Beca sponsors EWBNZ's 2018 Humanitarian Engineering Conference

Beca was platinum sponsor at last week’s Engineers Without Borders New Zealand (EWBNZ) 2018 Humanitarian Engineering Conference. Read the conference round up from Beca Water Engineer, Caroline Hope.

The EWBNZ 2018 Humanitarian Engineering Conference brilliantly showcased people-centred and sustainable engineering projects that engage local communities.

For the third year running Beca was a sponsor for the event, and this year as a proud platinum sponsor for the first time. Jimmy Walsh, General Manager – Group Strategy and International Markets, addressed the audience and expressed the value Beca places on its strong partnership with EWBNZ. 

Susan Freeman-Greene, Chief Executive of Engineering New Zealand, set the tone of the day, reminding conference delegates of the important role that engineers played in society. Not only did it leave the engineers in the room with a warm, fuzzy feeling, it was also a wake-up call to remind us of the value in sharing our stories and making the general public aware of the work we do. 

While many of the speakers were from New Zealand some had flown in from international locations. As the platinum sponsor of the event, Beca were proud to have funded four speakers from the University of the South Pacific (Suva, Fiji) to attend and present at the conference. Their presentations added incredible value to the event, and offered a different view on the work being done around the South Pacific.

Among the speakers from New Zealand, Beca’s very own Victoria Clark and Kristina Hermens featured in the programme. 

Victoria, Environmental Engineer – Christchurch Water, shared her experiences as a Volunteer Services Abroad (VSA) volunteer in the Cook Islands. Over the past two years, VSA has provided water engineers to strengthen the capabilities of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Cook Islands, to improve water security in the area.

‘Evolving the Lakwe Spirit’ was the focus of Kristina Hermens’, Director – Auckland Water, presentation, speaking about her inovlvement in the innovative water services project in the Marshall Islands. Her presentation discussed Beca’s long term partnership with the islands and the details of the project, while highlighting some of the key lessons learnt and critical success factors. 

Josie Pagani, Council for International Development Director, summed up the day and left us with a few key takeaway messages, including:

1. Partnerships with compatible and incompatible entities are extremely valuable 

2. When telling stories communicate impact before the action

3. The impact of a values-based organisation cannot be underestimated

About Engineers Without Borders 

Engineers Without Borders is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to connect, educate and empower people through humanitarian engineering. Humanitarian engineering uses a people-centred, strength-based approach to improve community health, wellbeing and opportunity.

Want to know more?

Visit the Engineers Without Borders website for more information about the work they do, and how you can be involved. Beca is a key corporate partner of EWBNZ. Through our partnership and active volunteers providing pro-bono engineering assistance, we aim to work together to help transform and empower communities in need.