2024 was a monumental year in our journey, as we proudly launched our new five-year strategic plan. Guiding us forward is our vision of engineering an equitable and sustainable future.
It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome you to read our 2024 Engineers Without Borders Canada Annual report. I extend my gratitude to each one of you: our staff, board members, chapter members, donors, and volunteers, who have contributed to building EWB to where it is today. Your dedication fuels our progress and reinforces my confidence in our work.
2024 was a monumental year in our journey, as we proudly launched our new five-year strategic plan. Guiding us forward is our vision of engineering an equitable and sustainable future. This strategy brings EWB Canada back to our roots in engineering and technology, while deepening our commitment to investing in people.
People have always been at the heart of what we do. We are driven by our mission to invest in people to create systemic change through engineering, infrastructure and technology. We mobilize the engineering community, and like-minded changemakers who believe in the transformative power of technology. We leverage technological innovation to address urgent and important global challenges through community driven collaboration, in Canada and beyond. Simply put, we are changemakers here at EWB Canada.
These changemakers include our community. EWB would not be the organization we are today without the exceptional leadership of our chapters. As we embark on our new strategic direction, our chapter members have continued on the journey with us and have supported important initiatives within their communities and abroad. In 2025, we strive to strengthen our support and engagement with chapters, and expand nationally aligned initiatives built on our shared aspirations.
In-person engagement remains a vital part of our work, bringing our people together to experience the EWB magic. Our 2024 xChange Conference Series did just that. A three-city event series organized by our student chapters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, xChange 2024 brought together students, thought leaders, industry experts, and young professionals for engaging discussions on renewable energy and sustainable development. xChange remains a landmark event for the EWB community, building connections and equipping the next generation of engineers with the mindset and skills to lead systemic change
Youth innovation also remains central to our work. In 2024, the Canada-Africa Innovation Fellowship (CAIF) brought together 15 students – seven Canadian and eight Ugandan – to develop practical solutions to local challenges in Uganda’s Mbarara District. Following an all-female cohort in 2023, this year’s cohort achieved gender balance with 53% female participants. Students collaborated on projects tackling renewable energy and agricultural technology, demonstrating the power of cross-cultural collaboration in engineering sustainable solutions. CAIF remains one of our most impactful programs, leaving a lasting impact on fellows,many of whom have continued their projects beyond the fellowship.
2024 saw the launch of Engineering Brighter Tomorrows (EBT), a flagship initiative in partnership with Engineers Without Borders Zambia. EBT aims to increase access to electricity in rural schools and health clinics in East and Southern Africa, and unlock the transformative power of solar to uplift communities, improve education and strengthen healthcare systems. EBT is not about the technology alone, but the people who the technology will enable to better their own lives and communities. We look forward to realizing this impact as we continue to pilot this new initiative in 2025.
Finally, EWB’s program Mining Shared Value (MSV) continued to have a global reach in its efforts to create more economic benefits to communities hosting mining operations. Key successes included the launch of an Indigenous Mining Procurement Checklist and Guidance for communities to harness procurement opportunities, as well as a toolkit for the mining industry to support human rights due diligence in mining procurement of goods and services. Human Rights Due Diligence is an increasingly important topic as countries like Canada put in place new supply chain legislation. As always, MSV continues its strong commitment towards advocacy to create systemic change in the global mining space.
These initiatives—and the impact they have generated—would not be possible without the dedication of our staff, volunteers, partners, and supporters. That is why this is not simply an annual report but also a celebration of our collective achievements. As we look ahead, EWB remains committed to engineering a brighter, more equitable future.
As I reflect on 2024, I am proud of how EWB Canada has deepened our impact, championed innovation, and strengthened partnerships that drive systemic change. Across every initiative, from engineering-driven development projects to global advocacy, our work has been rooted in a belief that engineering can and must play a central role in solving the world’s most pressing challenges. Thank you for being part of this journey. We look forward to an even more prosperous and impactful 2025 for EWB Canada
Yours Sincerely,
David Boroto, CEO
