In the context of this year's motto “Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Smart Cities” 16 international experts from the water sector – among them Prof. Herbert Dreiseitl and the Honorary Chairperson of the Council of Canadians Dr. h. c. Maude Barlow – presented their future-orientated concepts on change processes and sustainable adaption concepts for urban spaces worldwide on their way to become “water smart”. BLUE PLANET 2018 was organized by German Water Partnership in cooperation with Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin.
BLUE PLANET 2018 was based on four thematic areas, each of which highlighted different challenges cities face on their way to become “water smart”. The thematic areas focused on engineered and nature-based solutions for urban water management issues, on challenges in their implementation processes as well as on future perspectives inspired by current solutions. After various international speakers held impulse lectures and pitches in the morning, they engaged in lively discussions with the participants during an extensive “Worldcafé” in the afternoon. The interactive format of BLUE PLANET 2018 not only gave a platform for an exchange of knowledge but also created a productive environment to discuss new ideas and to network within the participants from different fields within the international water sector. The developed results and suggestions were presented during a “Summary of Results” on stage and will form the basis for the next BLUE PLANET Berlin Water Dialogues on 9 April 2019.
BLUE PLANET 2018 welcomed international speakers and participants. Among them international guests a delegation of representatives of the African Water Association (AfWA) from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire with the Executive Director Sylvain Usher was present as well as representatives of The Water Council from the United States. The event underlined once more the growing demand for an international and joint approach to solving our global challenges in water management.
