Celebrating and Growing Engineering Excellence: 9th UNESCO Africa Engineering Week Kicks Off in Pretoria

The 9th UNESCO Africa Engineering Week, in tandem with the 7th Africa Engineering Conference, is set to take place from the 25th to 28th of September, 2023, in the politically and culturally rich city of Pretoria. With a compelling theme, "Celebrating and Growing Engineering Excellence in the African Region", the event is an engineering spectacle that hopes to engage minds, initiate dialogue and inspire action across the entire engineering spectrum.

The annual conference, which is a collaboration of minds across local and international engineering fields, discusses pressing issues facing the engineering community in an African context. The conference will highlight engineering excellence across the continent, giving delegates an inside look at the cutting-edge developments taking place in diverse engineering disciplines.

In a candid conversation with Thabo Mdluli, the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, highlighted his optimism and concern about the current state of the engineering industry in Africa. Recognising the advancements made post-1994 in service delivery, he also expressed concerns over persistent corruption and lack of systematic planned maintenance.

According to Zikalala, an inherited dilapidated infrastructure system requires significant investment to prevent further decay. The conference aims to address these issues and bridge the gap, developing skills for the continent as a whole to ensure a stronger, more stable African infrastructure.