6th World Water Forum – Time for Solutions, Marseilles, France, 12-17 March 2012

Organised by: World Water Council

Held every three years, the World Water Forum is billed as the world’s largest water event. The 6th edition of the Forum expects to attract 25,000 participants from over 180 countries, including 140 ministerial delegations and 800 speakers.

The Forum will be guided by 12 Priorities for Action and 3 Conditions for Success, translated into common and measurable goals.

12 priorities for action

Ensure Everyone’s Well-Being
1.1 Guarantee access to water for all and the Right to Water
1.2 Improve access to integrated sanitation services for all
1.3 Contribute to hygiene and health through water and sanitation
1.4 Prevent and respond to water-related risks and crises
1.5 Contribute to cooperation and peace through water

Contribute to Economic Development
2.1 Balance multiple uses through IWRM – Integrated Water Resource Management
2.2 Contribute to food security by the optimal use of water
2.3 Harmonise water and energy
2.4 Promote Green Growth and value ecosystem services

Keep the Planet Blue
3.1 Improve the quality of water resources and ecosystems
3.2 Adjust pressures and footprints of human activities on water
3.3 Respond to climate and global changes in an urbanising world

3 conditions for success

CS1 Good governance
CS2 Financing water for all
CS3 Enabling environments

The programme includes highlevel roundtables, a ministerial conference, a local and regional authority conference, a Parliamentarian conference, grassroots and citizenship events, all leading to commitments
and declarations at the end of the week.

Several Prizes will be awarded at the Forum:

• The King Hassan II Great World Water Prize rewards a long-term project or career
• The Kyoto World Water Grand Prize is awarded to a person or organisation that has carried out grassroots actions to respond to the water needs of communities in critical situations
• The ‘Compromiso Mexico’ Water Prize
• The RIEC-International “Water & Film” Event

A dedicated web site  -the International Platform of Solutions, www.solutionsforwater.org - has been set up to collect  existing or innovative solutions to help address the global water challenges.

Web site: www.worldwaterforum6.org

World Congress on Water, Climate and Energy, Dublin, Ireland, 13-18 May 2012

The inaugural IWA World Congress on Water, Climate and Energy will explore the topics of resilient and sustainable cities with a focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Theme: Building a Sustainable Global Future

Organised  by: International Water Association (IWA)

Topics:

• Utilities Asset Management
• Environment and Ecology
• Communications and Information
• Climate Change
• Economics, Policy & Sustainable Planning
• Water, Agriculture and Food

Abstract deadline: 15 September 2011

For more information go to the conference web site: iwa-wcedublin.org

4th International Dry Toilet Conference, Tampere, Finland, 22-25 August 2012

Theme: Drivers for ecological dry toilets in urban and rural areas

Organised by: Global Dry Toilet Association of Finland , University of Tampere, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Tampere University of Technology

Abstract deadline: 15 Jan 2012

Programme:

• Mon-Wed 20-22 Aug – Pre-conference workshop on safe and sustainable sanitation, organized by Prof. Tuula uhkanen, free-of-charge
• Wed 22 Aug – Registration, social events
• Wed-Thu 22-23 Aug –  Exhibition
• Thu 23 Aug – Opening, key-notes, parallel sessions
• Fri 24 Aug – Parallel sessions, closing, dinner
• Sat 25 Aug – Excursion

Read the First Announcement

Contact:

E-mail: secretary2012@drytoilet.org
Tel: +358 45 875 3597 (mrs erja takala)
Skype: Dry_toilet_secretary
www.drytoilet.org
Facebook: Global Dry toilet Association of Finland

Conference web site: www.drytoilet.org/dt2012

Global Water Summit, Berlin, Germany, 18-19 April 2011

international water meeting for executives from the water industry and water utilities/ministries focusing on opportunities in some 30 mostly emerging countries including India, Brazil, China, Viet Nam, Algeria, Mexico, Namibia, Peru, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya and Angola.

Organised by: Global Water Intelligence and the International Desalination Association (IDA)

Theme: Focusing on performance

Highlights include the Global Water Awards Gala Dinner with speaker Kofi Annan and a concluding debate on the motion: “Is cost recovery pricing the best way to ensure the poor have access to good water services?”

