The RECONECT Conference. A large, packed, but effective agenda
The 3-day International RECONECT Conference was held at the Metropol Hotel, Belgrade, from 3–5 July, 2024. The focus was Nature-Based Solutions for Water Security and Climate Adaptation, bringing both theory and real world together under the theme “Bridging Science & Practice.”
It ended after enormous success, with 6 international keynote speakers, 89 presentations, and more than 120 specialist participants attending from all over the world. A massive programme with almost-90 sessions in 3 days often meant that three separate sessions were happening simultaneously. This reflected both the interest in the Conference but also the large number of abstracts originally submitted.
Sessions covered the several overarching topics of:
· Building with Nature for water security and climate adaptation
· Monitoring and Evaluation: Data, Tools, Techniques and Analyses
· Policy and financing instruments, governance issues and social inclusion
· Future prospects
For further reading, a full, detailed set of session overviews and abstracts is available here.
A number of Conference leaders, organisers, and attendees gave glowing support as the Conference progressed, posting highlights and reflections on social media. Here are several examples to gauge the overall feel of those sharing post-event thoughts:
“During the two-day event, I engaged with brilliant colleagues from Poland, Serbia, Denmark, the UK, Austria, Colombia, France, Germany, Thailand, and many others. We shared our experiences and celebrated the successful conclusion of this six-year project that has significantly contributed to environmental sustainability and resilience […] I was honored to present my research.”
Mohammed Osman, Water Infrastructure Engineer for Climate Adaptation Strategies, Floods and Drought
“On day 1 of the RECONECT […] Jasper Wisman presented the Guidelines for design, construction and monitoring of large scale Nature-based Solutions with interesting case studies from the Netherlands (IJssel river), Denmark (Odense) and Italy (Portofino). An interesting guideline for all involved in hydrological risk management”
Guido van de Coterlet, Project Manager Hazardous Wastes and Contaminated Land at TAUW)
“What a tremendous pleasure and honor to lead the European Commission HORIZON2020 RECONECT Project team over the past six years. RECONECT […] brings together 37 partners with almost 100 researchers and practitioners, from all over the world, and it has always motivated me to make an extra mile in our achievements and impacts. The amount of effort that the team put into the project has been phenomenal. This team has set a great example of how a true leadership, hard work, diligence and friendship can produce a happy project atmosphere with outstanding results!”
Zoran Vojinovic, Associate Professor at IHE Delft, NL
The Conference was organised by RECONECT and supported by the International Water Association (IWA) and International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR).
It is hoped that the community will continue to be united and do its best to ensure that the Conference is repeated periodically, remaining a legacy of RECONECT to the global NbS community.
