On March 25th, after a site visit to the city of São Paulo in Brasil, the Board of the IDA accepted the recommendation of the Site Selection Committee and selected the city as the host of its 2017 World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse.
The other two competitor cities were Busan, Korea, and Kuwait City. Both ALADYR (Asociación Latino Americana de Desalinación y Reuso del Agua) and the São Paulo organizing committee did their well-prepared bidding presentation.
Members of IDA’s Site Selection Committee were impressed by the potential of the city in absorbing the innovative technologies and knowledge that will be featured in IDA’s biennial World Congress, which is expected to bring more than 2000 delegates from all over the world in 2017.
The successful bidding was orchestrated by ALADYR and initiated by São Paulo Convention & Visitors Bureau in 2010. São Paulo features the qualities and characteristics unique to the world´s leading cities, and it offers the status of being the cultural and financial heart of Brazil. At the forefront of many exciting developments in several fields, the hosting of a well-managed conference is an ideal way to showcase and promote these developments and offers the perfect opportunity to highlight São Paulo.
The International Desalination Association connects the global desalination and water reuse community in many ways. Serving more than 2,600 core members in 60 countries, it reaches an additional 4,000 affiliate members around the world. IDA is committed to development and promotion of the appropriate use of desalination and desalination technology globally in water supply, water reuse, water pollution control, water purification, water treatment and other water sciences and technology.
IDA carries out this mission by encouraging research, promoting and exchanging communication, disseminating information, and supporting education in the field of desalination, reuse and water sciences. To live up to these goals and purposes, it organizes an international congress every two years and frequently presents workshops, symposia and IDA Desalination Academy courses in various areas of the world.
