Dear all,

I also attended the conference that Daniel mentioned, and I have to agree with him that everything went very smoothly and that it was a very good conference (about 1000 participants). Sanitation played quite a prominent role (which was not always the case in the past at such IWA conferences). But what I found a bit disappointing was:

• Many presentations were about small pilot projects (some of them even just in planning and not yet implemented), and there was not much about larger scale projects.
• There was a focus on utilities (commercialised utilities) or water services providers (as they are called in the Kenyan setup), and I saw hardly any local government presence (the only local government I saw there were our heroes from Durban / eThekwini Municipality and people from Nairob City Council (Nairobi Water, if I am not mistaken). To some extent, this is to be expected at this type of very technical conference, but I am just not sure if this is how things should be going, given the fact that on-site sanitation and solid waste management is usually still with the local governments...
• As far as I could see, the only time that the utilities would tackle the issue of onsite sanitation was when there was external money from donors available...

The level of the discussions and the interest was generally very high.

On the Friday after the conference, I went to see the work of Peepoople in Kibera (www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/sets/72157636876856065/) as well as some UDDTs by the UBSUP project (GIZ and Water Services Trust Fund: www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/sets/72157637061451965/). I will give some feedback about that in other parts of the forum. Some other colleagues also went to see Sanergy - I will encourage then to post something, too.

Kenya (Nairobi at least) seemed to me full of smiling, happy people, despite all the odds - amazing! Wish we could transplant some of those smiles to the German people...

For those who haven't been there, here is how you can still benefit from some of the presentations:
I have begun to upload presentations to the SuSanA library, see here:
www.susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbktypeitem&type=2&id=1861

So far, I have already uploaded some from the BORDA team as well as from Chris Buckley. I will continue to upload more this week.

(I believe some of them will also be uploaded to the IWA Water Wiki)

I will also upload relevant papers (some authors wrote papers), but will have to check with the authors first, because some authors will try to get their papers published in the IWA journals.

There was unfortunately no filming of the presentations.

There was some activity on Twitter during the conference (not very much). If you are a Twitter user, then look for this hashtag: #IWA2013Nairobi: twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=%23iwa2013nairobi

That's it. Maybe some other participants can add their subjective impressions as well.

Regards,
Elisabeth

P.S. My impressions that I had written here have also been used in a blog entry on the IWA website which is nice: www.iwahq.org/288/media/blogs.html

Hi,

Everything went perfectly, it was a wonderful event where networking took place, and exchange of valuable information. I also assisted very good presentations of colleagues, where interesting facts were brought up.

I presented my paper of Overall performance evaluation of shallow maturation ponds in series treating UASB reactor effluent: ten years of intensive monitoring of a system in Brazil and many people enjoyed it. I will try and update my presentation in the short term, but I'm not sure whether I can upload the full paper since it will be published.

I will let you know soon about this.


+++++++++
Note by moderator (EvM):
Read more about Daniel's research here on the forum:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/35-bio...ds-phd-thesis-brazil

Dear Elisabeth,

Thanks very much for your email.

I can see that the two field trips to Thika Dam (Ndakaini) and Ngethu Water Works are not of too much interest to those who focus on sanitation. It is a good suggestion and I will explore the possibility of an alternative tour which would meet these interests.

Regarding making content available afterwards the conference, I think it is OK with the authors permission to upload their presentations and probably abstracts but not the papers because many authors are keen to see their papers published. I will look into this also.

I am not sure about the filming but if funds were available then it could happen. I would however need to discuss this with my colleagues who are responsible for the conference organization as it might be complicated to have some sessions filmed but not others.

Thanks for your good suggestions as I agree with your sentiments.

I will endeavor to keep you updated and look forward to seeing you in Nairobi

best regards,

Jonathan

Dear Jonathan,

Thanks for this update. The advance program looks very interesting. When will the fully detailed program be available?

I am planning to come to this conference - do we have other SuSanA members who are coming? (--> if yes, possibility for some small SuSanA working group meetings perhaps?)

