President of the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO), Ing. Carlien Bou-Chedid has sent a call to action for African economies to prioritize the training and development of more professionals into the field of engineering. 

In a circular to mark World Engineering Day, Ing. Carlien Bou-Chedid stated that “countries will better be served by an engineering workforce that is reflective of the society in which it operates.” 

The celebration of this year’s World Engineering Day comes amid the strains of Covid-19.

“Recovery from this pandemic will require the efforts of all and the role and contributions of African engineers within the world engineering community must be recognised", Ing. Carlien Bou-Chedid said.

“We commend and celebrate engineers on the continent who rallied around to come up with innovative solutions for the healthcare and sanitation needs brought about by the pandemic’, she said.

“We are also gratified to note the contributions made by African Engineers towards the development of vaccines that now offer hope to the world. We further commend the efforts of many other engineers in Africa who have, often in circumstances that are less than perfect, built and maintained infrastructure for the benefit of their fellow citizens,” she stated.

Being the first female engineer to head a male-dominated field, Ing. Carlien Bou-Chedid is particular about the participation of women and girls in engineering. 

“We call for greater participation of females in engineering. The current situation in which on average, less than 20% of females are involved in producing our engineering solutions will not serve us well. We call on African governments to actively pursue policies that will encourage the participation of females in engineering. Societal barriers must be removed and educational systems reformed to make the study of science and mathematics which form the basis of engineering, more attractive to students”, she insisted.

The World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development was proclaimed by UNESCO at its 40th General Conference in 2019. It is celebrated worldwide on 4^th of March of each year since 2020.

The day offers an opportunity to highlight engineers and engineering achievements in the modern world and improve public understanding of how engineering and technology are central to modern life and for sustainable development.

This year’s day is themed; “Engineering for a healthy planet - Celebrating the UNESCO Engineering Report”.