20-22 June 2023, BluePoint, Brussels
The recent United Nations Water conference has emphasized the need for action to address water-related risks and invest in resilient infrastructure. Europe has a role to play in this task, and despite positive developments in EU legislation, water-related risks have been managed with a fragmented perspective. As the current Commission’s mandate comes to an end, the call is made for a Water-Smart Strategy that will put water at the heart of the next Commission’s program.
Water Innovation Europe 2023 will aim to shape the European water-related future by offering new perspectives, insights, and the latest updates on water technologies and innovations.
The Blue Cube is back to raise your voice!
What if you could join your voice to high-level EU policymakers and discuss with them the future of water-related policies? The Blue Cube is back for this edition of Water Innovation Europe 2023. On each topic, your participation will be expected among the speakers, about policies and fundings drivers to build a Water-Smart Society in Europe.
With our Blue Cube, a wireless microphone in the shape of a cube, be ready to get involved. Every time it is thrown at you, bring to the audience your views and insights and contribute to shape the future of EU water policies!
Event Agenda
🟩 Events and activities only for Water Europe members (e.g. Working groups meeting)
🟨 Dinner requires a specific ticket or invitation.
💧 Water Europe Working Groups meetings
On June 20, our 15 Working Groups will meet to discuss updates, share knowledge, and collaborate on current and upcoming working plans. Please remember that these meetings are reserved exclusively for the Water Europe members.
13:30 – 14:30
Light Lunch
14.30 – 16.00
💧Human Capital WG led by Naomi Timmer and Leonardo Piccinetti – room Galilei
💧Water & Public Health WG led by Cristian Carboni – room Vesalius
💧Water & Biodiversity WG meeting led by Sara Eeman – room Darwin
💧Resource Recovery WG led by Martijn Bijmans, Blanca Antizar, Pieter de Jong – room Marconi
16.00 – 17.30
💧 Water and Zero Pollution WG led by Jan Hofman and Lian Lundy – room Marconi
💧 Renewable Energy Desalination WG led by Guillermo Zaragoza – room Scale-up (4th floor)
💧 Digital Water Systems and Interoperability WG led by Eloisa Vargiu – room Darwin
💧Water and Climate WG led by Tone Muthanna, Maria do Céu Almeida – room Galilei
💧 Water Beyond Europe WG led David Smith – room Vesalius
🟩 Events and activities only for Water Europe members (e.g. Working groups meeting).
🟨 Dinner requires a specific ticket or invitation.
Room: Reception desk & -1 Lobby
08.30-09.00 – Welcome and registrations – Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe.
09:00 – 11:00 – Side event IC4 Water Cluster Workshop
Room: Einstein AB
8:30 – 9:00 Registration and welcome Coffee
9:00 – 09:05 Introduction to the workshop (WE)
09:05-09:20 EU Policies related to Digital Water
💧Violeta Kuzmickaite, European Commission, REA
9.20-9.30 Presentation of the ICT4Water Cluster, its scope and thematic Action Groups
💧Lydia S. Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia, KWR Water Research, ICT4WATER AG group coordinator
-Digital Water and EU Policies- Challenges and prospects
-How the ICT4Water cluster will contribute to EU policies related to Digital Water
-The current landscape: Actions, Activities and Plans
-Presentations from the ICT4WATER Action Groups, including some relevant (new and ongoing) cluster projects related thematically to the challenges
09:30-9.40 Action Group Enable Data Sharing
💧Eloy Hernandez, EURECAT
9.40-9.50 Action Group Intelligent and Smart Systems
💧Joep van den Broeke, KWR Water Research
9.50-10.00 Action Group Critical Infrastructure Protection
💧Rafael Gimenez, CETAQUA
10:00-10:10 Action Group Policies
💧Richard Elelman, EURECAT
10:10-10.20 Action Group Business models
💧Eva Martinez, ISLE UTILITIES
10.20-10.40 ICT4WATER projects: Ongoing (new) projects linking to the challenges
