WELCOME TO THE FIRST
​IWA-IDB INNOVATION CONFERENCE

We are honored to invite you to the first IWA-IDB Innovation Conference to be held in Guayaquil (Ecuador) from 30 September to 03 October 2019. This international platform is an event that is part of the IWA Sustainability in the water sector Specialist Group to discuss advances in sustainable use of water, cities, industry,  and agriculture.
The purpose of this conference is to move IWA, in collaboration with other stakeholders, further down the path of implementing sustainable use of water in three specific venues—industry, agriculture, and cities. Although there will be some discussion of concepts, analytical tools, and technologies, the focus will be on their application. This real-world focus will be reflected in active recruitment of speakers and participants from outside the world of academia and IWA membership. Industry, farmers, policy-makers, regulators, financial institutions, indigenous peoples, water/wastewater utilities, environmental associations, cultural associations, consultants, vendors and others will l be invited to discuss their involvement in water use in industry, agriculture, and cities. One goal will be to help us learn from each other about what can be done, what is being done, and lessons learned from experiences to date.  Another will be for us to brain-storm about how collectively we can increase drivers and incentives for sustainable use, and address the disincentives and barriers that currently impede progress. 

Although there are long-term incentives for more sustainable use of water, these are most effective with organizations which have the capacity to think long-term and the resources to invest in new approaches.  Since many companies, farmers, and cities do not meet these criteria, there is a need to modify the organizational ecosystem they operate in, to modify the external factors that influence their business and investment decisions.

​The goal of this conference will be to present information, discuss ideas, and create a platform for broader collaboration in the future among the many actors who play a role in how we, collectively, use water. 

We look forward to seeing you at the IWA-IDB Innovation Conference in Guayaquil.

Spotlight

Thanks to all speakers and participants to make this first innovation conference a success! Stay tuned for our coming events.
Our program page has been extensively updated! Have a look!
Hamaca Tropical Tours offers special rates for sightseeing tours in and around Guayaquil!

Photo credits: Guayaquil tourism

Organised by

IWA

​The International Water Association (IWA) is an open, yet ordered platform in which both innovators and adopters of new technologies and approaches can generate creative friction. It is a place for diffusion, benchmarking and evidence.

IWA programmes develop research and projects focused on solutions for water and wastewater management; we organise world-class events that bring the latest science, technology and best practice to the water sector at large; we work to place water on the global political agenda and to influence best practice in regulation and policy making; and we do this via the IWA’s global membership.
​
IWA members are situated in 130 countries worldwide, forming the largest international network of water professionals working towards a water wise world.
IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
 
The IDB’s Water and Sanitation Division seeks to accelerate the introduction of innovative solutions in the water and sanitation sector to generate reliable and inclusive services that in turn contribute to improving sustainable management and the use of these services for all. This effort will focus on supporting water, sanitation and solid waste services’ operators and managers, in the design and implementation of tools that will allow them to identify, incubate, test, implement and scale up solutions and products.

under coordination of
Sustainability in the Water Sector Specialist Group
and supported by
IWA Innovation Platform
&
​WSA Innovation Ecosystem

With special thanks to
Our co-organisers

Our strategic partners
And our sponsors
​© GSW19