Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

AN OVERVIEW OF ENGINEERINGdreds of national and international conferences on engineeringaround the world every year, and every four years thereis the World Engineers’ Convention (most recently WEC2008in Brasília, and WEC2011 in Geneva). Because of the diversenature of engineering, various international organizations haveinterests in the subject, although UNESCO is the only internationalorganization with a specific mandate for science andengineering. WFEO was itself established at UNESCO in Parisin 1968 in response to calls for such an international organizationto represent the engineering community around theworld. WFEO, CAETS and the International Federation of ConsultingEngineers ( FIDIC) are presented in this Report, as arethe European Federation of National Engineering Associations(FEANI), the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia andthe Pacific (FEIAP, formerly FEISEAP), the Association for EngineeringEducation in Southeast and East Asia and the Pacific(AEESEAP), the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology(APCTT), the African Network of Scientific and TechnologicalInstitutions (ANSTI), the African Engineers Forum(AEF) and the International Federation of Engineering Societies(IFEES). International development organizations with a focuson engineering are also presented and these include PracticalAction (formerly the Intermediate Technology DevelopmentGroup), Engineers Without Borders (with increasing numbersof groups in an increasing number of countries), EngineersAgainst Poverty (UK) and Engineers for a Sustainable World(USA).4.3.2Tony RidleyInternational cooperationThe twentieth century was a time of increasing interdependence.Engineers work in their own country to assist their development,but engineers have been travelling to other countriesfor many years, particularly during the colonial era. Today,engineers work in a more collaborative, cooperative way.One of the major developments in engineering at the globallevel during the last twenty years has involved concern forthe environment. Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio deJaneiro, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development(CSD) was established by the United Nations GeneralAssembly in December 1992. Since the outset its meetingshave involved participation by members of civil society. Surprisingly,engineers were not included among those initiallyinvited; notwithstanding the crucial role they play in thedelivery of development, while protecting the environment inevery country in the world.Following representations made by WFEO, engineers were atlast invited, together with scientists through the InternationalCouncil of Scientific Unions (ICSU), to attend CSD-9 in 2001.They have been involved ever since with increasing influence,together with other representatives of civil society: women,children and youth, indigenous peoples, NGOs, local authorities,workers and trade unions, business, industry and farmers.This was followed by participation in the World Summit forSustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002and then the United Nations Millennium Project.The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted by theUnited Nations in 2000, are the world’s targets for reducingextreme poverty in its many dimensions: income poverty,hunger, disease, lack of infrastructure and shelter, while promotinggender equality, education, health and environmentalsustainability. The UN Millennium Project was commissionedby the then Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to develop a practicalplan of action to meet the targets.The core of the work of the Millennium Project was carried outby ten thematic task forces. Task Force 10 included a numberof engineers. Its report Innovation: Applying Knowledge inDevelopment argued that meeting the MDGs would requirea substantial reorientation of development policies so as tofocus on economic growth, particularly the use of scientificand technological knowledge and related institutional adjustments.It outlined key areas for policy action focusing on platformor generic technologies, defining infrastructure servicesas a foundation for technology, improving higher education inscience and placing universities at the centre of local development,spurring entrepreneurial activities, improving the policyenvironment, and focusing on areas of underfunded researchfor development. A key point – after all the excellent workdone in policy planning – was the recognition that engineerswere needed to turn the policies into reality and hence shouldbe involved in the planning.Out of Task Force 10 developed ‘Infrastructure, Innovationand Development’ (Ridley et al., 2006), 16 which argued thatthe absence of adequate infrastructure services is one of themain problems hindering efforts to develop Africa. Technologyand innovation are the engines of economic growth.With the globalization of trade and investment, technologicalcapabilities are a source of competitive advantage. Whileinfrastructure development and technological developmentare two of the most important areas of development policy,practitioners and policy-makers alike tend to consider themas separate issues. The focus of infrastructure developmentin recent years has shifted from the mere construction ofphysical facilities to the appropriate provision of services.Environmental and social factors have become part of infrastructuredevelopment and planning, yet most infrastructureprojects are not explicitly linked to technological developmentefforts.16 Ridley, T. M, Y-C. Lee and C. Juma, Infrastructure, innovation and development, Int J.Technology and Globalization, Vol.2, No.3/4, pp.268–278.© Marjoram President Lula at the 2008World Engineers’ Convention.137