WESF plays a role in promoting standardization and eliminating global trade barriers.
The Forum was held from 12 to 15 November and was organized by the International Competence Centre for Mining Engineering Education, under the auspices of UNESCO in collaboration with the Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University, Russia.
The theme of the Forum was “The Role of Engineering Education and Science in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals- New Challenges and Solutions” and the event took place at the conference/hotel facility of the university. I was invited to address the delegates at the Opening Session of the Forum. I wrote and delivered a paper titled “WFEO Using Engineering as a Driver for Sustainable Development” which I presented on 12 November 2024.
At the opening Ceremony
On arrival on 11 November, I was taken through a tour of the three campuses of the University and had a meeting with the Rector, Prof. Vladimir Litvenenko, the Director General of the UNESCO Centre Prof. Vladimir Borzenkov, Prof. Paul Omaji and some senior members of the University and UNESCO Centre.
Among the issues we discussed is their desire to participate actively in the programmes of WFEO henceforth, by representing the Russian Federation in WFEO. I was very delighted with their intention to bounce back into the WFEO family having been active members in the past to the extent of producing the third President of WFEO in person of Alexandre Ishlinsky.
At the first Plenary Session
In front of the Statue of Empress Catherine II
In a view to demonstrating their strong desire to join WFEO, they proposed to have a Memorandum of Intent signed between us during the conference. This was drafted and signed during the conference by me and the President of the National Association of Mining Engineers (NAME) who is also the Rector of the Mining University.
The Forum was attended by over 500 delegates comprising 16 UNESCO Centers of Excellence, Universities and International Organizations from about 30 Nationalities.