4th EIP Water Conference to be held in Porto in September 2017

Porto will host the 4th EIP Water Conference in September 2017 and will see global leaders present their views on innovation within the European water context, which gathers policymakers, national and local government, operators, scientists, researchers, technology companies, financiers, start-ups, SMEs, utilities, city planners, industrial producers, journalists and EU institutions at the European, national and regional level.

The conference will pool contributions and knowledge towards solving societal challenges, in order to enhance Europe's competitiveness and contribute not only to job creation but also to economic growth.

According to Guido Schmidt, Head of the secretariat for EIP Water, "the proposal made by Porto ultimately had the edge due to the clarity of the approach and evident strong support of the Portuguese organisations that back it, led by the Municipality of Porto and Aguas do Porto."

Rui Moreira, Mayor of Porto, said that "It is a great honour for the City of Porto to have the opportunity to host the 4th EIP Water Conference. This decision highlights that water is fully integrated in our Sustainability Strategy and plays an innovative lead role in the planning and design of our urban environment. Porto is working hard to become a living laboratory for smart urban technologies that can handle all the major systems a city requires - water, transport, security, green buildings, and clean energy. It also recognises that Portugal is an exceptional "case study" on water services and water resources, internationally recognised by the EU, OECD, EIB and the International Water Association (IWA)."

The EIP Water aims to speed up innovations in water by leveraging existing solutions, via a compelling dialogue and a collaborative process with the established 29 Action Groups. 

The European Innovation Partnership on Water - EIP Water in short - is an initiative that brings together the public and private sector, non-governmental organisations and the general public.

During the last week of September, Porto will also host two other initiatives in the water sector, such as the Mayors & Water Conference 2017 (on 29 September) and the Water Innovation Lab Europe Porto 2017 (September 24 to 29).

The 4th European Innovation Partnership on Water (EIP Water) International Conference, will take place at the Customs Building in Porto, September 27th and 28th.

Admission is free but seating is limited. Registrations begin in March. For more information, please go to www.eip-water.eu