Organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Commonwealth 
Engineers’ Council the two day conference aimed to draw attention to the 
contribution of engineering to humanitarian assistance and international 
development and, while challenging received wisdom and discussing past 
mistakes, shared knowledge and expertise in those areas. 

Bringing together practising engineers, NGO personnel and academics 
with policy-makers and political representatives, the event sought to 
increase coordination between charities and NGOs, public institutions 
and private companies committed to humanitarian causes, as well as 
to encourage engineers to actively engage in these issues.

The conference, which is unique for its focus upon engineering, was part 
of the set of events scheduled for this year’s Commonwealth Week, 
which featured the theme Science, Technology and Society. A large 
number of engineering organisations and NGOs from across the 
Commonwealth and Latin America supportered the event.

A report summarising the issues raised at the event will be published 
and circulated after the conference, and both speakers and delegates 
are encouraged to engage in vigorous and productive discussions. To 
facilitate this, a number of relevant publications have been made 
available on the website.  

This event featured high profile speakers such as:

• HRH The Princess Royal
• Dr Latif Rashid, Minister of Water Resources, Government of Iraq
• Geoffrey Dennis, Chief Executive, Care International
• Tony Lloyd-Jones, Principal Lecturer, University of Westminster
• Michela Wrong, journalist and writer on Africa
• Prof Paul Jowitt, President, Institution of Civil Engineers
• Petter Matthews, Executive Director, Engineers Against Poverty
• Martin McCann, Chief Executive, RedR UK
• Michael Norton MBE, Managing Director, Water and Power, 
  Halcrow Group
• Beatriz Souviron, Bolivian Ambassador to the UK