I have some small questions for you today:

(1)
The two field trips that I currently see on offer don't seem that interesting to me personally.
Could a third field trip perhaps be offered, e.g. to see some of the work by Sanergy (who seems to be all over the news these days...). Or UBSUP? (forum.susana.org/forum/categories/97-ena...p-wstf-and-giz-kenya)
Who is in charge of organising these field trips and is there still room for more or would they have to be organised privately?

(2)
Are you making any provisions to make any content available afterwards for those who are unable to come to this event in person (due to costs or other reasons)? Like we did for the IWA Nagpur conference here on the SuSanA website (www.susana.org/library) with the presentations, or for the FSM2 conference with presentations and even videos. Perhaps a sponsor could be found to pay for professional filming of the presentations? It might not have to be that expensive.
I always find it a pity if only the 400-odd participants who attend such an event benefit and the rest of the world does not. (I guess presentations will be transformed into papers and published in one way or another?)

Kind regards,
Elisabeth

Dear all,

We are gearing up for the 3rd IWA Development Congress and Exhibition to be held in Nairobi from October 14 -17.

You can download the Advance Programme from www.iwa2013nairobi.org.

I encourage you to register this month to be eligible for the ‘Early Bird’ rate which expires on 31 August 2013.

I will send updates later but here is an overview of some of the sessions and workshops that we have planned related to urban sanitation.

Jonathan Parkinson PhD.
Programme Manager – Urban Sanitation Initiative

email : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Telephone: + 44 20 300 48528
Mobile: + 44 770 220 2646
_________________________________________________________________________________

15 October

09:15 - 10:45 The Convening Power of Risk: A Community of Practice event on Urban Sanitation and Sanitation Safety Planning (Co-Convened by WSSCC, WHO and IWA)

This workshop will focus on sanitation system risk assessment and its application within a framework of WHO’s Sanitation Safety Planning methodology. It will involve an interactive session based on rapid participatory assessment to consider risk indicators and health based targets in the sanitation service delivery which can be used to identify communities that are at highest risk from poor sanitation and to help develop strategies for reducing these risks.

09:15 - 10:45 / 11:15 - 12:45 Prospects and Challenges for Constructed Wetlands in Developing Countries (Organised by the IWA Specialist Group on "Use of Macrophytes for Water Pollution Control")

The workshop will provide participants with a state-of-the-art overview of constructed wetlands and their application for wastewater and faecal sludge treatment; including presentations focusing on the application of constructed wetlands in the sanitation service chain, practical experiences with implementing constructed wetlands from different regions.

11:15 - 12:45 Yes we can – Improved sanitation for all! Mainstreaming decentralized wastewater and solid waste management (Co-convened by BORDA and IWA)

The workshop aims at discussing lessons learned from decentralized sanitation
projects and how decentralized approaches can be mainstreamed. The workshop will focus on how to strengthen decentralized approaches in the sanitation sector and how to sustainably implement sanitation services through business development.

14:00 - 15:30 Is small beautiful? Building Evidence for Decentralized Sanitation Systems(Co-convened by Eawag-Sandec, BORDA and IWA)

Small-scale wastewater treatment systems are currently at an inflection point. A proposed research initiative by Eawag-Sandec & BORDA seeks to investigate the main challenges for scaling up decentralised and small-scale sanitation systems and how to improve management and operational practices. In this interactive workshop participants will have the opportunity to jointly elaborate key research needs.

16 October

09:15 - 10:45 Sustainability of decentralized wastewater treatment systems

This technical session include four presentations and discussions focusing on i) Decision-Making for Development and Implementation of Appropriate Waste Water Treatment in Java, Indonesia ii) Review of Applied Wastewater Treatment Technology for Floating and Flooded Communities iii) Design, construction and monitoring of domestic wastewater treatment systems in rural settlements in Brazil and iv) A survey on sustainability of improved decentralized wastewater technologies in Tanzania and Kenya.

