18 September 2018, Tokyo, Japan – The IWA and CIWEM sign official collaboration bringing together more than 20,000 members across 139 countries to work together to resolve the greatest challenges that face our world.

Yesterday officially marked the beginning of a collaboration between The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the International Water Association (IWA). The signing took place at the World Water Congress in Tokyo. The partnership spans across both organisations’ activities and services, including membership, events, publications, training and policy. It is an exciting global venture which will bring a number of increased benefits to members of both organisations, as well as a growth in the number of international development opportunities. Together they have presence in over 70% of the world’s countries.

One major challenge that the world faces is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, UN Sustainable Development Goal 6. In order to meet this, the world needs more water professionals. This partnership works to contribute to this goal and will enable us to more quickly reach a world in which water is respected and used wisely.

Together, the IWA and CIWEM offer an extensive suite of international events, training, publications and journals. We are engaged with international activities with young people from school years through to post graduate studies. Our accreditation of university courses is inspiring people to seek careers in the water and environmental sector and integrates academic learning with professional development. The resultant links to academia provide us with access to the latest thinking and some of the greatest minds in the water and environmental sector. The IWA-CIWEM dual member will be a part of all of this, benefiting through personal learning and the rewards and recognition that comes from participating in activities that are vital to the future security of our world.

Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy, Executive Director of the International Water Association stated “we are happy to announce cooperation and partnership at the 2018 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. Partnership and cooperation is critical for successful water management. Water professionals of all shapes and shades are needed to provide solutions to the water problems the world is facing. With the IWA membership dedicated to work with the full water cycle, and engaged to pioneering technologies, to research and implementation, we strongly believe that being partners is strongly supporting our sector.”

Terry Fuller, CIWEM chief executive said: “This collaboration expands the breadth and depth of our global community of individuals and organisational partners. It creates unrivalled opportunities for the professional growth our members by learning from, and contributing to, innovation in the water and environmental sectors. Our business and academic partners will also benefit from increased exposure of their organisations to those that they most wish to form a relationship with.”

Dual membership will become available for all members from later on in the year. Further information will be provided on the IWA and CIWEM websites.

IWA and CIWEM seek a world in which we all manage water and the environment sustainably, and will build a community of professionals with the experience to lead this endeavour.

Terry Fuller, Diane D’Arras, Paul Seeley, Kala Vairavamoorthy

The top photo on this page: End Floating by Saeed Mohammadzadeh, (2017, Iran) Environmental Photographer of the Year 2018