The Countdown for the 10th Balkans Joint Conference and Exhibition has already started!

The 10^th Balkans Joint Conference and Exhibition, Groundwater – Making the Invisible Visible, which will take place on 8-10 November 2022, at the Emerald Hotel, Prishtina, is just days away, and we can’t wait to see you there!

The Organizing and Program Committees are pleased to share below some of the highlights of the event.

High Level Decision Makers                                          

H.E. Getoar Mjeku, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy, Kosovo, will deliver a congratulatory address during the Conference Opening Ceremony on 8 November 2022, as well as a greeting speech at the opening of the second working day of Conference sessions, on 10 November 2022.

H.E. Linda Çavdarbasha, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Government of the Republic of Kosovo will deliver a congratulatory address during the Conference Opening Ceremony on 8 November 2022, as well as a greeting speech at the opening of the first working day of Conference sessions, on 9 November 2022.

H.E. Enkelejda Muçaj, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, Albania, will deliver a congratulatory address at the opening of the first working day of Conference sessions, on 9 November 2022.

Distinguished Guests

The Conference Opening Ceremony on 8 November 2022 will feature greeting speeches by by several distinguished guests to include H.E. Laurent Torche, Deputy Head and First Secretary, Swiss Cooperation Office, Embassy of Switzerland, Kosovo and H.E. Matthias Conrad, Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy, Kosovo.

Pre Conference Events on 8 November 2022

Workshop on “Hydraulic analyses of water supply systems or digital twins supporting NRW, Energy management of water utilities” (closed activity with registrations)

The workshop will be organized by DHI Group, a private member of SHUKALB and is addressed to professionals who are interested in obtaining a general understanding of the NRW management complex issue, Digital Twin systems in water supply and distribution and in setting up and running water distribution (system) models. The aim of the workshop is to present up-today international methodologies, approaches and form discussion forum for participants regarding practical questions from daily working experience.

Young Water Professionals Forum (Open Activity)

The Young Water Professionals (YWP) Forum is an open platform for final year University students and Young Water Professionals (less than 35 years old) who work in various institutions in the water and wastewater sector. Young Water Professionals are welcome to join the Forum at no cost and learn about ways to develop their careers in the water sector, including advanced education opportunities at MSc and PhD levels

Regional Workshop of the Benchmarking Program for the Kosova and Albania HUB (closed activity only by invitation)

The Workshop of the Benchmarking Program for Water and Sewerage Companies, under IAWD-D-LeaP, is organized by the Benchmarking HUB of Kosova and Albania. Each of the Water and Sewer Companies participating in the Benchmarking Program will discuss their progress and data analysis on the CaMP as a means to improve water and wastewater service performance in Albania and Kosova.

Joint Meeting with Stakeholders on “Capacity Development in the Water Sector and Advocacy of the Water Associations for Creating an Enabling Environment” (closed activity only by invitation)

The meeting organized jointly by SHUKALB and SHUKOS aims to facilitate the dialogue and coordination among the stakeholders on capacity development in the water supply and sewerage sector in Albania and Kosova, as well as to facilitate the advocacy efforts of associations for creating an enabling environment.

Conference Program

The Conference Program will combine plenary sessions, as well as technical parallel sessions, covering a broad and multi-dimensional number of topics from policy to technical, as well as management issues of the water sector.

The Conference will feature three keynote speakers.

The first day, Aude Farnault, Water Team, OECD Environment Directorate, France, will deliver a keynote speech on “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water”.

The second day, Prof. Hamanth Kasan, Vice President, International Water Association, IWA, South Africa, will deliver a keynote speech on “Water and Wastewater Services in Uncertain Times: Dealing with the Global Crisis”.

Moritz Remé, Director KfW Office Kosova and North Macedonia, KfW Development Bank, Kosova, will deliver a keynote speech on “Building Resilience of Kosovo’s Water Sector – An Integrated Approach”, on the second day of the Conference.

The Conference program can be found in this link.

Social Event

This year the Social Event will be held at Priview Bar, one of the most popular clubs in Prishtina.

All Conference participants are invited to enjoy the entertaining music and drinks and to socialize with each other, experiencing a memorable night.

The Social Event is planned to take place on Wednesday, 9 November 2022, between 19:30 and 23:00 hours.

Technical Exhibit

Participants will have the opportunity to visit the Technical Exhibition where 20 private companies will showcase their very latest products, from pipes, pumps, meters, software to engineering and management services.  You can learn more about the exhibiting companies by visiting this link.

SHUKALB and SHUKOS Booth

As traditionally, SHUKALB and SHUKOS have arranged for a dedicated exhibit booth, where Conference participants will be able to find extensive information regarding each of the Associations, from information on membership to information and materials on their respective activities, with a highlight on training and capacity development opportunities.

If you haven’t registered yet, you can register on-site.

Come join us in celebrating the water sector at the Balkans Joint Conference and Exhibition!

We look forward to seeing you at the event![:]