Irina Bokova Promotes Engineering for Sustainable Development in China

On 2 June, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova and the President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Zhou Ji, signed an agreement on creating the International Knowledge Centre for Engineering Sciences and Technology (IKCEST), a new Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO. The Centre will be led by the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The signing and unveiling ceremony took place in the presence of Mr Song Jin, Vice Chair of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Mr Xu Kuangdi, Vice Chair of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. More than 300 officials and scholars, including from across the world, attended the ceremony.

“Engineering is a vital for addressing the global challenges we face,” said the Director-General. “UNESCO works to promote engineering for sustainable development by strengthening engineering education and capacity building, and I am pleased the International Knowledge Centre for Engineering Sciences and Technology will join these global efforts."

The Centre will further develop a digital library and support training and capacity-building, with a focus on developing countries. 

Contributing to the UNESCO Engineering Initiative, the Centre will act as a hub for data processing and exchange on climate change and a repository for science- and technology-based heritage items related to engineering, science and technology.

This UNESCO category 2 Centre joins 9 other centres in China, 6 focusing on the natural sciences.