From Boy Scouts and Missionaries, to Development Partners

In the 1980s and 1990s, Belgian engineering associations launched initiatives enabling engineers to engage as volunteers in projects of development cooperation. Since then, these organizations have observed a noticeable evolution, both conceptually (in the way development aid or development cooperation is understood) and operationally (in the way projects are managed and executed). This article discusses the status of these organizations, interprets evolutions and differences, and concludes with initiatives in which "humanitarian engineering" is introduced during the initial training of engineers.