Some keynotes and sessions of special interest are:

• Michel Camdessus, Former Managing Director, International Monetary Fund – “Water and the public sector finanical crisis.”
• Sanjay Bhatnagar, CEO of WaterHealth International – “A scalable for-profit approach to serving the poor.”
• Djeevan Schiferli, Business Development Executive, Climate Change and Water Management, IBM – “The smart network revolution.”
• Africa’s moment in water (session) – on the “dynamic new market” emerging in sub-Saharan Africa with contributions from Namibia, Uganda, Kenya and Senegal
• New initiatives in private sector participation (session) with contributions from Nigeria, Oman and Botswana

Full information on the conference  web site: www.watermeetsmoney.com

Liquid Dynamics II: STEPS Centre Water and Sanitation Symposium, Brighton, UK, 22-23 March 2011

Theme: Some for All? Pathways and Politics in Water and Sanitation since New Delhi, 1990

Organised by: STEPS Centre

In 1990 the UN General Assembly endorsed the ‘New Delhi Statement’ entitled ‘Some for all rather than more for some.’ This symposium looks back at the New Delhi Statement. It seeks to understand more fully the pathways that have – or could have – emerged and the political economy and politics of water and sanitation policy processes in the intervening 21 years. Keynote and plenary speakers will include: Gourishankar Ghosh, Jon Lane, Erik Swyngedouw and James Winpenny.

Presentations are invited that address key questions including the following, especially those with a national or regional perspective:

• What aspects, if any, of the New Delhi Statement can be built upon to help in addressing current challenges?
• Are the Delhi / Dublin principles adequate to respond to current challenges? If not, what could alternatives look like?
• Did these key ideas get adopted in national contexts and what politics and issues concerning wider political economy drove the processes?
• Is the current global architecture leading us to new and more sustainable futures in providing water and sanitation? How appropriate are global solutions to national, regional and local contexts?
• Can better water and sanitation services for the poor be made sustainable in line with wider strategies on poverty reduction and address the cross domain concerns of agriculture and health in a rapidly changing climate?
• Is the new reality ‘more for most’ rather than ‘some for all’?
• How can different aspects related to access to water supply e.g. quality, affordability, sustainability and equity be balanced to achieve greater overall social justice?

Abstract and registration deadline: 14 February 2011

Go to call for papers for more information

Sustainable Water Management in Cities: engaging stakeholders for effective change, Zaragoza, Spain, 13-17 December 2010

Organised by: United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015, UN-HABITAT, City of Zaragoza, and the SWITCH consortium (which includes UNESCO-IHE and the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre).

This four-day conference will bring together more than 200 experts, local government officials, media specialists, key water operators and political representatives of cities and stakeholder groups to discuss sustainable urban water management and propose practical ways to move forward to meet the challenges of disseminating results to a wider audience, also considering different development contexts and regional characteristics. This draws on the approaches of the SWITCH project and the Learning Alliances. Some specific outcomes of the meeting – especially case studies – will be presented as part of the World Water Day on 22 March 2011.

Conference web site: www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/swm_cities_zaragoza_2010/index.shtml

3rd International Symposium Re-Water Braunschweig, Brunswick, Germany, 21-22 November 2011

Organised by: Stadtentwässerung Braunschweig GmbH in cooperation with the Technische Universität Braunschweig, the Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin and the Abwasserverband Braunschweig

Main topics: water and wastewater reuse, nutrient recovery and closing of energy- and material cycles, with a focus on implementation and realisation. Practical examples from developing countries will be included.

Conference web site: abwasser-recycling.info/re-water_english.html

SSS 4 WATER: Small Sustainable Solutions for Water, Venice, Italy, 18-22 April 2011

This International Water Association (IWA) specialised event is hosted and organised by the Venice Water Authority in collaboration with the School of Chemical Engineering for Wastewater Treatment and Renewable Resources.

It combines 3 conferences:

• 10th Specialized Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Treatment Systems (SWWS)
• 4th Specialized Conference on Decentralized Water and Wastewater International Network (DEWSIN)
• 3th Specialized Conference on Resources Oriented Sanitation (EcoSan)

Paper submission deadline: 15 December 2010

Conference web site: www.wastewater-venice-2011.com

World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, 21-27 August 2011

Organised by: Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

Theme: Responding to Global Challenges – Water in an Urbanising World

Attracting 2,600 participants coming from 130 countries in 2010, the World Water Week is the leading international annual water networking event. It presents a comprehensive agenda of workshops, seminars and side events, complemented by prize ceremonies, including that of the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize.

Deadline for workshop abstracts and seminar and side event proposals: 15 February 2011.

Read the first announcement

Web site: www.worldwaterweek.org

35th WEDC International Conference, Loughborough, UK, 06-08 July 2011

WEDC Conference brochure

Organised by: Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough University

Theme: The future of water, sanitation and hygiene in low-income countries: Innovation, adaptation and engagement in a changing world.

In 2011 WEDC celebrates its fortieth anniversary by hosting its annual conference at Loughborough University, a break in its 34 year long tradition of holding the event in either Africa or Asia. The annual WEDC conference is a practitioner and research focused event, exchanging knowledge and experiences in the water and sanitation sector.

For registration and other information go the conference web site:

www.wedcconference.co.uk