IWA is pleased to announce an award-winning young water professional as a keynote speaker at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition.

Dr Farokh L Kakar, an environmental Engineer at Brown and Caldwell and Founder of Blue College of Water and Technology, will deliver a keynote speech on ‘Uniting Youth for Water’ during a morning plenary session on Wednesday 14 September.

Dr Kakar is a vocal advocate of circular economy approaches and of broader inclusion of women and young professionals in the water sector. Commenting on her involvement at the Congress, Dr Kakar added:

“We don’t have enough water, we don’t have enough resources, but we have enough knowledge and we have enough youth power to preserve and manage properly what we have left.”

Dr Kakar is also the founder and president of Canadian Young Water Professionals and former Emerging Water Leader at International Water Association (IWA) also serving as Vice President of Young Professionals in Canadian Association for Water Quality (CAWQ). In addition, she is the Global Ambassador of the Society of Women Engineers empowering women in engineering internationally.

Dr Kakar is the first tech company owner, and the only female professor in their faculty back in Afghanistan. Dr Kakar is the winner of more than 20 awards in leadership, presentation, and academic excellence. She has a record of 5 book chapters, 20+peer reviewed journal articles, and 20+ conference presentations in 4 years and finishing her Ph.D. programme in under three years.

The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition will take place in Copenhagen between 11-15 September. The global water community will discuss diverse topics gathered under the theme of water for smart liveable cities. The final outline programme is now available. Please click here.

Registration is open for the event, which also includes a High-Level Summit, business forums, presentation of IWA Awards, and much more. Register now at https://worldwatercongress.org/register/