Cape Town to host major water conferences

©photodee via 123RF

This follows the Convention Bureau’s successful bids for the International Water Association’s (IWA) 2018 Water Loss Conference, to be held from 7 to 9 May 2018, and the Young Water Professionals Conference, held in December 2017. In addition, the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau welcome the Water Institute of South Africa’s biennial conference and exhibition in June 2018 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).

The conference has been brought together through a partnership of the World Toilet Association, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the University of North West and the University of Limpopo.

Sanitation, water and waste management in Africa

According to Aifani Tahulela from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology: "The conference aims to bring together practitioners and academics from all over the world with interest on better management of sanitation, water and waste in Africa and other third world countries with a view to learn from each other."

It is expected that some 600 delegates will participate in these important discussions on the use and management of clean water across the world.

In addition, it aims to achieve long-term outcomes which will significantly benefit our province and country. These include:

• Academic publications in the form of a journal issue, conference proceeding and a book;

• A doctoral seminar that would bring together and network doctoral students working in sanitation, water and waste-related topics;

• Long-term research partnerships between various participating research institutions, individual academics, and practitioners;

• Exhibition by organisations that are involved in sanitation, water and waste management innovations with potential for selling their products and establishing research partnerships.

Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris said: “On behalf of the Cape Town and the Western Cape Convention Bureau, I would like to thank the conference organisers for selecting Cape Town for this critical gathering on water, hygiene and sanitation. We are also grateful for the support of the South African National Convention Bureau. It could not come at a more important time for our province. We are currently facing the worst drought in 400 years, and new and innovative ideas on how we can adapt to the realities of climate change will be critical.

“Our colleagues in the convention bureau will be working closely with this conference to help them become water-neutral so that they can come and visit Cape Town without any worry that they may make our water scarcity worse. In fact, these conferences are vital for our economy, bringing in the best and brightest minds who not only boost tourism but who may come back as future investors. We warmly welcome you to Cape Town and the Western Cape, which is open for business, and we look forward to working with you in helping us save water,” continued Harris.

Addressing clean water and poor sanitation

Mayor of Suwon City, and spokesperson for the conference, Tae-young YEOM added: “Resulting from problems associated with poor sanitation, waste management and water standards, it is reported that over 84 million people (one in 10) throughout the world do not have access to clean water. More than 2.3 billion people do not have access to a toilet while 289,000 children are dying on an annual basis because of the problems associated with lack of clean water and poor sanitation. This conference therefore squarely lands itself into addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number six which is clean water and sanitation access by all by 2030.”

The Western Cape minister of economic opportunities, Alan Winde said: “Water is a very topical subject in Cape Town right now, but it should be on everyone’s mind as the world faces the challenges of climate change, population growth and ensuring public health. We welcome this conference’s 600 delegates to our province and applaud the efforts of the organisers to ensure that it remains water-neutral. One of our Project Khulisa’s focus areas is on growing conference tourism to create more jobs. Conferences generated R425m for the province in 2016/17, a figure we are seeking to grow."

CEO of South African Tourism, Sisa Ntshona welcomed the news saying: "Securing these important international conferences for South Africa – and Cape Town in particular, where the water issue is so topical and pressing – is a major feather in our business events industry's cap. The South African Tourism is thrilled that the increased bid support being provided by our national, provincial and city convention bureaus is already bearing fruit, significantly boosting our chances of hosting such major global conferences. The healthier our business events industry is, the more jobs we can create and sustain, the more economic growth we can stimulate, and the more our country's intellectual capital base can be enhanced and enriched."

Innovation and resilience in wake of drought

"While Cape Town is busy fighting the worst drought in recorded history, it is clear that we are also positioning ourselves globally as a city and a society that demonstrates enormous innovation and resilience when it comes to water management issues. It is our firm belief that this crisis will lead to Cape Town becoming a global site of interest when it comes to water challenges that other cities will have to contend with in this new era of climate change.

Conferencing and tourism are especially important for our city. The fact that three water conferences have been held in Cape Town over the past year is certainly a testament to that. We, therefore, welcome this latest conference and suspect that there will be many more," concluded Lance Greyling, the City of Cape Town’s director for enterprise and investment.