-Short pitch (3 min) by each project focusing on links to the challenges
Projects: Waterverse, ARSINOE, IMPETUS, Waterline, Water-Futures, ToDrinQ, PathoCERT
10.45-10.55 Open discussion – involvement – Suggestions
Moderated by Lydia Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia- KWR
12:55– 13:00 Take away messages and closure
💧Andrea Rubini, Water Europe Director of Operations
11.00-11.30 Coffee break
11:30 – 13:00 – Side event: Water Projects Europe 2023 ‘Water & Health: Addressing Water Quality for Public Health’
Room: Einstein AB
Welcome and Introduction
💧Andrea Rubini, Director of operations, Water Europe
Keynote 1 Emergency response technologies for emergency health situations
💧Demetris Eliades – PathoCERT Technical Coordinator, Professor at the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (online)
Keynote 2 Presentation of the White Paper of the WE WG Water and Public Health
💧Cristian Carboni, Leader WG Water & Health, De Nora
💧Ilaria Andreozzi, UNIBO
💧Irina Calancea, Veolia
💧Claudia Topalli, IDEXX
Questions & Answers
💧PathoCERT – Rafael Gimenez Esteban, CETAQUA – Case Study
💧ToDrinQ – Lydia Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia, KWR
💧H20forALL – Rui Martins, Coordinator, University of Coimbra
💧intoDBP – Maria Jose Farre, Coordinator, ICRA (online)
Debate
Moderated by Water Europe & PathoCERT
Final poll
Moderated by Water Europe
Takeaways
💧Demetris Eliades, Pathocert Technical Coordinator, Professor at the KIOS Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence (online)
Conclusions
💧Andrea Rubini, Director of operations, Water Europe
11:30 – 13:00 – Side event: Rethink Water Experience
Room: Einstein C
Welcome and Introduction
💧Fiona Félix, Head of Public Affairs, Hansgrohe Group
Keynote speech – Hansgrohe Greenvision
💧Steffen Erath, Head of Innovation & Sustainability, Hansgrohe Group
Exchange – Focus on the different water loops
Moderated by Maryline Fiaschi, CEO of Science|Business
💧Tania Pentcheva, Senior Manager Government and Industry Relations, Xylem
💧Andreas Fath, Professor at Hochschule Furtwangen & Hansgrohe Water Ambassador
💧Sabine Stuiver, CMO & Co-founder Hydraloop
Open Debate with the public
💧Maryline Fiaschi, CEO of Science|Business
Wrap-up
💧Fiona Félix, Head of Public Affairs, Hansgrohe Group
13.00-14.30 – Lobby – Lunch break
14.30-16.00 – Part 1: Let’s achieve a European Water-Smart Society
President Speech
💧Hans Goossens, CEO of De Watergroep & President, Water Europe
Keynote Speech – “The Water-Smart Society: from a vision to a strategy in Europe and beyond”
💧Tiffany Atwell, Senior vice president, Global Government Relations, Ecolab & Vice President for the Advocacy Programme, Water Europe
Interview – ” The New Vision: A Water-Smart Society Concept under construction?
Moderated by Thomas Rebermark, Director, Swedish Water House
💧Dominique Gâtel, Director Public Affairs, Veolia
💧Chrysi Laspidou, Professor-Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly, Water Europe
📣Open Debate with the public – “Why must the EU undertake a Water-Smart Strategy?”
💧Agnese Danelon, Director, Government Relations Europe, Ecolab.
16.00-16.30 – Coffee break
16:30-16:45 – Keynote Speech -“Strong European Leadership and European future on water policies”
💧Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
16.45-18.30 – Part 2: Let’s build on the R&D collaboration towards a Water-Smart Society
Introduction – Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
Exchange – “Opportunities and gaps in the R&D policy towards a Water-Smart Society? ”
Moderated by Inge Genné, Program Manager Water, VITO
💧Laura Štrovalde, Deputy Director in charge of investment and energy, LIAA
💧Lydia Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia, Senior, KWR Water Research institute
💧Panagiotis Balabanis, Deputy Head of Unit, DG RTD, European Commission
💧Laurent Horvalth, Smart Water Innovation Manager, Blue Ark, Altis
Presentation – “Living Labs and Water: an instrument for zero pollution into water?”
