News

The IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board hosts the IEEE Sections Congress every three years, bringing together hundreds of volunteer delegates from all 10 IEEE regions. The IEEE Foundation was excited to be a Diamond Sponsor at the Sections Congress 2023 in celebration of its 50th Anniversary. This event provided a great platform to showcase the Foundation’s accomplishments and history over the past 50 years, since this event returned to an in-person gathering.

Volunteer leaders from around the world gathered at the Shaw Centre, Ottawa, Canada to network, exchange ideas and solutions, and learn about the products and programs IEEE offers to members in their local areas. 

As part of the Foundation’s 50th anniversary celebration, 14 donor-supported programs** participated in the Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Pavilion which was located on the Sections Congress Exhibit floor.

When visiting the booth, attendees were given the opportunity to speak with representatives from each of the programs to learn more about what they do and how to bring the programs home to be implemented locally. A brochure with the details on how to engage with each of the donor-supported programs was provided to the volunteers as a reference for use during discussions with their local Section leaders. Details for each of the outstanding programs can be viewed via the digital version of the IEEE Foundation’s Pavilion Booth Brochure.   

In addition to networking, attendees were invited to share their first experience engaging with the Foundation or one of its featured partners’ by filling out a vinyl decal and attaching it to the Foundation’s 50-year timeline wall.

To round out the engagement exercise, attendees were then encouraged to share the program(s) they plan to implement upon returning home by filling out a similar vinyl decal and attaching it to the “Future” wall which represented their commitment moving forward following Sections Congress. 

To complement the 50th Anniversary Pavilion, the Foundation proudly delivered Breakout and Ignite Sessions. The Breakout Session entitled “Ways to Engage Your Section in IEEE Humanitarian & Philanthropic Programs” featured IEEE Foundation President Ralph Ford and the IEEE Foundation Board Member and 50th Anniversary Committee Chair John McDonald. The discussion focused on their personal engagements with several donor-supported programs featured in the 50th Anniversary Pavilion. Titled “The Foundation’s 50th Anniversary,” the Ignite Session was an extension of the breakout session where John McDonald provided a timeline of when the featured partners first engaged with the IEEE Foundation.

“I was amazed by the reaction of experienced IEEE members who said they learned about new programs the IEEE Foundation supports. These experienced members thought they were familiar with all IEEE programs. They were happy to learn about these programs new to them,” said McDonald. “Building awareness of the Foundation has been a key goal of our Board and I believe we made progress here at Sections Congress.” 

We look forward to meeting again in three years at Sections Congress 2026 to see the progress IEEE and the IEEE Foundation have made together!

For additional pictures of the IEEE Foundation at Sections Congress this year, please visit our dedicated webpage and learn more about supporting the IEEE Foundation.

**14 donor-supported programs represented in the Pavilion – by order of how they appear on the 50th Anniversary Timeline

• IEEE Awards
• IEEE Life Members
• IEEE History Center
• IEEE Women in Engineering
• IEEE-USA
• TryEngineering
• IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu
• IEEE Smart Village
• IEEE PES Scholarship Plus
• EPICS in IEEE
• IEEE MOVE
• Empower a Billion Lives
• IEEE SIGHT
• IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board