Blog
Stories from EWB Australia
A message from EWB CEO, Eleanor Loudon
As Eleanor wraps up six years as EWB Chief Executive Officer this month, she shares some reflections about her experience leading the organisation over the years: An Indigenous elder on an island in Kratie, Cambodia, once took me aside and asked directly, what can...
Building resilience to increasing uncertainty: the role of climate-resilient infrastructure
By Peter McArdle (Engineers Without Borders Australia), Anna Saxby (Humanitarian Advisory Group) and Neil Greet (Australian Security Leaders Climate Group) Increasing uncertainty Vanuatu is one of the most at risk countries in the world for natural disasters,...
Inside the Dili Water System Emergency Repair program
The Dili Water System Emergency Repair Program (DWSERP) addressed the catastrophic flood damage to Dili’s water transmission systems wreaked by heavy rains in April 2021. The program, funded by the Australian Government via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,...
Creating greater impact through mobilisation
Our first year of activating our mobilisation strategy has created more opportunities for volunteers and more support for communities. 53 volunteers mobilised 4 conceptual design projects completed (another 3 in progress) 800+ volunteer hours The launch of EWB...
Valuable New Opportunities For Engineering On Country
Program Re-think Opens Up Valuable New Opportunities For Supporting Remote Indigenous Communities Due to COVID-19, access to remote Indigenous communities in Australia has been restricted, resulting in Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) withdrawing face-to-face...
Design Challenge for Your Community
This National Science Week, the University of Technology Sydney, Engineers Without Borders Australia and Tech Girls Movement Foundation invite students to 'create for your community' in a two-day design challenge. On Thursday 20 & Friday 21 August 2020, classes...
ATEC biodigesters commence roll-out into Bangladesh
Pictured: In Bangladesh, Akhi is trialling the ATEC biodigester. Since launching as a social enterprise, ATEC* (of which EWB Australia is a shareholder) has reached over 1,500 households across rural Cambodia with its biodigester technology. Last year, a AU$2.35...
EWB Australia and FREO2 form alliance to design and scale life-saving oxygen technology
Pictured: Francis is happier and healthier three days after receiving oxygen therapy for suspected pneumonia/sepsis. Image credit: Peter Casamento Photography/FREO2 Pneumonia is the biggest killer of children across the globe, causing over 800,000 deaths per year*....
Let’s flatten the curve, and let’s make the next curve flatter
EWB Board Member Peter McArdle reflects on COVID-19 and where it lands in the humanitarian-development nexus. Never before has the public been so captivated by a graph. Sure, engineers are used to taking solace in the comfort of a curve, but this is not… typical,...
Delivering COVID-19 education to Vanuatu’s most remote communities
Pictured: Ratu from Vanuatu's Ministry of Health team at Drinking Water Safety and Security Plans training Immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic crisis that has impacted the world, Vanuatu was hit by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Harold. With borders closing in an...
Farming tech from afar
Pictured: Concept note for an Agrilab project The Agrilab is a co-design and capacity building program working to enable accessible agricultural livelihoods for people living with disabilities in rural Cambodia. The Agrilab involves a series of codesign workshops,...
EWB women standing up for women, everywhere, in the time of COVID-19
Have you been considering the challenges COVID-19 has placed on women, children, and other vulnerable members of our community? EWB's Women in Engineering (Feto Enginerha) team in Timor-Leste, joined by staff from Australia, Vanuatu, and Cambodia, certainly has! In...
Sonya Rand joins the Board of EWB Australia
EWB is delighted to announce the appointment of Sonya Rand to the EWB Australia Board. A Chartered Chemical Engineer, Sonya has held advisory roles with the Australian Attorney General’s Office and DFAT, addressing issues of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in...
Women In Engineering Day 2020: webinar
View the webinar recording here. Despite the opportunities available to women in engineering, the percentage of women in the engineering workforce sits below 13%. Defying the national trend, at Engineers Without Borders Australia, women make up 30-45% of the programs...
How can we take reconciliaction?
By EWB CEO, Eleanor Loudon Over the past week, there has been much reflection, sharing, and (online) gathering in support of National Reconciliation Week. This year's theme #InThisTogether mirrors the Covid-19 pandemic call-to-action, whilst being a pointed reminder...
Increasing access to energy on Country
Currently, many Indigenous communities are only able to access reliable energy on Country through the use of petrol and diesel generators - which can be costly to run and maintain - or through fixed renewable energy systems that are prohibitively expensive. In 2020...
Menstrual hygiene needs attention. Period.
Menstrual hygiene is gaining traction as a critical water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) concern in the Asia-Pacific, and intersects many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In Timor-Leste, our WASH program works to support the needs of rural communities in...
Reflections of a volunteering lifer
Pictured: Heidi as a volunteer with EWB working with a local project team, on a water supply project, conducting a topographical survey for a water supply distribution line at a rural agricultural college in remote Timor-Leste. This National Volunteer Week, long-time...
Open Mobilisation Challenge: Design a Timer (Without Numbers)
Seeking: graphic designers, industrial designers, software engineers or individuals with a natural flair for pragmatic design! Join our open design challenge to help save the lives of mothers and babies in rural Myanmar. Why is this needed? Myanmar has the highest...
Supporting Vanuatu’s Covid-19 education response
Vanuatu remains one of the few countries in the world with no confirmed cases of Covid-19. But cultural activity, remote living, low incomes and a stretched health system make Vanuatu communities highly vulnerable to the spread of such a virus. EWB Australia has been...
What I learnt – EWB Design Summit Cambodia
Georgia is based in Brisbane, studying Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology, with Bachelors in Medical Engineering and Physics. More recently, Georgia has been shadowing medical and electrical engineers at Nova Biomedical as part of a work experience...
Bigger and Bolder: World Engineering for Sustainable Development Day 2020
A wonderful legacy of the World Engineers Convention held in Melbourne late last year was the birth of the annual World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development, that we celebrate today, Wednesday March 4th, 2020 - a critical bringing-together of the engineering...
EWB Australia student chapters launch into Semester One 2020
Across the country EWB Australia student chapters have been bringing energy and excitement to their university orientation events, introducing new students to the EWB community and the breadth of opportunities to engage and contribute while at university. Join us on a...
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