EWB seeks to eradicate global poverty

George Roter, co-founder of Engineers Without Borders, was in town this week to meet with the Memorial University chapter of the organization. Part of his visit involved discussing the upcoming Engineers Without Borders (EWB) national conference to be held in St. John’s in January 2010.

“Our chapters in Canada are a really important part of our organization; we have 35 of them across Canada,” Roter said. “We’re trying to massively reduce poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. When you visit, one of the things you see is this suffocating challenge of poverty.”

EWB’s mandate is based upon three tenets. The first is to promote human development by driving change in Canada and in developing communities. EWB is raising awareness among Canadians about the impact of their daily actions on developing communities. Roter says that understanding the issues is the key to affecting real change in sub-Saharan Africa.

“There is certainly a great group of youth leaders here in Newfoundland, and I’m really looking forward to learning more about their initiatives and goals,” said Roter.

Secondly, the group aims to make Canada a model global citizen in the fight against poverty. Overseas, their volunteers promote human development in some of the world’s most impoverished countries. Social entrepreneurship and corporate responsibility have become important to EWB’s vision.

The third tenet is to advocate for innovative and appropriate solutions to poverty. In his address to the St. John’s Board of Trade, Roter asserted that he saw Africa as a continent of opportunity, as opposed to a continent of tragedy.

“When you look at the macro-level statistics, it’s the same thing as what you see when you turn on the TV and see children with distended bellies. It’s very dire. I stayed in a small community in Africa and I saw a very different story. I stayed with a farmer who was growing, I think, about 14 different types of crops and livestock. His produce is fair trade certified. He was such an interesting guy.”

Roter says this man had an optimistic vision for the future of his family, community, and country.

“When you meet someone like that, you see pure human potential,” he said.

During January of 2010, the EWB’s national conference will be held here in St. John’s.

“It fits perfectly because MUN’s chapter has been one of the most involved and successful of all the branches.”

Over 400 student, business, and engineering leaders from across Canada and Africa will come to Newfoundland for four days of working sessions, keynote speeches, and discussions.

“I’m not naive enough to believe that through a three-day conference, we have the ability to end global poverty,” said Roter. “[However], we are in an interesting place, organizationally. EWB started in Canada almost 10 years ago now from humble beginnings, and we’ve had amazing successes. We have a large and growing international reputation.”

One highlight will be a youth outreach event that simultaneously engages more than 10,000 students across the province. “This is the biggest international development conference in Canada, and the biggest international event to ever come to Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Roter.