It happened at IWA Tokyo

When we look back a few years from now, maybe we will all say that ‘it happened in Tokyo’. Over the past years the Watershare platform has gradually moved in the right direction, with members increasingly participating in knowledge sharing, tool development and the set up and execution of joint reference projects. The number of members continues to grow. But Tokyo marked a new phase for Watershare.

We can speak of a great team spirit and ambition to further develop Watershare as a dynamic, worldwide operational engine for the transfer of global knowledge to local applications. This was particularly evident during the well-attended breakfast meeting and the very lively discussions among members. This resulted in ideas for new initiatives and suggestions for measures to further facilitate cooperation in the platform.

The very lively Watershare booth acted as a home base for the members to meet fellows and others, and as a forum to pitch new tools, such as the SWS toolbox and reference projects like the recently launched NextGen. One special moment was the session where we welcomed our recent new members: Diam from Oman and AySA from Argentina. All sessions attracted a large audience which greatly contributed to the visibility of Watershare. The platform also enjoyed a very high profile at the IWA conference with sessions on a variety of themes.

Moreover, during an evening workshop, hosted by our Japanese member JWRC, the Japanese water utilities and Watershare members exchanged information on developments and explored opportunities for cooperation.

All the Tokyo opportunities will be discussed and elaborated with the Watershare members at the upcoming Annual Meeting in Athens.