German Water Partnership ­Annual Conference 2014

This year, the annual conference of the German Water Partnership is led by the "export initiative for environmental technologies", planned by the German government. Boasting around 350 companies and institutions from the German field of water management and research, the conference positions itself with a "Global Market Offensive Water". Thus, the headline “Towards a Global Market Initiative of the German Water Sector“ will determine the political and technological contents of the day.

On 24 June 2014, the RAMADA Hotel Berlin-Alexanderplatz will be the centre of the German and international water branch. German Water Partnership (GWP) annual conference has a political, as well as a market-oriented, technological character. One main subject will be the "Market Offensive Water", with which the GWP strives to position itself as a partner of the German government, export promotion and development cooperation with regard to the planned "Export Initiative Environmental Technologies".

A well thought-out and structured "Market Offensive Water” can have two goals: Improving sustainability of water management and water infrastructure worldwide, and Increasing German export by 12% per year.

These goals can be achieved with the GWP network uniting capability of innovation, quality, safety and sustainability, with the focus on the needs of the metropolis in developing and newly industrialised countries and with a Germany-specific business concept. Therefore, it is essential to bring together both sides of the market in an efficacious way and to draw up bespoke, creative and sustainable system solutions and turn them into practice. The detailed analysis of the target market, as well as the weaknesses of the German water market, are effective methods as is a well coordinated, target-oriented marketing strategy. Sustainable market analysis, and a permanent presence on the target markets, secures established German water know-how on a long-term basis. An operative programme ensures the implementation of the system approach along with the required solutions for financing and investment.

The annual conference starts with keynotes from the Federal Ministries for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Indian embassy to Germany. They introduce a promising, attractive panel discussion led by representatives from politics, development cooperation and research, as well as small and medium-sized companies discussing the elements of the "Market Offensive Water" with regard to both their significance for the planned "Export Initiative Environmental Technologies" and their possible implementation.

After the panel discussion, two lectures introduce the technology and business-related part of the programme, putting emphasis on "new markets" and inspecting the significance of capacity development on the one hand and how to explore the markets on the other.

Four round tables, with two taking place at the same time, discuss the demand-oriented presentation of markets or the approach of system solutions respectively, with the aim to discuss the demand-related components of the market offensive with the representatives of the respective markets and to work out possible approaches. Fianlly, the results will be processed and presented with the aim to continue the approaches and ideas gathered and to make use of them.

Three of the round tables are focusing on countries or regions (ASEAN, Africa and Central America) the fourth deals with the subject of solutions for urban infrastructure.

 The annual conference also features an exhibition where the participants can learn more about German know-how, technologies and products for the water sector.