August 2022

I take this opportunity to thank all IEEE members for their contributions to HAC’s mission in making IEEE a global leader in the sustainable development space. I deeply appreciate the encouragement and support from our partnering programs, IEEE senior volunteer leaders, and our amazing HAC staff team.

Capacity building workshops are one of the major programs launched by HAC in 2022. The major goal of this program is to strengthen the awareness that IEEE members have about the portfolio of programs offered by HAC and to train members to increase their participation. HAC successfully conducted capacity building workshops in major regional events in Region 8 and Region 10 this past month. The HAC workshop conducted in Tunis, Tunisia, had about 85 participants from 11 countries across the region and the Region 10 workshop received strong participation across the Region. We are thankful to the Region 8 and Region 10 leadership for partnering with HAC to deliver this unique program for their constituents.

On the partnership front, HAC continues to make great progress in our collaboration with IEEE regions and societies. HAC successfully delivered a keynote and plenary at Power Africa in partnership with PES/IASP and Smart Village Program. In addition, HAC delivered a plenary session on humanitarian activities at the first ever Region 8 HAC Congress held at Tunis, Tunisia. We are thrilled to have delivered an HAC workshop that benefited WIE members at the ILS conference in Kerala and Hyderabad, India. HAC leadership continues to involve all regional leaders to roll out joint programs in all regions in coming months. 

I am also excited to share that our partnership with the IEEE Foundation on the Taenzer fund is being rolled out this year. We have formulated a global team to drive this program and we had a great kick off meeting. This is a major strategic program for HAC, given its importance in empowering IEEE members in advancing technologies for the benefit of people with disabilities. 

HAC is proud to launch the Q2 report that highlights the breadth and width of global programs offered by HAC. We are very thankful for our members and partners for the support in our journey. HAC will continue to launch member engagement programs during the rest of the year to deliver. HAC is currently working to launch the second global summit which will be announced in September. 

The SIGHT Awards are open 1 September and I encourage all SIGHT leaders to participate in this program to nominate suitable candidates.I am looking forward to connecting with you next month with more exciting updates.

Stay safe and healthy,
Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan 
2021 - 2022 IEEE HAC Chair

I am also delighted to report that I participated in the 2022 IEEE PES/IAS PowerAfrica Conference which took place in Kigali, Rwanda from 22nd – 26th August. During this event, I shared a talk on IEEE HAC/SIGHT Program and in response, many of the participants highly appreciated and showed interest in this program. This will in the long run translate into increased membership and collaborations.

Furthermore, the annual SIGHT Awards shall be open for nominations from 1 – 30 September 2022.The awards are aimed at recognizing IEEE SIGHT Groups and volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution to IEEE SIGHT and a local underserved community through the development or deployment of technology. These awards are in two categories, SIGHT Group of year award and SIGHT Volunteer of the year award. Starting this year, the IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Award will have two categories – one for Student Branch SIGHT Groups and one for all other types of SIGHT Groups. See criteria for nomination at this link.

For now, I wish all of us the best of luck as we enter this month of September.

Yours sincerely, 

Lwanga Herbert

2021 - 2022 IEEE SIGHT Chair

HAC publishes Second Quarter Report

HAC has officially released the second quarter report to share the amazing progress we have seen towards achieving our goals. HAC has dedicated a lot of time over the past months to the collection and evaluation of project proposals for various calls for proposals (CfPs), including the first HAC/SIGHT Projects CfP of the year, and three collaborative CfPs. HAC/SIGHT celebrated the third annual SIGHT Day on 28 April and had several sessions that empowered and encouraged participants. HAC is using IEEE Foundation Board’s bequest from the Estate of Jon C. Taenzer to establish a small grant program over the next three years focused on breakthroughs in aids for persons with disabilities or supporting engineers in under-developed countries. Working groups with representatives from IEEE HAC and IEEE Societies, Regions, IEEE programs and organizational units (OUs), and external organizations continue to define plans for collaborative engagement.

IEEE HAC/SIGHT Projects Program Receives Award

An especially exciting milestone to celebrate this year is the recognition from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) in selecting the HAC/SIGHT Projects program to receive the Power of A Summit Award in its Global Development category. The Power of A Summit Awards are given to just six associations every year, and are ASAE’s highest honor for associations that go above and beyond their everyday mission to undertake initiatives that benefit America and the world. The full press release can be found here.

