Dear SuSanA members,
Happy to report that the SuSanA meet-up in Abidjan was well attended. Besides, I interacted with numerous members at the venue throughout the conference days. Attached are the notes of the meeting. They have also been added to the event page along with a few pictures. Many thanks to Daniel Ddiba for taking notes during the meeting and Alexandra for responding to some of the comments on behalf of the secretariat. 

Listing below some key takeaways:

• SuSanA forum has no bots 
• The platform competes with social media platforms that invest a lot to make users glued to them. While we cannot match with the investments, the user experience still can be much better.
• The reduced attention spans, the fact that most people prefer posts that fit on their mobile screen, and many such similar developments need to be considered when making posts.
• More posts are not always desirable. Few posts of good quality should be the aim. 

I want to thank the meetup participants and other members who readily spoke about their experiences, what they appreciate and how it would work better for them.



I (and other moderators) look forward to incorporate your suggestions in our work.

Regards
paresh

Unfortunately, the conference was strictly face-to-face and I believe there was no live stream. We'll check with the organizers to see if the sessions were recorded. In the meantime, here are some impressions and key messages from Rémi Kaupp of CBSA @RemKau , who kindly agreed to share his insights with the SuSanA Forum through the Secretariat :

"All right, finished with #Abidjan2023 #FSM7 , so it's time to reflect on a few things I have learnt ! A few key messages and inspirations:

• "Sanitation is a public good", I have heard (and said) a few times - nothing new, but it also comes with a warning: like most public goods (think roads...), its costs can't be covered by users, you only notice it when it doesn't go well, and it doesn't win votes easily.
• "Sanitation is a service" - yes yes YES. There is still so much focus on the product (pit, treatment plant), from exhibitors to presenters and announcements. Services are still missing from the discourse and get less support: collection and transport, and creating by-products.
• Ah yes, the funding gap. It's here to stay. You can't provide a safe, full-chain sanitation service to low-income residents without substantial public funding. This service can't break even by itself! That's FUNDING, not finance - thanks @ClarissaBrockle  and @IanRossUK
• But we can reduce this gap, as we have heard from @AquaforAll , @WSUP_Intl , @kariukimugo , @AfDB_Group and @CBSAglobal 's members @CleanTeamGhana , @loowatt , @sanima_pe , @Sanergy_Collab , @Sanivation and @SOILHaiti : cross-subsidies, carbon credits, results-based funding etc. (but hopefully there's a good news on this front with the launch later this year of @AfDB 's new AUSIF?)
• Climate gets a (little) bit more attention. There's a small community of organisations who care - about adaptation. Yet there are solutions to reduce the huge methane emissions - quick emptying and processes that remove anaerobic digestion (or capture gas). By the way, on climate, please take a look at @WaterIntel 's excellent and short report: globalwaterintel.com/water-without-carbon
• Otherwise this conference was as expected: Exhibition packed with pipes and pumps; Inventors showing off their miracles by asking questions that are actually comments; Programme sliiighlty less messy than previous AfWA congresses but still terrible; tiny names on badges.
• Last but certainly not least: it's absolutely wonderful to see many of the @CBSAglobal  members in person, some for the first time for me. Just look at this wonderful bunch of people!! I still can't believe how lucky I am to work with these fun folks. Thank you!
• One more thing: great to see continuous focus on sanitation workers health & safety, dignity, and opportunities - and reinforced links with their respective authorities! Kudos to sanitationworkers.susana.org and  Home | APAA/PASA (apaapasa.org) "

Feel free to react to the above and share your own impressions of the conference if you attended it. I look forward to the discussion. 

Best
Alexandra on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat

Dear SuSanA Member 
Dr Ms Alexandra

Keen to know the happenings..
Pl give Web link to attend virtually..
Thanks..

Prof Ajit Seshadri 
The Vigyan Vijay Foundation 
www.vigyanvijay.org 

🚩 Join us with the FSM Alliance and the Pan African Association of Sanitation Actors  for the  Pit Emptying Challenge  - Abidjan 2023 Special Edition. The Challenge will take place on Wednesday, February 22, during the lunch break, from 12:00 to 14:00

👏🏾 Come and support your favorite teams among the 16 professional emptiers who will compete in a variety of events and demonstrate their competencies and skillsets 💪

🗣 If you have winning tips for the contestants, meet with them the day before to discuss strategies. They will take the opportunity to show you their equipment, and you may even get a chance to try it out for yourself 👌🏾

Are you attending FSM7? Meet the WWSN women present at the  #FSM7  conference in an informal SPEED MINGLING during the conference coffee breaks.

Please join the FSM7 WWSN WhatsApp Group specifically for WWSN members who want to mix and mingle throughout FSM7!

We will inform you via WWSN WhatsApp directly about place and time of the mingles.

Register here for the WWSN WAgroup:  bit.ly/3YWssF4

Hi Ronoh, I remember that IWA was interested to review some of the existing CWIS tools, therefore I suggest you to attend Paresh's session on the 22nd (see post above) who will present the findings of it's independant review of the SFD tool implementation in India. If you do not know each other yet, you should definitely meet Enjoy Abidjan !!

