REGISTER for the Water Summit for Global Development – 15 March, TU Delft Aula

februari 9, 2022

Join us on 15 March 2022 for a small-scale** but high level “Water Summit for Global Development 2022” in the Delft University of Technology Aula. We invite researchers, practitioners, policy makers, students, and volunteers to discuss how multidisciplinary science, technology, policy and innovation can improve access to water, and how we can achieve this together.

** Due to the local COVID-19 policies, spots for this event are subject to the rules in place at the time of the event. This could mean you are required to show a valid corona entry pass. Check our website for the latest info: watersummitdelft.nl.

Theme – Catching Up With Urbanisation

Water is a basic human right and should be available to all. The less we have to worry about the availability, quality and cost of water the better human lives and human societies become. Yet in many areas around the world, urbanisation has outpaced the supply of public services such as water and electricity. Aging infrastructure and water resources are coming under increasing pressure. New technologies and sustainable water management practices are needed to ensure that current and future water demands for all can be met. During the Water Summit will we discuss how multidisciplinary science, technology, policy and innovation can improve access to water and how we can achieve this together.

Programme (CET)

08:30 Registration & Coffee

09:00 Welcome and Opening Address by Doris van Halem

09:30 Keynotes – Elizabeth Tilley & Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy

10:30 Break

10:45 Thematic Sessions – Climate and the City & Engaging the Urban

12:00 Lunch & Networking

13:00 Keynote – Nick van de Giesen

13:30 Thematic Sessions – Water (reuse) for Food & Urban Water Nexus

14:45 Break

15:00 Water Dialogue: Catching Up with Urbanisation

16:45 Towards UN2023 Water Conference by Henk Ovink

17.00 Closing & Drinks

18:00 Conference Dinner

Keynotes

Elizabeth Tilley – Keynote: The Role of Tertiary Education in Achieving Universal Access to Water and Sanitation

Dr Elizabeth Tilley is Associate Professor of Global Health Engineering at ETH Zurich. Tilley’s research interests arise from the need to find technical, yet socially workable, solutions to the complex challenges that marginalised people face every day in the Global South. Her focus is on sanitation management, which is one of the biggest under-??researched factors hindering sustainable development in many poorer countries. Before joining ETH Zurich, she held the position of Senior Lecturer at the University of Malawi.

Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy – Keynote: Leap Frogging to Inclusive New Water Paradigms for Development

Kala Vairavamoorthy is the Executive Director at the International Water Association (IWA) and is an internationally recognized water resource management expert, with a particular interest in urban water issues. He combines a strong engineering background with practical international experience. He has published extensively and has a strong international profile working closely with the World Bank, UN-Habitat, UNESCO, GWP, SIWI, ADB and the EU. He has led several urban water management projects for the EU, World Bank, African Development Bank and DFID. He is currently a member of the ADB’s Water Advisory Group.

Nick van de Giesen – Keynote: Sensing Water

Professor Nick van de Giesen holds the Van Kuffeler Chair of Water Resources Engineering at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Delft University of Technology. He leads a group of post-graduate scientists which conducts research on integrated and operational water management. He is responsible for the development of teaching curriculums at undergraduate and graduate levels. On top of this he is co-director of the Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory, which aims to build a dense network of hydro-meteorological monitoring stations in sub-Saharan Africa

Henk Ovink – Special Envoy for International Water Affairs

Henk Ovink is the first Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In his role as thematic ambassador, the Water Envoy strengthens the Dutch international water ambition at home and abroad for the entire sector. “Worldwide, water is the connecting issue, the number one global risk and the opportunity for comprehensive cultural change.” Ovink is Principal of Rebuild by Design and was Senior Advisor to the former US Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task. He was both Acting Director General of Spatial Planning and Water Affairs and Director National Spatial Planning for the Netherlands.