History

INWES Presentation

At the UNESCO World Science Conference held in Budapest in 1999, a resolution (Paragraph 90) was passed encouraging the development of a "global network" of women engineers and scientists. Through the support and encouragement of The Canadian Commission for UNESCO and a successful application for a grant from UNESCO, Monique Frize, Claire Deschênes, and Moyra McDill organised a founding meeting in Merrickville (near Ottawa) on May 26-29, 2001. One of the main objectives was to build on the already successful ICWES network that has existed since 1964. The International Continuing Committee (ICC) has successfully overseen the organisation of twelve conferences since 1964. The ICC was a committee of ten area representatives who met at each conference (usually triennually) to decide where the next conference would be. Since the ICC has been a global network of women in science and engineering for nearly 40 years, it was natural to build an expanded mandate on this successful base. The new mandate now goes beyond the single function of ensuring the existence of the conferences, as described in the section called GOALS.

At the end of the Merrickville meeting, a resolution to create the international network was made:

Voted FOR: 18; AGAINST: 0; ABSTENTIONS: 0. The decision was unanimous.

The next steps

A few additional meetings with the help of a consultant enabled to develop the By-Laws, Policy Manual and Strategic Plan. A lawyer has now drafted these in appropriate terms for the incorporation of INWES. At the business meeting of ICWES12, a resolution was passed that the ICC be replaced by the INWES Board of Directors. INWES will now provide the continuity for the organisation of future ICWES conferences, in addition to its much enlarged mandate. An Interim Board was approved with a two year term to set-up the network and recruit members (corporate, organisational, and individual). An election will be held within 18 to 24 months. Non-profit organisations joining INWES will have voting rights. Twelve Director positions are reserved for these members. Three are reserved for corporate and three for individual directors. Ensuring International representation will be a priority for the nominating committee.