Hi all,

IWA will actively participate at the  African Water Association 's Congress & Exhibition on 19-23 February in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Check the details and join our activities to learn more about IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation initiative !  #SanitAction  

21 February  
13:30-15:00, Room 6 
Technical Session on Citywide Inclusive Sanitation. Paper Presentation ‘Regulating Inclusive Urban Sanitation – Lessons Learnt’ 

22 February    
10:00 onwards – Exhibition Area, NFSSM Booth
We will launch a series of Inclusive Urban Sanitation Stories in partnership with the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management ( NFSSM ) Alliance. These stories aim to inspire urban stakeholders to discuss ways for advancing inclusive urban sanitation, especially in low- and middle-income countries. 

10:30-12:00, Room 4
Workshop in collaboration with the Centre for Water and Sanitation ( CWAS ), CRDF, CEPT University, India, on ‘Scaling up Inclusive Sanitation’. 

15:30-17:00, Room 1
Technical Session on Rethinking Resource. IWA will deliver a presentation on ‘Sanitation – an integrated element of urban water management’. 

Dear Ar. Paresh,

All the Best for your participation. 
Do your best and you do us all proud, by doing very well. 

With best wishes. 
Prof Ajit Seshadri
Vels University
Chennai India 
and
Head Environment 
The Vigyan Vijay Foundation Ngo,  www.vigyanvijay.org 

Hello folks.
I will be presenting two papers that are also part of my PhD research. Both fall under theme governance and performance of the water and sanitation sectors. Below are details of the two sessions for easy reference:  

Session 4. b. Lessons and learnings from institutional and regulatory framework in the water and sanitation sector
Date: 21st Feb, 1530 - 1700 hrs
Venue : Room 5
Presentation title: Understanding the Various Dimensions of Policy Support for Implementing and Scaling-up Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) in India   

Session 4. e. City-wide Inclusive Sanitation
Date: 22nd Feb; 1530 - 1700 hrs
venue - Room 2
Presentation title: The Status of Infrastructure and Practices for Faecal Sludge Management in Indian Cities: A Review of Shit Flow Diagram Reports 

Hope to see some of you in the room and many more outside. Please say hello if you recognise. I'd love to know more about you, your work, and more importantly - your experiences of the discussion forum.   

Regards
paresh

Hi all, 

We will be hosting the first WASH themed Career KickStarter at the 21st AfWA Congress & Exhibition and FSM7 Conference.

The Career KickStarter is a mentoring program designed to match mentees 1-on-1 with a volunteer mentor for one year. Mentors provide professional guidance and constructive criticism, engage their professional network to strengthen the mentees, and most importantly, provide encouragement. Mentees are expected to drive the professional relationship.

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to meet and learn from like-minded experts! We are still looking for both mentors and mentees to participate.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required.
You can register here:
fsm-alliance.org/careerkickstarter/

Hope to see you there!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Salut,

Nous organiserons le premier Career KickStarter sur le thème WASH lors du 21e Congrès et exposition de l'AAE et de la conférence FSM7.

Le Career KickStarter est un programme de mentorat conçu pour jumeler des mentorés 1 contre 1 avec un mentor bénévole pendant un an. Les mentors fournissent des conseils professionnels et des critiques constructives, engagent leur réseau professionnel pour renforcer les mentorés et, plus important encore, les encouragent. On s'attend à ce que les mentorés conduisent la relation professionnelle.

Ne manquez pas cette occasion unique de rencontrer et d'apprendre d'experts partageant les mêmes idées ! Nous recherchons toujours des mentors et des mentorés pour participer.

Les places sont limitées et une pré-inscription est requise.
Vous pouvez vous inscrire ici :
fsm-alliance.org/careerkickstarter/

Espérons vous y voir!

Dear SuSanA members
 
The 21st AfWA COngress and FSM7 Conference is just around the corner. Unfortunately, the secretariat will not be able to attend in person, but our forum moderator Paresh will be there and will support the secretariat on site. In order to coordinate potential SuSanA activities , we would like to know who from our members and partners will be attending the conference and which sessions and side-events you or your organization will be contributing to. 

If you are planning to be Abidjan for the event, please enter your details in the list  here  and stay tuned for more information! 

All the best

Alexandra Dubois on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat

Hello one and all,


We've got some exciting news for y'all - the 21st AfWA Congress & Exhibition and the 7th International Faecal Sludge Management Alliance Conference is now open for registration!


For the first time, the Faecal Sludge Management Alliance (FSMA) will partner with the African Water Association to co-host the 21st AfWA Congress & Exhibition and the 7th International Faecal Sludge Management Conference in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, to bring together water and sanitation in this joint event, including faecal sludge management.


The joint-event, which will be held from February 19 to 23, 2023. It will feature the theme “Acting for sustainable resources management and access for all to water and sanitation in Africa”, and is an opportunity to bring together the world's leading experts, engineers, technicians, researchers, and stakeholders, to meet the concerns of our fellow citizens, in a world where water and sanitation challenges are just too many.

Exciting? We know!  If you want to join in on the fun, follow this link to register:
www.abidjan2023.com