News
Digital transformation and capacity building in Africa
World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development 2025
UNESCO celebrated World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development 2025 with an event on March 4 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, in partnership with the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO). Under the theme 鈥淢obilizing the power of engineers to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)鈥, the day highlighted the key role of engineering in sustainable development. The event brought together decision-makers, scientists, engineers and industry representatives to explore digital transformation, energy solutions, infrastructure and gender equality in engineering.
Panel discussion: Exploring the transformative power of digital technologies in Africa
This discussion, moderated by Ms Ania Lopez, Executive Vice-President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, featured African speakers who hold or have held high-level positions in the engineering sector:
- Mr. Martin Manuhwa - Senior Consultant, Zimbabwe Africa Infrastructure Development Group (ZAIDG) / Chairman of the WFEO Engineering Capacity Building Committee.
- Pr. Dorothy Okello - Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University.
- Pr. Gong Ke - Former WFEO President, Head of the Africa Strategic Project Working Group.
- Dr. K. N. Gunalan - Chairman, Atlas Climate Resilient Infrastructure Initiative.
Engineering in Africa: prospects and challenges
Inspired by the International Day of the World System for Sustainable Development (IDSSD), WFEO has initiated a new program, 鈥淓ngineering Capacity Building for Africa鈥. This program, designed in collaboration with international partners, is rooted in Africa and dedicated to its development.
Africa has been defined as a strategic priority by WFEO, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to reduce gaps between and within countries. Engineering capacity building is essential to ensure the production of essential goods such as food, clothing and transportation.
The 鈥鈥 report highlights the ambitions and actions required to meet these challenges.
Today, only 48% of Africans have access to the Internet. The development of basic infrastructures is a necessity, and collaboration with industrial players is essential to achieve this.
Furthermore, women remain under-represented in engineering, with a rate of less than 30% in many African countries. It is therefore crucial to integrate the human dimension into these development prospects, in order to guarantee inclusive and sustainable growth.
This is why UNESCO is committed to reducing inequalities in engineering, both in terms of gender - only 28% of engineering graduates are women - and geographically, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of engineers is lower than in any other region of the world.
Hackathon WED 2025
As part of the celebrations, a hackathon was organized, bringing together teams of engineering students and professionals from around the world who collaborate to devise innovative solutions to global challenges.
At the WED 2025 Hackathon, the People's Choice Award-awarded on the basis of a popular vote-went to the AgriConnect team, a collaboration between students from the University of Arts and Media (UMATED) in Ghana and the Lyc茅e Paul 脡luard in France. Their project, 鈥淎griConnect鈥, aims to improve agricultural practices through technological innovation.
This distinction underlines the international nature of the hackathon and highlights Ghana's active involvement in engineering initiatives in favor of sustainable development.
