With over 220 participants, Water Innovation Europe 2017 was a resounding success. The WssTP’s annual stakeholder conference dedicated to ‘The Value of water: The case for innovation and investment in water’ took place on the 14 and 15 of June in Brussels. This year’s edition of of the conference showcased that pro-actively addressing the European water challenges can create and secure jobs and strong investment and market opportunities within and outside Europe.

Jyrki Katainen, EC Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness opened the conference, emphasising that water is the key factor for the sustainability of Europe’s economy and societies. Claire Pace, President of the European Youth Parliament for Water, closed the conference, with a strong message on the importance of involving the young generation in the future’s challenges and opportunities of the water sector.

The conference explored the need and means for investment in water innovation and the value of water-smart industries, agriculture as well as cities. Social innovation was a salient and recurrent theme throughout the day.

WE&B as co-chair of the Water Beyond Europe working group, presented together with UNESCO-IHE the current report that the group is putting together on the EUs response on the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and the role that the EU Water sector has in achieving these goals.

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