Blog
Stories from EWB Australia
Volunteer adventures in Vanuatu: Sadia’s life-changing year abroad
Feature image: Sadia Abdullah and her team at the Vanuatu Department of Water Resources during her year abroad as an EWB Australian Volunteers Program Field Professional. When Sadia Abdullah arrived in Vanuatu, the first thing she noticed was the heat and the...
Building a reliable water supply for the residents of Darlau, Timor-Leste
Caption: Darlau residents supporting the construction of the permanent water supply system. In Darlau, a village in Timor-Leste, collecting water was until recently a slow and physically demanding task. Every day, residents would trek to the only springwater supply...
‘Impactful Futures’ Immersives return on Lama Lama Country
Caption: EWB's 'Impactful Futures' Immersive took participants on a journey from Cairns to Port Stewart in Far North Queensland in July 2023. ‘Look, listen, learn’ was the mantra of Traditional Owners on Lama Lama Country during EWB’s Impactful Futures Immersive in...
Schneider’s Innovation Champions training
What could the role of an organisation like Schneider Electric look like when working with organisations, such as EWB, to reach the last mile - the very end-users in remote communities that are often the most challenging to reach? This question was explored as part of...
The realities of climate change in rural Cambodia
For communities like Koh Thnaot in Cambodia, the impacts of climate change are already being acutely felt. An ever-shortening and inconsistent wet season has cut their rice-harvesting season in half and made agricultural farming unpredictable, forcing the need to...
Eight engineers, eight days, three communities
EWB Australia pilots its new professional skills development program in three remote Cambodian communities. Today’s engineers are working within a rapidly evolving global economy and are required to address issues like climate change, technology emergence, automation,...
Linking technology to my principles of social justice.
Rameen Hayat Malik reflects on a life changing experience, as part of the first ever EWB Australia Design Summit Study Tour to Samoa In July 2017. “For me, there was always a motivation to do something meaningful. I just didn’t quite understand what that looked like...
Bringing Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives into STEM
Chelsea Hayward, supported by the 2017 MECCA M-Power scholarship, travelled to the Torres Strait Islands with a group of volunteers to pilot some new School Outreach resources. “Streaks of yellow and orange fill the sky as the sun sinks below the ocean horizon –...
How do we stop turning our environment into an open sewer?
Stephanie Hamel, WASH Program Manager in Vanuatu with EWB Australia and EWB New Zealand, shares her reflections on sanitation and the global environmental crisis. "For the past three years, I have worked as a Water Sensitive Urban Design/Drainage Officer in an...
School students remind me of ‘the why’
“For me, there was always a motivation to do something meaningful. I just didn’t quite understand what that looked like or how it was to be done." “Streaks of yellow and orange fill the sky as the sun sinks below the ocean horizon – another beautiful sunset to...
Exploring ways to encourage Pro-Bono
How can we encourage Pro Bono services in our industries? This was the question raised at the recent think tank event organised by Engineers without Borders (EWB) and Engineers Australia (EA).During this event participants were given the opportunity to engaged with a...
Kinship and Culture – training promotes understanding
It has been 27 years since the famous handshake between the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and his Opposition counterpart, symbolising a great beginning to the statutory Aboriginal reconciliation process. Yet constitutional and legislative deficiencies in the...
International Day for Volunteer Managers – and why they matter!
This year's International Volunteer Managers Day theme is "Be the Voice". As EWB Volunteer Outreach Lead, Anna Cain wants to voice a big thanks to all the volunteer managers who are enabling EWB to connect, educate and empower people through humanitarian...
Kickstart with Mecca M-Power Boot Camp
In early August, Chelsea Hayward, the recent winner of the MECCA M-Power grant supported by a partnership between Engineers Without Borders Australia and MECCA Brands, participated in a bootcamp for young female social entrepreneurs. The bootcamp formed part of the...
Understanding the Indigenous legacy enriches Engineering
How far back to we need to go to understand the engineering solutions that have been applied to shape our landscape? In Australia examples like the Brewarrina Fish Traps in South Western New South Wales, recognised by Engineers Australia as a heritage location...
RWC & EWB recognised at Australian National Water conference
Last week, I had the privilege to attend and present at OzWater, the Australian Water Association’s (AWA) annual conference, along with Kea, the executive director of Rainwater Cambodia (RWC). As well as my presentation, I also was involved in planning and...
Coming together for Naidoc
NAIDOC outreach events have become a staple in the Vic EWB calendar. As always a troupe of volunteers represented by national office, state chapter, university and professional associate alike all pile into cars and journey up to Barmah for a day dedicated to the...
Embracing Aboriginal Culture Through EWB Partnership
Structural Engineer Katie Brown recently participated in an Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Design for Development programme in partnership with the University of Adelaide. The programme included a small number of workshops and a seven day tour across regional...
Professional Skills Development in Cambodia
Professional Skills Development in Cambodia - Improving employment pathways for graduates in technical sectorsOn 26th January 2017, EWB's Professional Skills Development project ran a Link & Learn workshop in Phnom Penh in collaboration...
Launching EWB Australia’s Annual Report ‘Towards 2020’
EWB Australia is proud to launch its 2015-16 Annual Report, ‘Towards 2020,’ celebrating and reporting the impact of our organisation over the last financial year. The report, EWB’s most comprehensive yet, showcases the breadth of our impact and...
Water Abundance Xprize challenge offers $1.5 Million to create water.
Aims to alleviate the global water crisis with energy-efficient technologies that harvest fresh water from thin air.WATER ABUNDANCE XPRIZE - APply at water.xprize.orgWater is a key element of life on our planet. More than 71% of the Earth’s surface is...
Celebrating International Women’s Day 2017
We are celebrating International Women's Day 2017 with a couple of inspiring announcementsAt EWB we believe that diversity and equality not only create a richer society, they also help to foster innovation, inspiration and solutions that help us solve some of...
RainWater Cambodia: Empowering Cambodians
By Lachlan Guthrie - originally published on his blog. Recently my friend and colleague Rov Sokkhai wrote a small case study about the operations and maintenance training at RainWater Cambodia. The excellent case study shows that empowering people ends with better...
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