News and Stories

Neemat Abdelrahim, IEEE Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee

In a webinar held on June 21st, 2023, the IEEE Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee, through its Connecting Humanitarian Experts initiative, set out to highlight the potential of renewable energy sources. Titled “Clean Energy Transition for Sustainable Future,” this webinar aimed to educate and inspire attendees. The webinar was opened with an introduction about both the IEEE Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee and the IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB) and the opportunities they offer for volunteers to tackle humanitarian issues by utilizing technologies and available resources.

The guest speaker was Simay Akar, IEEE HTB 2023 MGA Representative and CCO & Co-Founder of “Innoses.” She provided expert insights and a thorough overview of renewable energy resources, and covered various technologies, including solar photovoltaics, wind turbines and other technologies, to improve the participants’ understanding of these sustainable alternatives to tackle various problems. She also explained the important role and impact of humanitarian activities and actions towards a better way of developing clean and affordable energy. The presentation emphasized environmental consciousness and motivated the attendees to embrace renewable energy as a viable solution. With attendees from multiple IEEE Sections, this webinar promoted the transition to a clean energy future.

Originally published on IEEE Region 8 News September 2023 issue.

Lucija Brezočnik and Theodoros Chatzinikolaou, IEEE Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee

The former global IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee (HAC) was elevated to the Humanitarian Technology Board (HTB) in November 2022. The HTB oversees humanitarian activities across various IEEE groups, regions, and societies, and funds related projects and activities around the world. In Region 8, we are excited to announce the 2023 IEEE Region 8 HAC members. Our mission is to inspire and enable IEEE volunteers around Europe, Africa, and Middle East to carry out and support impactful humanitarian technologies and sustainable development activities at the local level.

As part of our mission, we defined new programs and initiatives to raise awareness, award active SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology) groups, and encourage creation of new ones. To name a few, the Community Support Program provides funding to organize SIGHT projects to solve local community needs; the SIGHT Groups Accelerator Program offers additional funding for active SIGHT groups; the R8 Humanitarian Technologies Hackathon provides funding to hackathon winners to implement their proposed tech solutions; the SIGHT Groups Coordination Workshops focuses on specific needs of SIGHT groups to help them on their operations and management; the Connecting Humanitarian Experts provides a series of webinars aiming to communicate the impact of technology on selected United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and the R8 Humanitarian Activities Congress provides space for networking and best practices sharing for SIGHT groups across our Region. To see which other initiatives our committee is conducting and how applications for funding can be made, please check our webpage huac.ieeer8.org.

We welcome all members to spread the word about our committee and SIGHT across their Sections. Please, remember to join us by adding a SIGHT membership (free of charge) and/or form a local SIGHT group. We look forward to working with you to make a positive difference in our communities!

Originally published on IEEE Region 8 News June 2023 issue.