Montréal to host the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering in 2028
he International Association for Earthquake Engineering
(IAEE) has chosen Montréal to host the 19th edition of the World
Conference on Earthquake Engineering 2028 (WCEE 2028). From
October 1 to 6, 2028, some 3,200 specialists from around the world will
meet at the Palais des congrès de Montréal for this major event that
will generate significant intellectual benefits and close to $7 million
in economic spinoffs for Montréal and Québec.
This success is the fruit of a close collaboration between the Palais des congrès de Montréal and Tourisme Montréal, offering Montréal and Québec a unique opportunity to carve out a position in this critical field of engineering and seismic resilience. This will be the second time only that the conference will have been held in Canada—after its 2004 edition in Vancouver.
The Montréal event will be the first to benefit from two new
government funds set up over the last year to attract major
international conferences to Canada and Québec: the International Convention Attraction Fund (ICAF),
administered by Destination Canada, and the Fonds pour stimuler le
tourisme d’affaires international (FSTAI), a fund to stimulate
international business tourism, initiated by Québec’s ministry of
tourism. In addition to government funding, the other decisive factors
for Montréal were its accessibility, the Palais des congrès’ engagement
and the city’s academic and industrial vitality. These assets tipped the
balance in favour of Montréal over other cities like Guadalajara,
Mexico; Taipei, Taiwan; Los Angeles, United States; Auckland, New
Zealand; and New Delhi, India.
A collaborative and collegial Canadian effort
Montréal’s bid, submitted and retained in July 2024 in Milan at the
last WCEE conference, distinguished itself with a proposal that included
a carefully structured, high social impact budget. Significant funds
were presented to support the participation of delegates from less
wealthy countries as well as a World Bank Group program designed to bolster the seismic resilience of schools in at-risk zones.
In Milan, Elissa Golberg, Canadian Ambassador to Italy, and Laurence Fouquette-L’Anglais,
Québec’s Delegate in Rome, confirmed the support of the Canadian and
Québec governments for Montréal’s bid, reflecting a joint effort between
Québec and British Columbia, the academic world and the industrial
sector. Composed of eight female experts and eight male experts, thereby
ensuring the representation of women in earthquake engineering, the
Canadian committee is headed by Professors Carlos Ventura (University of British Columbia) and Marie-José Nollet (École de technologie supérieure), and coordinated by Professor Sanda Koboevic (Polytechnique Montréal). This parity committee played a vital role in securing the WCEE 2028.
Organized by the Canadian Association of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (CAEES),
this world conference will bring together specialists, researchers,
engineers and businesses working on earthquake engineering under the
theme “COLLABORATE, LEARN, INNOVATE and IMPLEMENT: Building a Safer and
More Resilient World TOGETHER.”
Hosting the WCEE in 2028 is an exceptional opportunity to showcase local expertise in earthquake engineering and to advance knowledge on prevention and seismic resilience.
Canada, which records approximately 1,500 earth tremors per
year—including over 1,000 in the country’s western region where the
cities of Vancouver and Victoria are particularly vulnerable—will
benefit from this international platform to strengthen the security and
resilience of earthquake-vulnerable communities.
Clikc here:https://congresmtl.com/en/montreal-to-host-the-world-conference-on-earthquake-engineering-in-2028/
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