Engineers Without Borders
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| Website: | mcgill.ewb.ca |
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| Facebook: | fb.com/mcgillewb |
| Email: | mcgill@ewb.ca |
The EWB McGill University chapter is a group of thoughtful and critical students with a belief in the possibility of an equitable world. We aim to make the next generation of McGill graduates a group of conscious consumers, informed voters, socially responsible professionals and most importantly, systems change leaders! We are committed to being accessible to all, and we strive to actively oppose any form of discrimination or oppression. Our chapter is supportive and constantly evolving, with an equal focus on both action and personal development. Our strength lies in our dedication and systemic thinking, but we are not afraid to push our limits and fail in our endeavors to create change. EWB is a club of the EUS.
Fair Trade
The Fair Trade team is dedicated to promoting Fair Trade products (coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, bananas etc.) on McGill’s campus. Aside from selling coffee in the FDA building on Mondays and Fridays, EWB’s Fair Trade team works closely with the McGill Food and Dining Services aiming to add Fair Trade options to the different cafes.
McGill was designated a Fair Trade campus in September, 2013
What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is a certification that provides Canadians with a way to know that international standards have been met- standards relating to the working conditions & wages that the farmers behind our coffee, chocolate, sugar etc. are living with. Fair Trade products can be more expensive for the consumer, but you can rest assured that your extra fifty cents is going toward leveling the playing field for the farmers!
Membership
Membership to EWB is open to anyone. Becoming a member of EWB means a number of things:
- It means that you support EWB and the work that we are doing in communities around the world. Your support is what enables us to continue our work.
- It connects you the thousands of other members across Canada who believe in our work.
- Through your membership, we are helping build the engineering profession, offering a unique opportunity to young Canadian engineers to make a difference in the world.
- Membership also conveys on you certain rights, such as being kept up to date with EWB happenings and the ability to have a say in how EWB is run.
Membership of the McGill chapter of EWB receive certain advantages:
- You are placed on the EWB-McGill and EWB-Canada mailing lists,
- You have full access and discounts for all chapter events,
- You obtain a discount to attend the annual EWB National Conference held in January each year
- You are eligible to apply for EWB Overseas internships,
- You may apply to travel overseas with EWB project teams,
- You have voting rights at the chapter and national levels,
- You can definitely feel good that you are supporting a worthy cause!
- Your membership fee is invested in EWB McGill activities in our community.
- Cost: $20 for students, and $40 for non-students. Membership is valid for 1 year from the date of membership payment.
Member Learning
EWB’s first step is to reach out to engineers and make them aware of, excited about, and more knowledgeable about, development issues. EWB-McGill aims to reach out to our members through our Monthly ‘Development Workshops’. The goals of these workshops is as follows:
- Promoting global citizenship – having impact from Canada.To develop members into global engineers, who realize first that activities they undertake here in Canada have a development impact overseas, and second that sustainable solutions should be integrated into their personal and professional lives. A main component of that is to encourage public outreach – to give members the skills and desire to reach out to the general public and help make them more aware of development challenges around the world and actions that they can take regarding their new awareness.
- Improving our members’ “development worker” skills.To promote, within our members, the characteristics that one needs to work successfully in development overseas. This includes honing our members’ approach, commitment, knowledge and skills
History
The McGill chapter of EWB is one of 35+ student chapters across Canada. Founded in 2001, the chapter pursues various activities on campus with the goal to challenge the status quo in international development. One of our recent accomplishments was leading the effort to certify McGill as the first Fair Trade Campus in Quebec . In addition, every year as part of the Junior Fellowship program, the chapter sends at least one student overseas to Africa during the summer to assist with development ventures within the organization.