks (hopefully through an online form). We are also putting together a newsletter to go out in celebration of Commonwealth Day in early March, so if you have news that you would like to share, please forward it to Katie Momber (who provides our secretariat) and I. We are hoping also to organise an activity around World Engineering Day, which is also close to Commonwealth Day, in early March, so please let us know if you have any suggestions. Please do share this information with colleagues or other institutions, as relevant. And do get in touch with suggestions for how we can work best together. I look forward to us working together over the coming year. Earlier this week I became President of the Commonwealth Engineers’ Council, taking over from Professor Paul Jowitt who has capably held the Presidency since 2011, representing the organisation in all manner of ways, including as the Representative and Executive Council member of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations, a position which I will take over too. It is a real honour to do this. The Commonwealth is a very special institution. It was formed (in London) back in 1946 by engineering organisations from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK, and continued to add members over the subsequent years, holding regular meetings around the world. It is worth reading some more about the history of the organisation, if you are interested, on the website here https://lnkd.in/eWuWi-42.
Today the engineers of the Commonwealth have a vital role to play, principally because many of the member countries of the Commonwealth are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; in the case of many of the Small Island Developing States, they are in real danger of extinction as the oceans’ sea levels rise. The Presidency I take over is a two year appointment, and in that time my aim is to concentrate on ways that we can make full use of our network of members to the benefit of all of us, as we share our challenges and solutions, our expertise, our knowledge, our resources, and our voice to amplify the concerns of the many members whose voice is not heard – or heeded. One of the distinguishing factors of the Commonwealth is the number of young people – 60% of the Commonwealth population being under the age of 30, and it is this group of young engineers who will be the engine of the CEC, literally driving our agenda for change forwards. These are the leaders – not of tomorrow – but of today. They have vision, they have ambition, they have passion. I am very much looking forward to this journey, and will keep you posted as it progresses. Dawn Bonfield MBE FREng https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnbonfield/ |
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