Dear RWSN Members,
With today’s email we are writing to announce the RWSN Forum which is planned for Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire from the 29th November to 1st December 2016, plus 2nd December for field trips and sponsored seminars. The event will comprise plenary and parallel sessions of presentations and interactive workshops as well as presentation of posters, photographs, cartoons and films. The event will be in English and French. Register here.
With the title, Water for Everyone, the Forum will explore how we are going to reach Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in rural areas and small towns. What has worked well in the past? What needs to be done differently in the future? Come and share your experiences of success and failure and learn from others. RWSN Forums have a unique character, with an emphasis on learning and sharing, and a practical rather than political focus. The participants are mainly rural water supply professionals and practitioners. Where political leaders participate, they are encouraged to engage in the sessions and exhibition as equals with the other participants. You can find out more from the Forum Website.
The RWSN Forum is the only global event dedicated to rural water supply and the content and the discussions are driven by you. Come and present your work in a way that suits you – a paper, a poster, a film, a picture or photo, an exhibition stand or sponsored seminar with your own content. The peer-review process also ensures that the best content is presented and that authors with good experiences and ideas are provided the support that they need. We are particularly interested in practical experiences from an operational level. For example, one of the prizes for best paper at the 6th Forum went to Mr Edgar Phiri, a District Water Officer from Malawi.
The success of 7th RWSN Forum depends on you. The Open Call for Submissions deadline is April 30th, 2016. Forum discussions will be based on submissions for long and short papers, posters, illustrations and short films, entered around the following themes:
- Sustainable Rural Water and Small Town Water Supplies;
- Equality, non-discrimination and inclusion;
- Sustainable Groundwater Development;
- Accelerating Self Supply;
- Mapping and Monitoring;
- Rural Water Supplies in the Humanitarian – Development Context;
The event brings together professionals from all types of organisations and at all levels, from entrepreneurs and service providers to government ministers to university professors. We bring the latest in research, practice and policy together to catalyse new partnerships and reinvigorate existing ones. Normally, RWSN’s activities are online and through publications, but we realise that nothing beats face-to-face interactions and networking. You can find the delegate list from last time on the 6th RWSN Forum website.
If you would like to attend, please register on: http://rwsn7.net/participate/register/. The early bird registration fee (for all participants) is €500 (up to June 30th, 2016).
The philosophy of the Forum is to:
- be inclusive of different perspectives;
- build capacity by raising the quality of the submissions and improving communication skills within the rural water sector;
- share knowledge and experience on rural water issues among equals
- bring the realities of the field to the attention of decision-makers and funding agencies
- catalyze vibrant South-South exchanges and networking
- be accessible to French and English speakers. For the first time this year, presentations in Spanish will be accepted, and translation/ interpretation will be offered at the Forum if there is sufficient demand and funding.
The RWSN Forum is the foremost global event on rural water services and takes place every 5 years. We anticipate 650 participants from all over the world at the 2016 event which is in English and French.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Warm wishes,
Kerstin Danert, Sean Furey, Meleesa Naughton and Victor Bas Martinez
on behalf of the RWSN Forum International Task Force comprising representatives from
Skat Foundation, SDC, UNICEF, World Bank, WaterAid, IRC and the African Development Bank
Dr. Kerstin Danert
Director RWSN Secretariat
RWSN – Rural Water Supply Network
Website: http://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/
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