Charter of Ingénieurs sans frontières France

We, the members of Ingénieurs sans frontières, are committed to implementing measures to foster solidarity and support alternative education in order to develop technology at the service of a fairer world, in an approach of deconstruction of dominate and interdependent systems generating inequalities.

Deconstructing the role of engineers in a world of dominating systems

We note that society is structured by several relationships of domination, namely unequal relationships, which are created and maintained, consciously or unconsciously, by certain social organizations, to the benefit of a particular group and to the detriment of others. All these systems in which one group is unjustly privileged, such as capitalism, imperialism, the patriarchy or racism, produce inequalities as well as social and economic violence. These dominating systems are not innate but are the result of social and political processes. They are unjust, they can disappear and must be fought.

We consider that engineers, as a professional group, participate today in the maintenance of certain systems of domination, due to their place in society and the specificities of their professional practices. While the concept of an engineer may encompass a status, a diploma, or recourse to a set of practices, these practices generally are responsible for organizing the processes of production and the transformation of their environment. This transformation generally serves to strengthen the power of the dominant group. Therefore, we believe that engineers have a responsibility in this dominating system. The place of engineers and technology in society is the fruit of power relations, and the confrontation between divergent, often incompatible interests and worldviews. Today, it favours the dominant group. These systems of domination result in the loss of sovereignty for populations, as well as the hierarchization in the workplace of intellectual tasks over manual tasks. Thus, it deprives other workers of sovereignty over their work tools. They are also expressed in the exploitation of non-human systems, and are at the root of climate disruption, resource depletion as well as the destruction of species, ecosystems and landscapes.

The association of social recognition in the form of remuneration or prestige with the engineering profession, as well as training, progressively build the adhesion, conscious or otherwise, of engineers to this system of domination. Indeed, during engineering training courses, the teaching of science and technology is generally approached through the prism of dominant interests, such as the pursuit of imperialist ones or the profitability of capital. This wrongly imposes a single, depoliticized and supposedly neutral vision of science and technology. Moreover, the processes of selection and social reproduction as well as a school-centric student life, shape a meritocratic, elitist and corporatist vision of the engineering profession, making it difficult to challenge.

With this in mind, we are working to ensure that the use of technology in society, for the benefit of the dominant and via engineers, is called into question.

A federation defending the democratic development of technology for a fairer world

Current social organization gives technology an undisputable place, excludes it from public debate, and masks the social, political and environmental impacts of technical choices.

Technology is not ideologically neutral. We need to reveal the political meaning of the engineer's role, so that students and professionals see themselves as facilitators of technical development in the service of the society's emancipation, and not in favour of the dominant group. Ultimately, technology must be co-constructed, shared and accessible by and to everyone, in the service of the common good as well as that of social and environmental justice. The transformation of engineering training is an essential part of achieving this goal. We need to encourage students to face the social, political and ethical questions posed by the development of technology and ask them to examine their own role in maintaining the current system. These questions are fundamental to understanding the society we live in, and to being able to change it. Furthermore, this paradigm shift requires us to stop thinking of engineering studies as a separate sector of higher education, and to transform the governance of training courses. By freeing ourselves from the productivist vision of technology imposed by the dominant group, we can take full account of the interests of everyone, as well as go beyond the goals of growth and technical progress unconnected with people's fulfilment.

In our desire to participate in this transformation of society and of the engineer's place within it, we, citizens, students and engineers, have come together voluntarily in a federation of associations. Our actions are mainly focused on training students and young professionals. Indeed, we believe it is essential to offer tools that help develop a critical mindset and the necessary perspective on academic learning and the professional world. Through the reflections we encourage and the activities we carry out, in France and internationally, we aim to create a space for the exchange of ideas and professional training, experimentation and learning by doing, as well as a space for social transformation.

Through our methods, our tools, and our mobilization in favour of a fairer society, we define ourselves as an association for local and international solidarity as well as alternative education.

A reflective, democratic and collective practice in the service of solidarity

In order to embody the transformations to which we aspire for society, our actions are reflective, democratic and collective.

Reflective, by constantly taking a step back from our actions and discourses to question the effect of our environments and biases on them. We constantly question the role of experts and maintain a critical approach to our actions. From an intercultural perspective, we deny any hierarchy between the cultures of peoples and nations, or between technical and lay cultures. We promote the reappropriation of technology by everyone, thanks to the tools of alternative education, learning by doing, and the search for interdisciplinarity.

Democratic, because our federation, like society, is criss-crossed by divergent opinions. We must therefore encourage collective intelligence and participation by everyone. This implies inclusive modes of operation and governance, to ensure that everyone's voice is heard and listened to with equal consideration, whatever their identity, abilities, or expertise, in the aim of reaching an agreement.

Collective, through our federative structure of associations and members adhering to the values of this charter and acting autonomously, complementarily and in solidarity on common issues. Collective too, because, while we seek to put an end to the inequalities linked to the engineering world, we are also part of the fight against all forms of domination. This means breaking with the corporatism of our circles and forging alliances with other representatives of civil society to support their struggles and to share ours with them. We work with a network of partners, each of whom brings their own specific skills to the table. And finally, collective in the sense that we seek to reserve the place to the concerned people to express themselves and claim their rights, by bringing our associative forces in support of their struggles. We are thus determined to support and take part in the convergence of struggles for a society emancipated from all domination.

As members of Ingénieurs sans frontières, we are working to build a society of solidarity, in which engineers participate in a collective and democratic repossession of technology, while understanding the social, environmental and political implications.

This charter was adopted by the General Assembly of December 2021