11:15 - 12:45 Operational performance of wastewater treatment systems

This technical session include four presentations and discussions focusing in i) Start-up and performance evaluation of DEWATS plants during cold season in Afghanistan ii ) Performance and Operation and Maintenance of a DEWATS Plant Treating Domestic Wastewater: A South African Case Study iii) Performance and Economics of Large Scale Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Sewage Treatment Plants andiv) Overall performance evaluation of shallow maturation ponds in series treating UASB reactor effluent: ten years of intensive monitoring of a system in Brazil.

14:00 - 15:30 / 16:00 - 17:30 Methods and tools for assessing and planning sanitation in developing countries (Co-convened by the IWA Specialist Groups on Resource Orientated Sanitation and Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries)

The impact of the planning phase on the outcome of infrastructure projects has been well understood. Infrastructure will only be as sustainable as their planning was. Further, planning is an important tool to guide the decision makers on investment priorities with respect to infrastructure provision. The workshop session will provide an overview on existing and new methods and tools for assessing and planning water supply and sanitation systems in the context of their applicability in developing countries.

17 October

09:15 - 10:45 / 11:15 – 12:45 Dry sanitation systems and fecal sludge management

There is increasing interest in the adoption of waterless toilets and non-flush based sanitation. There is also a critical need for improved fecal sludge management in cities throughout the world. These seminars focus on a range of technical aspects concerning properties of faecal sludge from on-site sanitation facilities, operation and maintenance strategies, logistics of sludge handling and feasibility of faecal sludge co-treatment in sewage treatment plants. There will be presentations on the Peepoo technology, use of chironomid larvae for sludge reduction, and disinfection of sludge and compost for use for food production.
 
09:15 - 10:45 Management of Greywater

This session will focus on the management of greywater, focusing specifically on treatment technologies such as vermifiltration, algal ponds and multi-media filter as well as experiences of separation between greywater and blackwater as solution for water supply and sanitation improvements

09:15-10:45 / 11:15–12:45 Tackling the Urban Sanitation Conundrum (Co-convened by WSP and IWA)

The workshop will transcend boundaries between technical design and socially sensitive project planning. Speakers from utility and client backgrounds will discuss evidence on how planning urban sanitation projects can address technical problems and issues, whilst also understanding and responding to social and political drivers to strengthen demand and funds utilization.

14:00 – 15:30 Achieving improved sanitation at scale: Policy issues

This seminar will concentrate on policy issues related to the achievement of improved santiation at scale; including presentations based on experiences from Egype and South Africa and Egypt, and other presentations on the benefits that better identification of capacity and attitudes can bring and whether the focus of stakeholder engagement results in real improvement or is simply window-dressing to attract donor support.

14:00 - 15:30 Emergency sanitation (Co-convened by UNESCO-IHE and IWA)

The aim of the workshop is to address the issues and challenges in preparation and delivery of sanitation service in emergency settings following natural and anthropological disasters. The first part of the workshop will include four short presentations and the she second part is reserved for the interactive discussion between the expert panel, presenters and audience in lessons learned from the most recent large scale disasters.


***************** IWA has a special membership offer this summer ! ******************
By joining now for three years membership you will benefit from a 50% discount on this year's fees. Offer valid only for new members until 30th September 2013
_________________________________________________________________________________

Dear all,

from 14-17 October 2013 the 3rd IWA Development Congress, Catalysing Urban Water, will take place in Nairobi, Kenya.

The themes for the 3rd IWA Development Congress are:

- Optimising service delivery for universal access
- Beyond the front-lines of urban sanitation
- Optimizing resources along the water, food and energy nexus
- Human resources and capacities for transition


For further informations check --> www.iwa2013nairobi.org/

Call for papers --> file is attached below

For further events in the sanitation sector please check our event calender --> www.susana.org/lang-en/news/events

Kind regards,
SuSanA secretariat.
[posted by Agazi Medhanie]