Autostrade, as a leader in sustainable motorway management, has been selected as an official partner for UNESCO World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED) 2025, which was launched at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 4 March 2025.
WED is jointly operated by UNESCO and the World Federation for Engineering Organizations (WFEO), which spans some 100 countries and represents more than 30 million engineers. It is an International Day proclaimed by the UNESCO General Conference and open to everyone.
The launch in March marks the start of a year-long campaign of events, films, and related articles and news, highlighting the achievements of engineers and engineering around the world, and promoting engineering as a career.
Produced by the SJH Group – the official media partner and broadcaster for WED – all campaign content, which includes a multimedia hub dedicated to Autostrade, is hosted on the WED website at www.worldengineeringday.net
As an official partner, Autostrade’s insights and expertise will form an integral part of the 12-month campaign, which provides a springboard for governments, UN-associated organisations, policymakers, educators, and leaders in the public and private sectors to raise awareness of the importance of engineering.
The WED campaign has an estimated global reach of more than 100 million individuals, and this year’s theme, “Shaping our sustainable future through engineering,” focuses on the essential role that engineering has to play in achieving the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Concetta Testa, Head of Sustainability at Autostrade per l’Italia, says:
“In 2024, the centenary of the A8, the world’s first motorway, was celebrated, along with the sixtieth anniversary of Italy’s greatest infrastructure project, the A1. This 800-kilometer artery was built in just eight years, symbolizing the connection between the north and south of the country. On the day of its inauguration, it featured 113 bridges and viaducts, 572 overpasses, and 38 tunnels, requiring the excavation of nearly 54 million cubic meters of material.
Over the decades, road transport has further strengthened its central role. In Italy, both passenger and freight transport primarily rely on road networks, with figures fluctuating between 80% and 90%. Mobility has transformed significantly over the years, and the Autostrade per l’Italia Group has set as its strategic priorities making it safer, more digitalized, more decarbonized, more inclusive, and therefore more sustainable.
With this vision, Autostrade per l’Italia promotes a sustainable business approach, where engineering plays a key role to achieve success. For this reason, sustainable engineering is integrated into the value chain of Autostrade per l’Italia, with innovative solutions in both the Italian and European context. These solutions are applied to monitor, manage, maintain, and build motorway infrastructure.”
Addressing the significance of WED, Mustafa Shehu, President of the WFEO, says:
“World Engineering Day 2025 is all about putting engineering in the global spotlight, showing how engineers are leading the way in the effort to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal targets, and inspiring the next generation to find out more about what a career in engineering has to offer.”
Jacques de Mereuil, Executive Director of the WFEO, adds:
“We’re thrilled to be involved in launching this important international celebration and campaign at UNESCO’s global headquarters in Paris, and delighted to have Autostrade involved, as an authority in sustainable motorway management.”
To view Autostrade’s WED content, visit:
www.worldengineeringday.net/partner-stories/autostrade-per-litalia
The WED 2025 launch, campaign, and related content went live on 4 March 2025 at www.worldengineeringday.net
