SAVE THE DATE: Young Water Fellowship Pitching Night Brussels, 13th September 2018
Young Water Solutions gladly invites you to the 2018 Young Water Fellowship Exclusive Pitching Night.
When ? Thursday 13th September 2018 – 6:30 pm. Where ? Thon Hotel EU [Roi de la Loi 75, 1040 Etterbeek]
The Young Water Fellowship is an initiative by Young Water Solutions that empowers young community leaders from low and middle income countries with financial and technical support to launch their own social business initiatives to solve local water issues in their communities.
The 2018 Young Water Fellows will join a one month training programme in social entrepreneurship and exchange ideas with international experts and leaders. The programme will culminate with the 2018 Young Water Fellowship Pitching Night on September 13th.
You are invited to attend the Pitching Night, where you will be inspired by the stories and innovative ideas of these outstanding young leaders and their water projects. Each of them will give an exclusive presentation of his / her water project, followed by a networking reception [walking dinner] during which you can get to know the Fellows.
You can find out more about them here.
Agenda
6.30pm: Welcome by Young Water Solutions & key-note
7.00pm: Pitch by the 2018 Young Water Fellows
8.15pm: Cocktail & mingle – opportunity to meet and discuss with the 2018 Young Water Fellows during a walking dinner
9.15pm: End
Participation in this event is free and includes a walking dinner and drinks, but registration is mandatory (by clicking in the button below). Due to limited capacity, only the first 100 people who register will secure a place at the event.
If you would like to donate the equivalent cost of the dinner to support the 2018 Young Water Fellows, you can transfer it to our bank account:
IBAN : BE07 3631 5983 9266 – BIC: BBRU BE BB
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation, you can also transfer it to our partner organization GoodPlanet Belgium, on the following bank account: IBAN BE41 5230 8017 3710 – BIC: TRIOBEBB. Please mention ‘Young Water Fellowship’ in the transaction reference.
If you want to support one of the 2018 Young Water Fellows projects directly, please indicate also their name in the reference and then you will receive an implementation report including financial information on their project.
The Pitching night will take place in Thon Hotel EU (Roi de la Loi 75, 1040 Etterbeek).
More information: Bart Devos – bart@youngwatersolutions.org – +32489443308
website: www.youngwatersolutions.org
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The importance of having a Cluster dedicated to the “Water Smart Industry” theme by Geoff Townsend (Leader of the WssTP Cluster Theme ‘Water Smart Industry’)
Why is it important to have a Cluster dedicated to the theme ‘Water Smart Industry’?
Water is a business imperative – a strategic resource that enables growth, profitability and competitiveness of European industry. Consequently, challenges in supply, delivery and quality pose a relentless risk to corporations making the identification and management of these crucial to building operational resilience. In many regions, the rate of growth of water-related risks is far outpacing the efforts being made to mitigate those risks. This ever-widening disparity is attracting the attention of investors, shareholders and regulators. Superimposed on the macro trends that drive water scarcity is the growing inability to withstand local events, whether droughts or more frequent catastrophic storms that disrupt water supplies.
The industrial water-energy nexus is also an important factor. It’s no coincidence that the industrial sectors with the highest water use (power production and manufacturing) also contribute 53% of the total carbon dioxide emissions in Europe. Addressing sub-optimal performance in these water systems can make a significant contribution to emission reduction.
How is the Cluster ‘Water Smart Industry’ going to drive the way to the implementation of the WssTP Water Vision 2030?
The Cluster will help drive connectivity between the working groups and industry providing greater clarity on innovation needs and deployment opportunities aligned to the Value of Water framework. To this end, it is important that we enhance the engagement with operational teams within industry and their decision makers. The Cluster will also facilitate the setting up of living labs focussed on assessing technologies that support best available techniques as well as those that foster collaboration between the Clusters.
A key ambition of the Cluster is to go beyond addressing water risks to develop a strategy that truly embraces business opportunities so as to create greater value and impact for a business and stakeholders. In essence, industrial engagement needs to be energised by promoting water strategies that support business stratagems. This will ensure water quality and scarcity are factored into decisions that protect current operations and support business growth.
What are the key actions the Cluster has identified to bring research and innovations from the SIRA to the market?
The WssTP SIRA strategy is aimed at creating and supporting robust new technologies, funding/financing, business models and partnerships. Ultimately, confidence to invest in these is predicated on having robust, evidence-based water quantity and quality targets founded on a thorough understanding of the local context. Understanding the fundamental obstacles to truly sustainable water use at this level is essential and is likely to be the rate-limiting step on technology adoption. Consequently, specific actions associated with bringing the SIRA to the market must reflect this and the interconnectivity between innovation, collaboration and advocacy.
To see the full integrity of Geoff Townsend’s latest interview and WssTP Newsletter Summer 2018, click on the joint link.
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