The Civilution Forum, a body of like-minded voluntary associations, held their first meeting after the Civilution Congress in April. The Forum aims to lead, drive and monitor the Civilution movement to bring together all the major role players of the engineering industry in a common space, and to collaborate on workable alternatives to industry problems. It seeks to advance the aspirations of the engineering profession as encompassed by the Civilution movement.
The purpose of the meeting was to deliberate and reflect on the grounds gained after the Civilution Congress, the objective of which is to encourage engineering practitioners to act and think differently with a view to contributing positively and constructively to address engineering issues and the manner in which it is undertaken. Participants from SAIIE (South African Institute of industrial Engineering, SAFCEC (South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors), SAAMA (South African Asset Management Association), SASTT (South African Society for Trenchless Technology), SAIEE (South African Institute of Electrical Engineers), The Concrete Institute and SAICE attended. All agreed that regardless of short-comings, the Congress succeeded in drawing attention to the movement by putting the issues on the map.Initially the Forum had focused on seven challenges, but after the, and noting the extent of the challenges and the resources required to provide solutions, the Forum identified three vital challenges that require urgent attention:
- Technical capacity in the government sector
- Technical leadership and learned society activity, and
- Raising public, industry and government awareness of the value that engineering adds to the economy
