A number of interesting and relevant external conferences have come to our attention this week. If you’re interested in water and sanitation/hydrogeology or disaster risk reduction then these may be of interest to you!
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**Hydrogeology and WASH Conference – What can hydrogeologists contribute to safe water supply and poverty reduction?**
When: Thursday 5th June 2014
Where: Geological Society of London, Burlington House, London, UK
Cost: £10 for students
Summary: Groundwater plays a key role in the provision of reliable water supplies in many less-developed regions of the world. Due to its complexity, a detailed understanding of the groundwater environment is often required to ensure that resources are exploited in a safe, sustainable and cost-effective way. This one day meeting aims to promote links and discussion between experts from the groundwater community and those actively involved in the delivery of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Health Engineering) projects.
Sponsorship: We’re very pleased to be able to offer one student the opportunity to have the cost of their ticket covered as well as £30 to put towards travel/food. Send 100 words outlining why you would like this opportunity, together with your contact details and university/course by 5pm on Friday 18th April. The winning student will be contacted via email shortly afterwards, and will be expected to write a couple of articles for the GfGD blog about the conference sessions.
If you were inspired by the Guest Blog on Monday and would like to know more about working in water and sanitation – linking hydrogeology to development – this is a great opportunity to network and find out more.
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**UCL IRDR Annual Conference**
When: Wednesday 18th June 2014
Where: University College London, London, UK
Cost: Free
Summary: A day of thought-provoking discussions, talks by experts and presentations of the latest research in risk and disaster reduction, aimed at researchers and practitioners, NGOs and City professionals, and the interested public.
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**ODI Event – ‘Everybody wins – Bridging the Gap Between Scientific and Local Communities’**
When: Tuesday 6th May 2014 (3-5pm)
Where: Overseas Development Institute, London, UK
Cost: Free (also streamed online)
Summary: The world of science and technology has a lot to offer those affected by or responding to the risk of disasters. But producing and using knowledge about disaster risk is far from a straightforward process. At-risk people and communities, humanitarian and development agencies and those with formal scientific and technological training are all producers and users of disaster risk knowledge – but with different ideas about what is useful or important information. The challenge is in bringing together this wealth of local and scientific knowledge to enable communities to become more resilient in the face of disasters. One crucial way of promoting dialogue and supporting decision making processes are participatory games and exercises. This event will comprise debate, games and workshop demonstrations.
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**Understanding Risk – Producing Actionable Information**
When: Monday 30th June 2014 – Friday 4th July
Where: Excel Centre, UK
Cost: Free
Summary:
Understanding Risk (UR) is an open and global community of experts and practitioners in the field of disaster risk assessment. UR community members include representatives of government agencies, the private sector, multilateral organizations, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, research institutions, and academia. Every two years, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) convenes the UR Forum—a five-day event designed to showcase best practices and the latest technical advances in disaster risk assessment. The Forums provide organizations with the opportunity to highlight new activities and initiatives, build new partnerships, and foster advances in the field. Previous events have been held in Washington D.C and Cape Town, attended by 500 experts from more than 80 countries. The third biennial Forum will be held in London from June 30 – July 4, 2014, organized in partnership with UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy. It is expected that more than 800 people will attend the event. The current programme can be found online here.
