The world of chemical engineering was formerly represented by three regional (con-)federations of national learned societies:
APCChE - Asian Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineers
EFCE - European Federation of Chemical Engineering
IACCE - InterAmerican Confederation of Chemical Engineering.
This system did not cover all countries or regions and did not allow to deal efficiently with chemical engineering issues of a global nature. The only joint activity was the World Congress of Chemical Engineering which takes place alternatively in one of the three regions, every five years. This is why, in 2001 the World Council of Chemcial Engineering was founded at the World Congress of Chemical Engineering in Melbourne, Australia.
WCEC is responsible for the Scientific Programme of the World Congresses of Chemical Engineering and coordinates the events of the regional federations.