I celebrate the elevation of the HAC committee to the new HTB board because it reflects the growing numbers of SIGHT membership, project proposals, and funded teams, in addition to the 30% of all active IEEE members (and 60% of active IEEE student members) who indicate an interest in humanitarian programs at IEEE when they join the association or renew their annual membership. It also demonstrates the support of IEEE leaders, who have provided us with the structure to expand upon the significant achievements of HAC in its eleven years as an ad hoc committee and “standing” committee reporting to the IEEE Board of Directors. Humanitarian activities are important to IEEE members and will be a part of IEEE’s identity for years to come.

The vision of HTB remains the same as HAC’s vision: IEEE volunteers around the world carrying out and supporting impactful humanitarian technology activities at the local level. HTB does, however, have a new mission: To support impactful and ethically informed volunteer-led initiatives, programs and projects, and mutually beneficial partnerships, as well as to inform policy formulation that harness technology and innovation to address societal challenges (including disaster recovery) in a responsive, effective, and sustainable way.

Per the HTB Operations Manual approved by the IEEE Board, “the HTB shall oversee and support all Humanitarian Technology Programs in IEEE, including those executed by other IEEE organizations. The HTB shall also be responsible for execution of Humanitarian Technology programs assigned to them by the IEEE Board of Directors.” This sounds like a daunting task, but HTB will be building upon the solid foundation that HAC has provided, and will benefit from an expanded membership with representatives from the Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Board, Technical Activities Board, Educational Activities Board, Standards Association Board, and IEEE Young Professionals. With this team, I feel strongly that we can accomplish the mission and continue making a lasting impact. Providing oversight and support to programs across the institution doing similar work will allow us to unite efforts, share best practices, and better capture the entire story of humanitarian technology at IEEE.

Many programs that were administered by HAC will continue to exist under the new auspices of HTB, such as IEEE SIGHT, projects, events, education, and others. There are also some strategic areas where HTB will devote efforts this year through its new structure, which include:

• Capacity building
• Collaboration across the board
• Funding opportunities to fuel member engagement
• Continued support for IEEE member sustainable development projects at the local level throughout their lifecycle

Next month, I will be meeting with various IEEE colleagues at the Board of Directors meeting series in New York City. I am excited to work with the Board and senior representatives from other organizational units this year to discuss how we can best tailor HTB’s member-relevant offerings to needs they have identified and maintain fruitful working relationships. 

I look forward to leading our efforts this year, and invite you to join me in celebrating the creation of the Humanitarian Technologies Board.

We are delighted with the promotion of HAC to HTB. The bar-raising growth and global impact that HAC has had over the last couple of years have greatly advanced humanitarian technology activities at IEEE. HAC’s achievements set the stage for a board to build upon its growth, working to deepen partnerships with IEEE organizational units, provide members with engaging opportunities to get involved, and represent IEEE externally to build awareness of the role of technology in sustainable development. This is a major event in the story of humanitarian technology activities at IEEE, and an honor to be recognized in this way.

I’m proud of what we have accomplished for HAC in 2021 - 2022. The committee’s focus was to achieve impact despite the challenging situation of the pandemic and provide opportunities for meaningful member engagement. Acting on its strategic areas of focus, HAC made significant advances in 2021- 2022 in many ways, including the following: 

• Developed internal and external collaboration through innovative partnership programs
• Increased public visibility and communication with the IEEE Board and other stakeholders through new publications and channels
• Continued of grassroots project and IEEE SIGHT excellence 
• Launched impactful global strategic programs and capacity-building efforts

Some of the key record-breaking highlights include:

• HAC/SIGHT Projects received 557 project proposals from 52 countries and 7 IEEE Regions. Of those, 154 from thirty countries were awarded funding. Eight of the funded project teams were located in countries where HAC/SIGHT had not previously funded projects before.
• As of 31 December, there were 35,268 SIGHT members, with membership growing by over 50% in 2022.
• Fourteen new SIGHT Groups were formed in 2022, concluding with 218 SIGHT Groups having been established since 2012.
• HAC collaborated and engaged with over 50 IEEE organizational units and
• programs.
  HAC committees developed a replicable model to offer joint calls for proposals with
• IEEE Regions and Societies.
  HAC committees debuted two new major reporting vehicles and a new style event,
• the HAC Global Summit.
  HAC committees developed a robust process with supporting tools to further enable
• project monitoring and assessment, increasing impact and reducing execution risk.
  HAC/SIGHT Projects received the 2022 American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Power of Associations Summit Award, ASAE’s highest honor for the association community, in the global development category.

