5th World Engineering Conference and Convention
November 29th - December 2nd, 2015
Kyoto Declaration

The participants at the 5th World Engineering Conference and Convention on“Engineering: Innovation and Society”, held in Kyoto, Japan, from November
29th to December 2nd , 2015, discussed the current state, future, and expected
innovations of the various fields of engineering in regard to the problems
facing the world and humanity, and the relationship between these problems
and society. Major topics of discussion were devoted to: Resilient
Infrastructure for Society, Energy for a Sustainable Society, Natural
Resources for a Sustainable Society, Urban Development and Infrastructure,Mobility and Communication Technology, Industry for Society, Life Innovation,Engineering for Society and Engineering in Society, and Engineering
Education and Women in Engineering. The results of these discussions arepresented in the following Declaration.

Considering that: the United Nations has unanimously adopted a set of Sustainable
Development Goals and an associated 2030 Development Agenda toaddress extreme poverty and grand challenges of development; the development of agriculture is important for solving the problems ofpoverty in less developed communities and of malnutrition across many
regions; to meet world’s future energy demand, it is necessary to secure diversified
safe, inexpensive and stable energy sources including natural energy andbiomass energy which currently comprises roughly 10% of the total energy
production;
 global warming is steadily increasing, causing an increase in the size oftyphoons and hurricanes and more frequent heavy rains and droughts, inaddition to tornadoes and strong winds;
 the atmosphere is contaminated by countless man-made substances suchas sulfur, nitrogen oxide, and fine particulates, which have a major effect onhuman health;-1- many people in the world today have no available drinking water, and many
live in unsanitary conditions due to inadequate wastewater facilities; natural resources are finite and if their consumption continues at thepresent rate, they will last for roughly 100 years;
 damages resulting from natural disasters are incurred by many countries
throughout the world every year; the building of infrastructure, agricultural reforms, and industrialization all
require large numbers of engineering graduates;
 development proposals and projects require thorough analysis of theirtechnical, economic and environmental feasibility and social and cultural
impacts, before their approval and implementation, and international governance institutions must strengthen the involvement andlinkages between science, engineering, education and policy forsustainable development.

Declare that:
1. Substantial technological improvements as well as sound, evidence based
policies are needed to assure access to fresh and safe drinking water,energy, sanitation and waste management, communications, shelter, andtransport services in communities.
2. By exchanging and applying scientific knowledge, engineering creativity
and practice, and up-to-date technology, engineers are able tosubstantially introduce sustainable solutions into most areas of activity
that contribute to a society’s quality life.
3. Engineering is the activity of utilizing the output of science and technology
to create safe and prosperous lives for humanity. Engineers must, not only
work for the advancement of specialist knowledge in the areas of science,technology, and engineering, but they must also take into account societalconcerns.
4. Those engaged in engineering must achieve engineering innovationappropriate to the characteristics of each region and country for thedevelopment of food production and industry, in order to solve theproblems of poverty and famine.
5. Engineers must not only work for the improvement of food, energy, andindustry in order to address the rising global population, but must also-2-

contribute to the development of a better life for the people living in a
globally aging society expected to occur in the near future.
6. The emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide is accelerating
global warming. Climate change causes effects such as drought, heavy
rains, extreme cold, and extreme heat throughout the world, which in turnaffects the survival of plants and animals and has a major impact on foodproduction. Engineering must intensely apply its proficiency to reducecarbon dioxide emissions in numerous fields including development ofdiversified energy sources, power generation technology, energy usage
technology, and energy conservation technology.
7. In order to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, that create problems in
the water environment and in food production, Engineering has toimplement measures to protect infrastructure with the most resilienttechnologies.
8. The contamination of the atmosphere, water, and soil has a severe effecton the lives and livelihoods of humanity. Engineering must promote
innovations to assure the quality of the air, of drinkable water, and of cleansoil.
9. Engineering education is important for enabling people to make good useof up-to-date scientific knowledge and engineering means and processes
to advance the state-of-the-art technology to improve the quality of life of
citizens of a given region. Engineering education must be introduced into
every area of society, as for example “Engineering Liberal Arts”, andincluded at each educational stage in schools.
10. The entry of women, who comprise roughly half of the population, into therealm of engineering is essential for assuring the availability of sufficientengineering professionals to take charge of economic development
through implementation of feasible engineering projects. The number ofopportunities in engineering education for women must be increased.
11. Engineers as members of society must carry out their work providing forthe enhancement of the life conditions of society, focusing their activities
on the creation of a prosperous and safe society.
12. There is a need to develop through engineering a sustainable society thatleverages both science and technology.

We urge the world’s leaders to accept this opportunity to engage the World-3-

Engineering Community as a full partner in addressing the complex challenges
as we evolve toward a sustainable planet. The World Engineering Community
is ready, willing and able to contribute its expertise, creativity and dedication toachieve the elements of this Declaration.

December 2nd, 2015

Engr. Marwan AbdelhamidProf. Dr. Shahbaz Khan

President

Director and Representative,

World Federation of Engineering

Regional Science Bureau forOrganizations

Asia and the Pacific,
UNESCO Office, Jakarta

Prof. Takashi Onishi

Dr. Jun’ichi Sato

President

President

Science Council of Japan

Japan Federation of Engineering
Societies-4-