UNESCO AND INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY SIGN FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

Paris, March 16 {No.99-52} - UNESCO and the International Council for Engineering and Technology (ICET) today signed a framework agreement aiming to reinforce co-operation between the two organisations and recognising the eminent role of the engineers' organisations in favour of development, environmental protection and sustainable resource management.

Created in 1994 at the initiative of UNESCO, ICET groups some 10 million engineers and two non-governmental organisations: the International Union of Technical Associations and Organizations (UATI) which, since 1952, brings together some 30 international associations involved in specific areas of technology; and the World Federation of Engineers Organizations (WFEO), created in 1968, which brings together 80 national associations of engineers.

The agreement chiefly concerns the following fields: the training of engineers and co-operation between higher education and industry; the free flow of information and technology transfer; sustainable water and energy resource management within the framework of demographic development; natural disaster prevention and reducing their impact; and the establishment of a world code of ethics concerning respect for cultural diversity.