World Water Congress closes after receiving 4500 visitors

IWA World Water Congress in Vienna sets new participation precedents in mastering the challenges faced in water supply and sanitation. Widespread consensus reached on pressing issues, best practice shared on a global scale and good progress made in driving research into practice. In an era where the water industry faces unprecedented challenges due to the additional stresses to water management associated with population growth, urbanisation and the effects of climate change, water experts from all over the globe that convened in Vienna this week are mobilising on an international scale to deal with today’s problems and prepare for a tomorrow of new paradigms. In a lot of cases, the old rules simply do not apply any more, so demonstrating how to adapt swiftly to new situations and debating new solutions is more vital than ever before.

And so it was that over 4500 visitors from 94 different countries descended on the capital of Austria over 4 days for the 2008 IWA World Water Congress. The Congress covered the cross-cutting themes of Sanitation, Cities of the Future, Climate Change, Water and Energy, Water Reuse and Desalination, Frontiers of Science and Technology, as well as human resources (with a special focus on attracting more women in water and young water professionals). There were over 1000 papers presented and 30 workshops held, with 10 key note speeches from the best in the field.