The Washington, DC-based nonprofit Global Ties U.S., together with the U.S. Water Partnership, Water Environment Federation, and U.S. Department of State, are connecting nearly 30 water experts from the United States and ASEAN Smart Cities, and bringing them to Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), the premier global forum to share and co-create innovative water solutions, as part of the Water Smart Engagement Program (WiSE).
The participants, representing the water utilities serving Miami-Dade, FL; Washington, DC; San Francisco, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Phuket, Thailand; and Johor Bahru, Malaysia; will attend SIWW to learn about global trends in water solutions, and meet with one another to discuss shared challenges and solutions. In addition to the water utility representatives, Kevin Mather, CEO of Global Ties San Francisco, will be travelling to Singapore to represent the Global Ties Network.
SIWW, taking place April 17 – 21, 2022, is a biennial event that gathers stakeholders from the global water service providers industry, and regulators, to share best practices, showcase the latest technologies, and tap business opportunities. SIWW’s flagship programs include The Water Leaders Summit, the Environment and Water Leaders Forum, the Water Convention, the Water Expo, Business Forums, Hydro-Gen, and Industrial Water Solutions.
WiSE connects members of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network with U.S. counterparts to tackle 21st century water challenges. To date, WiSE has created partnerships between 10 partner utilities – five (5) in the United States and five (5) in Southeast Asia. This is the second in-person exchange under the WISE program, following a successful program in fall 2021, which brought a group from Permodalan Darul Ta’zim (Johor Bahru, Malaysia) to attend WEFTEC 2021 and then travel to Washington, DC to discuss opportunities and challenges with DC Water (Washington, DC).
Following SIWW, WiSE participants will travel to partner cities in Southeast Asia. In October, the five pairs will gather in New Orleans for WEFTEC 2022 and then U.S. participants will accompany their ASEAN peers to their respective cities for follow-on meetings and site visits to identify next steps towards increased water security.
For more information on the WiSE Program, visit the Global Ties U.S. website here.