The Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA) have signed a precedent-setting Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to better enable information and technology transfer on a domestic and global scale. Signed by WEF President Adam Zabinski and IWA President David Garman during the 2008 World Water Congress in Vienna, Austria, the agreement will provide WEF with better opportunities for global engagement and offer IWA new and significant access to North American meeting and membership markets.
IWA is the leading international organization for water professionals and holds a series of special symposia and meetings across the globe on an annual basis. In turn, WEF is the largest organization of its kind in the world and is the most significant marketplace for water professionals in North America.
"Although we have members from more than 30 different countries, WEF's North American members are thirsting for access to the large body of research, science, engineering development, and management innovation going on around the world," said Zabinski. "This MOU is WEF's way of ensuring that this material gets into the hands of our members on a timely basis, represents a new level of specificity in WEF's relationships with other organizations and emphasizes measurable benefits for WEF members."
WEF will maintain its traditional and longstanding relationships with other international organizations such as the Stockholm International Water Institute, the European Water Association, and the Japan Sewerage and Water Association, but will increasingly work with IWA to provide mutual opportunities for members to participate in global and domestic water forums and activities including new workshops and symposia. To enhance its reach in North American markets, IWA plans to open a U.S.-based office in Washington, D.C. or New York in October 2009.
In addition to this new MOU, the two organizations are also co-organizers of World Water Monitoring Day, an international outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world.
To view the MOU in its entirety, visit www.wef.org.
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