The Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago (BOETT) wishes to pay tribute to Engineer Hollis Charles, a former Chairman of the BOETT, on his election as an Honorary Member of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Organizations (WAITRO). Engineer Charles is a Founding member and former President of WAITRO as well as the first local Director of the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) which was established in 1970 with financial and technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). This prestigious recognition was announced at the recently concluded General Assembly of WAITRO, held in Nanjing, China. The vote in favor was unanimous and reflects the great respect for the contributions of Engineer Charles from the current generation of WAITRO members.
Honorary memberships of WAITRO are granted to individuals, as opposed to organisations, whose contributions to the aims and objectives of the Association are considered significant and outstanding. Examples considered outstanding might be executive leadership over multiple decades, leadership of major initiatives that transformed WAITRO, or major achievements in support of WAITRO programs.
Eng. Charles’ selection marks only the second time in WAITRO’s history that such an honour has been bestowed to an individual, underscoring the significant contributions he has made to advancing industrial and technological research in the Region and globally.
Eng. Charles had previously been awarded WAITRO’s Award of Honour in 2020 for his “contributions to the fulfillment of the Aims and Objectives of WAITRO”.