Il ne reste maintenant plus que deux mois avant le 7ème Forum RWSN à Abidjan. La plupart des auteurs des présentations, posters et films ont maintenant été informés du statut de leurs soumissions, et nous progressons bien du côté de la logistique également. Je dois également remercier notre cinquantaine d’évaluateurs qui ont fait preuve d’un superbe esprit d’équipe, ainsi que les organisateurs des séminaires sponsorisés qui ont su collaborer ensemble. Et un grand merci à nos généreux sponsors du Forum pour faire en sorte que nous puissions organiser cet évènement. Je suis vraiment ravie de voir une telle ouverture entre organisations pour organiser des sessions conjointes à travers lesquelles les participants du Forum seront en mesure d’apprendre les uns des autres et partager leurs expériences.

C’est vous – les participants qui ont soumis des contributions, ainsi que les organisations développant le programme des séminaires sponsorisés du vendredi – qui êtes en charge du programme. Il y aura des sessions sur la durabilité des services; le développement des eaux souterraines et des puits; l’égalité, la non-discrimination et l’inclusion; l’auto-approvisionnement et la cartographie et le suivi. Nous allons mettre les articles en ligne au fur et à mesure que le programme se consolide, donc continuez à aller vérifier le programme sur notre site. Le Forum RWSN est aussi une plateforme pour construire son réseau. Les réservations des stands pour l’exposition continuent à progresser, donc n’hésitez pas à nous contacter si vous aimeriez avoir un stand. Nous avons permis à des petites organisations de partager un stand dans le passé, donc si cela peut être une option pour vous, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter.

Vous vous demandez peut-être – qui sont les participants du Forum RWSN? Nous attendons entre 300 et 600 participants. Le nombre de participants dépend de vous – les 8500 membres du réseau RWSN, et des autres qui pourront nous rejoindre par la suite. Près d’une centaine de participants ont déjà confirmé et payé leur inscription. Cela inclut des membres de haut niveau du gouvernement, des professionnels du secteur du développement, de la société civile, du secteur privé et de la recherche. Le Forum RWSN est le seul évènement ou vous pourrez rencontrer un tel kaléidoscope de personnes et de perspectives sur l’eau en milieu rural et dans les petites villes. Nous vous encourageons vraiment à venir nous rejoindre!

Nous savons également d’expérience qu’il y a tendance à s’inscrire à la dernière minute. Nous vous demandons de vous inscrire maintenant pour éviter d’être déçu. Je suis sûre que vous pensez déjà que participer au Forum est une bonne chose pour vous professionnellement, et pour votre organisation, mais peut-être qu’il vous semble difficile de trouver le temps et l’argent pour participer. Nous avons mis au point un guide (en anglais seulement pour l’instant; nous mettrons la version française en ligne prochainement) qui peut vous aider à argumenter auprès de votre hiérarchie ou de sponsors potentiels que participer au Forum RWSN est une opportunité à ne pas manquer.

The 7^th RWSN Forum in Abidjan is only two months away. Most of the authors of papers, posters and films have now been informed of their acceptance, and we are progressing well with the logistics for the event. I have to say that the team spirit (with 50 reviewers) as well as the joining of hands for the seminars has been outstanding. And thanks to our generous forum sponsors for enabling us to organise this event. I am delighted to see such openness for organisations to link up and work together to prepare sessions in which the forum participants will be able to learn from others, and share.

The programme is driven by the you – RWSN members who made their submissions as well as agencies and groups who have developed the sponsored seminar programme for the Friday. There will be plenty to learn on sustainable services; groundwater and wells; equality, non-discrimination and inclusion; self-supply and mapping and monitoring. We shall upload papers as they are finalised, so keep checking out the programme on the website. The RWSN forum is also a platform for face to face networking. Bookings for the exhibition are moving well, so please let us know if you would also like to exhibit. We have enabled small organisations to share booths in the past, so if this would be the only option for you, please let us know.

So who will attend you may be asking. We are expecting between 300 and 600 participants. How many come depends on you – the 8,500 RWSN members, and others who may join in the process. About 100 delegates have registered and paid already. This includes senior government staff, development partners, civil society, the private sector and academia. The RWSN Forum is the only event where you are likely to encounter such a kaleidoscope of people and perspectives on rural and small towns water supply. We really encourage you to attend!

We know from experience that there is a tendency to confirm late. So we ask you to please register now and avoid disappointment. I’m sure you are already convinced that attending the Forum is the right thing for you, and your organisation, but maybe securing the time and funding to attend is a challenge. So, to help we have prepared this help sheet to make it easier for you to make the case to your manager or funder that the RWSN Forum is a uniquely valuable opportunity.

The 43^rd Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) brings together 800 specialists from all around the world. It is the first morning, and I am already inspired. Although the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) has worked alongside and interacted considerably with IAH over its history, I personally only joined IAH this year. However, I am very glad to have become a member of such a warm and committed association which explicitly recognises the importance of cooperation between groundwater experts and other specialists. IAH is about much moth than sophisticated technical models. And so I encourage other RWSN members with an interest in groundwater to do the same, and benefit from being exchange with others.

So what is the talk here so far? The opening speakers have emphasised population growth and migration to cities (including Montpellier, where this congress is hosted) several times. These changes, alongside climate change, present a key challenge for groundwater specialists and associated professions.

Learning about the history of IAH from John Chilton, current executive director, I am struck by the journey that the association has made since it was established in September 1956. Having gone through three stages of formation, growth and consolidation over 60 years, the exchange, publications and outreach of the association are impressive. It was IAH that commissioned some of the first hydrogeological maps in the late 1950’s. Fast forwarding to today, there are now four new national chapters recently opened in New Zealand, Tunisia, Turkey and Iraq. Certainly, we, as RWSN have much to learn from IAH. But more importantly we need to think about how we can join hands to bring about change in key areas.

I am particularly inspired by The Time Capsule, which enables us to learn from some of the greatest minds of groundwater – you can watch and listen to Charles Vernon Theis (of the Theis test pump equation) and many others. A big thanks to IAH for getting these on line and enabling the next generation us to learn from and be inspired by the wise words of those with such experience.

Looking forwards, IAH’s Burdon Network is particularly relevant for IAH and RWSN. And we should both scratch our heads to figure out how to the harness investment, personnel and partnerships needed to raise capacity in the south so that groundwater management and development can be effectively managed and developed.

A brief exchange yesterday evening with Shami Puri has raised the importance of training, equipping and retaining the technicians to collect the data and undertake the measurements much needed to raise understanding of groundwater in Africa, and other emerging regions of the world; and with Callist Tindimugaya us about plans to develop a water training institute in Uganda. There will be many more exchanges here, I eagerly wait to see what else I can lean as the Congress continues.