IRC to host water supply, sanitation symposium in Netherlands in September

DELFT, The Netherlands, Feb. 21, 2006 -- Decentralization has shifted roles and responsibilities from national government to local government and other intermediate level bodies. Many of the actors who have emerged at this level struggle with their new responsibilities and with roles for which they are not fully equipped in terms of financial resources, knowledge, methodologies, tools and experience.

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education are organizing the international "Symposium Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation: Strengthening Capacity for Local Governance." This symposium will take place from Sept. 26-28, in Delft, the Netherlands. It aims to provide a platform for sharing experiences in capacity development for improved local governance.

Target group: representatives of associations of municipalities, of water boards and water user committees and NGOs as well as practitioners and researchers who are interested in or could bring in knowledge and experience in this area.

Submission of papers
Participants are invited to submit abstracts for papers on specific topics, such as:
-- Practical experiences with strengthening capacity in projects and programmes, relevant to local governance
-- Examples of capacity development with proven impact
-- Models and frameworks for effective capacity development
-- Documentation and dissemination of capacity development processes

Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words. Based on the quality and relevance of the abstracts, a maximum of 20 persons will be invited to prepare a full paper for the symposium.

The deadline for abstracts is April 1.

For more information go to www.irc.nl/symposium/capacitydevelopment. Or contact the organizing committee at IRC, via symposium@irc.nl.

The IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre is based in Delft, The Netherlands.

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