IES Outreaches to Africa
Many countries in the African continent are currently going through a very high rate of development both economically and technologically. We saw fit to place this continent on our radar to support and contribute to that development by supporting IEEE members there. To achieve this objective, it was important to establish new IES chapters in various IEEE Sections in Africa. While we had the IES joint chapter in South Africa for a while, we had nearly nil presence elsewhere in Africa. During the last couple of years, the following new IES chapters were established in Africa:
North Africa:
- IES Chapter in Egypt
- IES Chapter in Tunisia
- IES Chapter in Libya
Central Africa:
- IES Chapter in Kenya
- IES Chapter in Uganda
The help of the Section Chairs and R8 leadership in the establishment of those Chapters in Africa must be acknowledged. Some of those chapters have already conducted technical activities at an international level and some started to establish Student Branch Chapters in their respective Sections.
What is critically important is to devise mechanisms to systematically energise and support those chapters so that their members can feel the added value of their affiliation with IES. Therefore, new support schemes and recognition awards/prizes were recently developed to cater for this need. There are also definite prospects for additional IES presence in different Sections as we have the objective and capacity to help and support our members wherever they exist.
This is yet another manifestation of the diversity and inclusiveness of our society.
Please join us in welcoming our new IES Chapters in Africa!
Article written by Yousef Ibrahim
VP-Membership, IEEE-IES
Yousef.Ibrahim@ieee.org