The best of #IWA2016Brisbane from IWA on Vimeo.

Thought leadership for the water sector in eight plenary sessions at the 2016 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition. Delegates could absorb and discuss the most innovative and pertinent water sector trends, issues and solutions. From the Sustainable Development Goals opportunity, how to promote social engagement and solutions with games, best communication practices, to technology to identify the water microbiome and a political vision on the connecting power of water. Check the hashtag #iwa2016Brisbane and share your thoughts about the water sector leadership. Watch the summary videos of the keynote speakers, and if you like to watch the full plenary sessions you can watch them on the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition channel on iwa-connect.org.

Gunter Pauli on the Blue Economy from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Plenary: The Blue Economy with Gunter Pauli

Irrigate with sea water? Farm and have drinking water as a by-product? Increase water retention with carbon? Innovation and inspiration from Gunter Pauli, the founder of the ZERI Think Tank, ranked as one of the top in the world for innovative policy advise. Starting as an entrepreneur, but influenced by the work of the Club of Rome, he set out on a mission to ensure that business would become a vehicle in society’s capacity to respond to its urgent needs. With over $4billion invested in +200 projects his teams have demonstrated a capacity to translate vision into reality.

IWA Global Water Award 2016 – Catarina de Albuquerque from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Acceptance: IWA Global Water Award 2016.

Catarina de Albuquerque is the winner of the 2016 IWA Global Water Award. The award recognises the exceptional role she has played as the driving force behind the recognition of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation. In 2008 she became the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, having played a pivotal role in the recognition of water and sanitation as human rights by the UN General Assembly.

Water and the future we want by John Thwaites from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Plenary: The Sustainable development Goals an opportunity too good to miss.

John Thwaites was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1999 until 2007. During this period he was Minister for Health, Minister for Planning, Minister for Environment, Minister for Water, Minister for Victorian Communities and Victoria’s first Minister for Climate Change. Portfolios responsible for major reforms in social policy, health, environment and water. In 2012, John was named one of the top 100 Global Sustainability Leaders by ABC Carbon and Sustainability Showcase Asia. He chairs a project with the Brotherhood of St Laurence to develop policies to assist low income Australians cope with the impact of climate change.

Ending extreme poverty by Barbara Frost from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Plenary: Ending extreme poverty, what do the SDGs mean for access to water, sanitation and hygiene?

Barbara Frost has been Chief Executive of WaterAid UK since September 2005. During this time the global organisation has expanded into 37 countries and substantially increased its income from £27 million a year to over £90 million in 2014/15. Barbara oversaw WaterAid’s Global Strategy “Everyone Everywhere by 2030”, linking the work of teams across the glob with the Sustainable Development Goals. She played a pivotal role in creating WaterAid international. WaterAid’s success is due to retaining a clear focus on safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation as essential to poverty eradication and an emphasis on everyone’s right to these most basic of services.

James Lynch on Managing water security in a rapidly urbanising environment from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Plenary: Managing water security in a rapidly urbanising environment.

The Pacific Department of the Asian Development Bank is the department that formulates ADB’s operational strategies for the Pacific developing member countries, including economic analyses, policy analyses, and country performance reviews; and develops associated country operational programs for ADB assistance. The department is responsible for the entire range of ADB operations in the region, including the preparation, appraisal, and administration of loans and technical assistance projects. James Lynch is Deputy Director General, Pacific Department at Asian Development Bank (ADB), with more than twenty years of international experience in infrastructure finance, project development, regional cooperation and managing partnerships with government counterparts, the private sector and civil society. Currently a senior executive at the Asian Development Bank responsible for strategic planning, policy analysis and management of the Bank’s operations in the Pacific region.

Solutions to shape our water future: a voice for our waterways by Eva Abal from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Plenary: Solutions to shape our water future: a voice for our waterways.

Eva Abal is the Director of the recently established University of Queensland (UQ) Water, which aims to coordinate research activities in water across UQ’s faculties, institutes and centres. She is also the Strategic Science Director for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, working to understand and promote resilient reef ecosystems adapting to climate change for investor funding. Eva’s scientific expertise and research interests include strategic research framework development towards impact; building partnerships amongst research, government and industry; science leadership; and effective science communication through Ecosystem Report Cards.

Ben Schouten on Participative societies creating new challenges for the water sector from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Plenary: Participative societies creating new challenges for the water sector.

Ben Schouten is an advisor for the European Commission on the ‘Internet of Things’ as well as for the Dutch Cultural Media Fund, responsible for E-culture. He graduated from the Rietveld Art Academy in 1983 and found himself interested in patterns and iconography, and discovered his fascination for mathematics. In August 1995 he received a Master’s degree in mathematics, specialising in chaos theory. In 1996 Ben Schouten founded Desk.nl, providing innovative internet related solutions. Together with the Dutch Design Institute (Vormgevings Instituut), Desk was internationally acknowledged with a webby award in gaming.

The water microbiome and the biohealth of the planet by Joan Rose from IWA on Vimeo. Watch the full Plenary: Can the Water Microbiome Save the Biohealth of the Planet?

Joan Rose recently won the Stockholm Water Prize for her contributions to global public health: in assessing risks to human health in water and creating guidelines and tools for decision-makers and communities to improve global health. She is a Professor at Michigan State University, and holds the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research. She serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment, which addresses evidence based risk assessments for management of waterborne pathogens. Joan is an international expert in water microbiology, water quality and public health safety, and has been involved in drinking water investigations of water-borne outbreaks for over 20 years.

Honorable Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay from IWA on Vimeo.

The inspiring and Honorable Tshering Tobgay is the Prime Minister of Bhutan since 2013. A leader of the People’s Democratic Party, he was also the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly from March 2008 to April 2013. He gave an empowering talk at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2016, which we titled: Saṃsāra – the continuous cycle of life and water. The Honorable Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay highlights the importance of water for Bhutan, from regulation to every citizens’ core belief and responsibility towards future generations. The duty and deity of water and environment in the country which declared itself carbon negative instead of just carbon neutral – an aspiration that the Honorable Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay hopes for more nations on the planet to have.