The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted the European Day of Liberal Professions on the 10th of May, focusing on the lessons learned and challenges ahead that arose and continue to exist after the Covid19-crisis. A number of Executive Board members were representing the ECEC at the event in Brussels, giving engineers around Europe the chance to express the trials and successes that impacted their work in the past two years.
The key issues that were addressed by the various representatives of liberal services included developments of digitalisation, improvement of education and an emphasis on sustainability within their professions.
The conference was opened by co-spokesperson of the EESC Liberal Professions category Rudolf Kolbe, who dedicated his speech to the impact that the recent pandemic has had on liberal professionals, but also how their work has made a change for the better possible.
Ongoing important points were made by the speaker Blaženka Mičević from the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), who talked about women in scientific professions and gender equality in dominantly male liberal professions.
The representation of European Chartered Engineers continued in panel 4, where the subject of sustainability was addressed. ECEC President Klaus Thürriedl held a presentation on the New European Bauhaus and the role of liberal professions in the process of a green transition and a turn towards sustainable living. He stressed the importance of well-educated Engineers being an essential factor for the Green Deals´ success.
As the closing speaker on the panel on sustainability, Heinrich Bökamp, President of the Federal Chamber of Engineers in Germany, held a speech about the Green Deal and its position in a post-Covid19 professional environment.
More information on the event can be found on the website of the EESC, the presentation by Klaus Thürriedl can be downloaded here.