💧 Joachim d’Eugenio, Policy Advisor for Zero Pollution, DG Environment, European Commission
📣 Open Debate with the public – “Which collaborative tools should the EU support to carry out this strategy?”
💧Inge Genné, Program Manager Water, Vito
18:30-20:00 – Cocktail Welcome
Introduction
💧 Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
Keynote Speech
💧Fiona Félix, Head of Public Affairs, Hansgrohe Group
20:00-23:00 – Water Innovation Europe dinner
Introduction – Hans Goossens, CEO, De Watergroep & President, Water Europe
Keynote Speech – “Towards a Water-Smart Strategy for Europe – Austrian Perspective”
💧DI Günter Liebel, Secretary General at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, Republic of Austria
Awards Ceremony
SME Award, Digital Water Award, Water Governance Award, Water Technology & Infrastructure Award, and Global Water Challenge Award
Conclusion – Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
🟩 Events and activities only for Water Europe members (e.g. Working groups meeting)
🟨 Dinner requires a specific ticket or invitation.
Room: Reception desk & -1 Lobby
08.30-09.00 Welcome and Registrations
09.00-10.30 Part 3: Which Water Policies to ensure water security, sustainability and resilience?
Introduction – Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
Keynote – Water-Smartness example
💧Jani Salminen, Head of Unit at Finnish Environment Institute
Exchange – “What could be a EU regulatory leadership in water?”
Moderated by Tania Pentcheva, Senior Manager Government and industry Relations, Xylem
💧Guilia Laura Cancian, Secretary General, European Biogas Association
💧Veronica Manfredi, Director, DG ENVI, European Commission
💧Claudia Topalli, Senior Manager, Regulatory & Government Affairs, IDEXX
💧Denis Bonvillain, FP2E representative
📣Open Debate with the public – “Which action plans and policies are required to shape the future water-smart Europe?”
💧Tania Pentcheva, Senior Manager Government and industry Relations, Xylem
10.30-11.00 Coffee Break
11.00-13.00 Part 4: Next Election: A Water-Smart Commission?
Introduction – Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
Keynote – Paving the path toward a Water-Smart Europe
💧Pietro Francesco De Lotto, President of the Consultative commission on Industrial Change
Exchange – “How to get water at the heart of the next Commission”
Moderated by Pär Larshans, Senior chief sustainability officer, Easy-Mining
💧Steffen Erath, Head of Sustainability, Hansgrohe
💧Carmen Galindo Rodriguez, Project Manager, EIT-Food
💧Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO, SolarPower
💧Nicole Couder, Vice-President European Public Affairs, Suez
📣Open Debate with the public – How can water-smart progresses be financed?
💧Pär Larshans, Senior chief sustainability officer, Easy-Mining
Conclusion – Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
13.00-14.00 Lunch Break
14:00 – 17:30 – Side event: International Water Dialogues 2023
Room: Einstein AB
Opening session
💧David Smith, Director at WE&B
💧Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
Keynote Water for Cooperation
-Key outcomes and actions from the UN Water Conference and importance of EU in international water cooperation.
💧Jean-Marie Kileshye Onema, Vice-President of the international commission on Water Resources Systems (ICWRS) and Executive Manager of WaterNet Africa
Presentation: White Paper Water Beyond Europe
-Building Effective Water Dialogues and Alliances Making International Cooperation in Water Innovation work and linked to the UN Water Conference outcomes.
💧Gaetano Casale, Manager Liaison Office IHE, co-leader of the Water Europe Working Group Water Beyond Europe
Panel discussion: Effective International Cooperation on Water
Water and international cooperation related challenges we share.
