Globally, more than 660 million people don鈥檛 have safe drinking water, and 2.4 billion lack access to improved sanitation facilities. At the fifth annual on March 7 and 8, more than 16 leaders in the industry will gather in Boulder to discuss how they are听trying to improve those numbers.
WASH (short for water, sanitation and hygiene)听works to solve听issues in developing communities that do not have clean water, proper sanitation resources or hygienic practices.听The student planning committee encourages anyone interested in the topic鈥攆rom undergraduates to faculty members鈥攖o attend the free event, whether you come for every session or just drop in for a few.
What: 2017听Colorado WASH Symposium
When: Tuesday, March 7, to Wednesday, March 8, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day
Where: East Campus, SEEC
RSVP:
While the organizers are primarily engineers, the conference听won鈥檛 be strictly technical. This year's themes include social dimensions of WASH, such as听changing听people鈥檚 behaviors; public health programs of听WASH;听humanitarian and other challenging contexts, such as natural disaster zones and refugee camps;听and emerging technologies听and instrument innovation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a couple of levels up from the technology鈥攖here are plenty of forums for that,鈥� said civil engineering PhD student and lead organizer Nick Valcourt. 鈥淓ach of these speakers brings a multi-dimensional perspective on the issue.鈥�
He said he鈥檚 most excited about their three international speakers, including Paul Christian Namphy, the director of Haiti鈥檚 Water and Sanitation Authority, who will be speaking about response to the country鈥檚 cholera outbreak after Hurricane Matthew.
Four CU Boulder alumni will also be presenting at the symposium: Elizabeth Jordan and Katy Sill, who听are both on the staff of the ; Christina Barstow,听a behavior-change advisor for the ; and Evan Thomas, who听runs .
The symposium includes three networking events, also, something organizers say sets it听apart from other conferences.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really easy to meet the presenters and grab a cup of coffee,鈥� said environmental engineering PhD student Matthew Bentley. Also new this year is a WASH 101听workshop听from 5 to 6 p.m. on Monday,听March 6, in the Gallogly Discovery Learning Center, where those new to the topic can get a crash course in the industry and its goals. Free food will be provided.
WASH Symposium is free and open to the public, but 听to attend. The program of events will take place at the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Complex (SEEC) located at 4001 Discovery Drive on CU Boulder's East Campus.听
Sponsors of the event include the and the .