HAC Delivers Capacity Building Programs in Key Regional Events

HAC strategically and successfully launched capacity building workshops to inspire, connect and engage IEEE members on impactful humanitarian activities at the grassroots. Recently, HAC delivered these workshops in major regional events like Region 8  SYP congress at Tunis and Region 10 SYPW congress events at Jeju islands. These programs trained the audience on how to design and deliver technology based humanitarian engineering programs focused at solving key sustainable development challenges. Both the workshops received tremendous positive response from the audience and attracted strong interest to participate in HAC programs. HAC is continuing to partner with regional directors to deliver this unique program across all Regions to benefit IEEE members globally.

2022 IEEE SIGHT Awards

IEEE SIGHT will be accepting nominations for the annual IEEE SIGHT Awards from 1 - 30 September. The IEEE SIGHT Volunteer of the Year and the IEEE SIGHT Group of the Year Awards were established by the IEEE SIGHT Steering Committee (SSC) in 2019 to recognize individuals and SIGHT Groups that have made outstanding contributions to IEEE SIGHT and their local community. See the SIGHT website for more details and instructions on how to submit a nomination or application form. One note to keep in mind is that for the first time this year, there will be two recipients of the SIGHT Group of the Year Award – one Student Branch SIGHT Group and one other type of SIGHT Group.

HAC/SIGHT Webinar: Entrepreneurship in Humanitarian Projects

HAC/SIGHT is hosting a webinar titled Entrepreneurship in Humanitarian Projects where Janati Nakimera will be interviewing Ken Stauffer on 6 September, 2022. The role of a social entrepreneur is to set up an entrepreneurial venture with the intention of addressing social issues and contributing to the social good. In order to achieve this, an entrepreneur must understand the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence that are fundamental to humanitarian action. We strongly need to recognize the positive impact of entrepreneurship in the humanitarian space.

IEEE HAC Webinar: Volunteer work with under-represented minorities- an interview with Dr. Melania Alvares

We are excited to announce that the webinar titled:Volunteer work with under-represented minorities where  IEEE HAC Education Chair, Dr Rebab Ward interviews Dr. Melania Alvarez has been uploaded and can be viewed here. This webinar aims to educate volunteers about how to carry out humanitarian work with underrepresented minorities, including how to navigate cultural and social differences.

EPICS in IEEE Access and Abilities Competition

EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) in IEEE is launching a competition to challenge university students from all over the world to use their engineering skills to help solve accessibility issues within their communities. Proposals should identify an accessibility problem in the local community, and detail how the student team will attempt to solve the problem using engineering and technology skills. Student teams can win US$5,000-US$10,000 to build their prototype or solution! Click here for more information on the competition and how to submit a proposal by 1 November. 

IEEE International Humanitarian Technology Conference

The IEEE International Humanitarian Technology Conference (IHTC) is a Multi-Regional Conference Series rotating between R7 (Canada), R8 (Africa, Europe and Middle East), and R9 (Latin America and Caribbean). This year, IEEE IHTC will be virtual from 02-04 December, 2022. IEEE members (from all IEEE Regions!) are invited to submit a Poster Presentation or Full Paper Presentation (proof of concept and mature results) by 04 September, 2022. Participation Fees: Paper US$150 / Poster US$30/ Attendees: Free

The conference will also host a video competition for IEEE student and young professionals groups: submit a video showcasing your technical activities and projects and win a US$500 prize! Deadline for Video Competition: 31 October 2022. 

 For more information contact: [email protected]

GET INVOLVED WITH IEEE HAC/SIGHT

Important Dates & Upcoming Virtual Events

• 6 September – HAC/SIGHT Webinar: Entrepreneurship in Humanitarian Projects
  
  
• 8 – 11 September – HAC keynote and panel session at the 2022 Global Humanitarian Technology Conference
  
  
• 1 – 30 September – SIGHT Awards nomination period
  
  
• 4 October – IEEE Day 
  
  
• 1 November - EPICS Proposal Submission Deadline
  
  
• 2-3 December - IEEE International Humanitarian Technology Conference

Visit the HAC/SIGHT calendar for more humanitarian technology events and activities (all virtual for now).

Support IEEE SIGHT

Your donation of any amount to the IEEE SIGHT fund of the IEEE Foundation will help form the IEEE sustainable development leaders of the future and incubate projects that support IEEE’s mission of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity in communities around the globe.

HAC/SIGHT Education Resources

See the free HAC/SIGHT resources on the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) and SIGHT website to equip participants with a basic understanding of humanitarian technology and sustainable development topics.

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