We will soon be releasing the 2022 HAC Annual Report to highlight these and other innovative programs, strategic initiatives, and the significant field impact. 

It was an honor to serve as the HAC Chair for the last two years and a delight to contribute to its success. I will continue to contribute my leadership to the HTB to scale humanitarian activities across IEEE. Also, I’m serving as the 2023 President of the IEEE honor society, the IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN). Thank you to the IEEE Board of Directors, the three IEEE Presidents, the HAC members, the HAC and SIGHT subcommittee members, collaborators, partners, donors, supporters, and staff team for your encouragement. You believed and invested in our vision and programs. I thank all the wonderful volunteers for your dedicated efforts. We greatly appreciate your support. 

I am pleased to welcome Lwanga Herbert as the Chair of the 2023 Humanitarian Technologies Board and wish him great success. I wish you all a wonderful year filled with endless happiness, success, and prosperity.

Stay safe and healthy,

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan 

2023 IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board Immediate Past Chair

• Herbert Lwanga, Chair
• Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan, Immediate Past Chair
• Karen Panetta
• Lucia Pia Torres
• Katherine August
• Miriam Cunningham
• Mohamed Essaaidi
• Timothy Gitau
• Darwin Jose Raju
• Magdalena Salazar-Palma
• Stephanie Gillespie, Educational Activities Representative
• Simay Akar, Member and Geographic Activities Representative
• Elizabeth Johnston, Member and Geographic Activities Representative
• David Durocher, Technical Activities Representative
• Technical Activities Representative (to be determined)
• Standards Association Representative (to be determined)
• Non-voting: Young Professional (YP) Representative (to be determined)
• Non-voting: Marc Beebe, Staff Secretary

Get involved with humanitarian technology and sustainable development activities at IEEE by volunteering on an HTB committee (includes IEEE SIGHT). HTB is looking for passionate volunteers around the world ready to carry out and support impactful humanitarian technology activities at the local level. Please complete the application form (structured by area of interest and experience) by 12 February 2023.

Want to make a difference in your local community through engineering? Create a team to design and develop an impactful solution using engineering and technology. EPICS in IEEE funds student teams up to US$10,000 to use the engineering design process to create solutions that help their local community in the areas of Environment, Access and Abilities, Education and Outreach, and Human Services. Submit your service learning proposal by 1 March to be considered in the next round of funding. Need some inspiration? Hear from two of the current EPICS in IEEE teams about their projects:

• Perseverance Creates Success for Project Koyash
• The Garden with Hopes to Promote Transformation with an Entire Community

See the recording of the E4C webinar, “From Fellowship to Leadership: Women in Engineering for Sustainable Development.” The session was structured as a conversation with women sharing their perspectives on the diverse career paths they have taken in engineering for sustainable development, as well as the challenges and opportunities particular to women.

The nomination deadline for the 2022 SIGHT Group of the Year Award has been extended to 30 January 2023 to allow Groups time to submit their officers and events from 2022. Help us recognize your Group by submitting a nomination! More information including past recipients and raffle prizes is on the IEEE SIGHT website. Group of the Year recipients will receive a certificate of appreciation and official recognition on the IEEE SIGHT website, social media platforms, the monthly newsletter, and in various HAC/SIGHT reports.

*New for the 2022 Award* 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.

Become a SIGHT Member - Add SIGHT to your IEEE Membership; it’s free and open to non-members as well. Benefits include the monthly newsletter, first notice of funding opportunities, and increased connectivity with the committees, staff, and volunteer network.

Join a SIGHT Group  - SIGHT Groups around the globe partner with communities and local organizations to work together on sustainable development projects - find your closest group! If a SIGHT Group does not exist in your area, see the SIGHT Toolkit for how to form a new one. 

Support IEEE SIGHT - Your donation of any amount to the IEEE SIGHT fund of the IEEE Foundation helps 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.