Moderated by Richard Elelman, Head of Politics, Eurecat – Centro Tecnológico de Catalunya
Panellist:
💧Murray Biedler EU Water Facility and ex coordinator from ACEWATER II
💧Susanne Schmeier, Associate Professor of Water Law and Diplomacy at IHE Delft/Head of Water Governance Department (online)
14:00 – 15:30 – Side event: Envision the future of the water sector: Youth & Skills
Room: Einstein C
Introduction
💧Neil Dhot, Executive Director at AquaFed
Water human resources: which challenges and opportunities?
💧Chiara, Lucia Tregnago, Project Manager, Xylem Ignite
💧Naomi Timmer, Director of the European Junior Water Programme
💧Gabriëlle Knufman, CEO of the World Water Academy
💧Noemie Plumier, International Strategy, WaveMakers United
Keynote – Presentation of the Danube Youth Council
💧Robert Lichtner, Head of Danube Strategy Point (online)
Building on youth involvement the future of water governance
💧Joe Ray, Senior Advisor, Valuing Water Initiative, Netherlands Enterprise Agency
💧Alexandre Ledoyen, Administrator for Youth at the Artois-Picardy Basin Committee
Conclusion
💧Neil Dhot, Executive Director at AquaFed
15:30-16:00 – Coffee Break
Panel Discussion: Living Labs experience – building from lessons learnt
“Twinning for Winning” – Include elements related to Water for Cooperation, Climate Migration, Water and Finance, Water Governance, Water and Health.
Moderated by David Smith, Director WE&B and WBE Lead
Panellists:
💧Karin Andeweg, Team leader Water & Food Security at Wageningen Environmental Research
💧Antonio Lo Porto, Water4All International Dimension (LLs)
💧Nora van Cauwenbergh, Climate Services, I-CISK, IHE-Delft
💧Henrik Aspegren, CEO, Sweden Water Research
Plenary Wrap-up – Young Water Professional Perspective following the panel discussions on The Living Labs experience: building from lessons learnt.
💧Karine Caussé, Socio-Environmental Systems Consultant at WE&B
💧Lindsey Kenyon, Groundwater and Global Change MSc. Student at IHE Delft
Launch of the international community for water cooperation partnerships
💧David Smith, Director WE&B and WBE Lead
Conclusion
💧Durk Krol, Executive Director, Water Europe
Join the Water-Smart Bootcamp
Want to supercharge your Water Innovation Europe experience as young water professional? Join the Water-Smart Bootcamp (19 June – 22 June in Brussels.) as part of the Water Innovation Europe Conference 2023. You’ll connect with other young professionals, get to know the ins- & outs of Water Europe, tackle challenges in the sector, join in trainings to create impact, and go full hands-on in connecting with water expertise.
What will you get?
An Integrated programme of professional development, water innovation knowledge and networking from Monday 19 June 2023, 15.00h till Thursday 22 June 16.00h 2023, including: trainings, workshops, Masterclasses, contributing to water innovation Europe, Working Groups & Side Events. Including lunches and (conference) dinner in programme time. So are you a young water professional? And you would like to
– create impact
– connect
– keep learning from and with each other
– and have fun!
Registration is open to maximum 12 participants. Be the first to Apply!
For the ticket
Join the Water-Smart Bootcamp (19 June – 22 June in Brussels.) as part of the Water Innovation Europe Conference 2023. The ticket shall be paired with the WIE 2023 ticket (main event + side events). The networking dinner is already included.
Agenda
💧Monday, 19 June
15.00- 19.00 Kick off Bootcamp by Naomi Timmer, EJWP & leader of human capital WE WG– Welcome, Introduction programme
– Introduction of Water Europe & Water Innovation Europe
– Workshop Personal Leadership
💧Tuesday, 20 June
09.00- 12.30 Masterclasses & Workshops
13.00-17.00
– Participation in Water Europe Working Groups and preparation of contribution to Water Innovation Europe
– Dinner
💧Wednesday 21 June
10.00 -13.00 Masterclass
14.00-22.30 Participation in WIE programme incl. dinner
💧Thursday 22 June
09.00-13.00 WIE2023 Programme
14.00-15.30 Side Event: Youth & Skills
16.00 Check Out & Closure
WIE2023 Official Sponsor
Media Partners & Exhibitors
