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2nd EIP Water Annual Conference

Wednesday, 15 April 2015 Posted in News, BeWater News

Europe for Business (EFB) representatives attended the 2nd European Innovation Partnership Water Conference on behalf of BeWater project. Over 400 attendees participated in enlightening discussions on connecting water innovation demand and supply, learned about the activities of 25 EIP Water Action Groups, identified opportunities for near future collaborations and helped shape European water innovation policy.

The European Innovation Partnership on Water - EIP Water in short - is an initiative within the EU 2020 Innovation Union. Launched in 2012, facilitated by the European Commission and coordinated by the DG Environment, EIP Water facilitates the development of innovative solutions to address major European and global water challenges and support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. At the same time, EIP Water aims to create market opportunities for these innovations, both inside and outside Europe.

The conference took place in Barcelona in November 2014 with the aim of connecting innovation demand and supply by:

• "Showcasing impact" e.g. via presentations / an exhibition of successful experiences in accessing markets/implementation
• "Identifying demand for innovation", in particular demand for the water policy implementation and the private sector.
• Examining and addressing the gaps and barriers in innovation demand and supply in the water sector

Further information at http://www.eip-water.eu/

Water challenges and solutions in the Maghreb

An open back-to-back meeting promoting a broad discussion on water challenges in the Maghreb region and opportunities for greater uptake of European innovative solutions took place at the EIP Water Annual Conference. The session brought together the perspectives from the Union for the Mediterranean, UN-Habitat, the European Investment Bank and the Portuguese Water Partnership.

EFB representatives had the opportunity to disseminate results of the BeWater project, creating links for future activities.