International WaterCentre

19/03/2026

It’s always exciting and rewarding to see research lead to real changes in practice on the ground.

Over the next couple of weeks, WHO are supporting a national program training Environmental Health Officers from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Fiji in the new Water Safety, Security and Sanitation Planning (WSSSP) guidelines.

These guidelines are the result of a research and codevelopment project—a collaboration between International WaterCentre, The University of the South Pacific (USP) and Ministry of Health & Medical Services - Fiji—funded through DFAT's Water for Women program, who had the foresight to see the potential in investing in research partnerships with governments and civil society.

Australian Rivers Institute Griffith University

24/11/2025

⏳ Final Panellist Announcement + Extended Registration!

We’re excited to introduce the third and final panellist for our upcoming Mark Pascoe Sandpit Event - From Vision to Action: Leadership for our Water Future.

✨Daniel Lambert AM
Daniel is the Founder of Legacie, Australia's most pioneering water infrastructure developer. A dynamic leader with a passion for innovation, partnerships and developing sustainable water solutions that enable potable supply, resilience in a changing climate and decarbonisation.

Recognised as an industry thought leader, in innovation and sustainability, he has worked in over 25 countries and delivered leading first-of-a-kind solutions for recycled water, water resilience and WASH projects.

👉 New Registration Deadline: Tues 25 November (by end of day)
🔗 Registration link: https://events.humanitix.com/2025-mark-pascoe-sandpit

Australian Rivers Institute is proud to be the major sponsor of this event, which brings together water professionals and academia to exchange ideas.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from three outstanding leaders shaping the future of water.

19/11/2025

⏳ Don’t Miss Out – 3 days until close of registrations for the Mark Pascoe Water Sandpit!

We’re pleased to announce the second of our panellists for our upcoming Mark Pascoe Sandpit Event: From Vision to Action: Leadership for our Water Future

✨ Linda Dobe
Linda has been a leader in the Queensland water sector for more than 20 years, including serving as Director-General in the Queensland Government for multi-portfolio departments (including water) for two years, and as Deputy Director-General and state lead for water for six years. Linda is now a Strategic Advisor for Veolia.

During her career, Linda has worked on a wide range of issues impacting the water sector in Queensland, while leading teams of up to 1,000 people and implementing organisational transformation to deliver key priorities.

Since leaving Government in March, Linda has taken on a strategic advisory role with Veolia, focusing on how the private sector can improve drinking water and wastewater services in remote communities across Australia.

👉 Register by 22 November: https://events.humanitix.com/2025-mark-pascoe-sandpit
📍 When & Where: 1 December 2025 (1 – 4pm at The Grove Rooftop, Brisbane)

Stay tuned as we announce our final panellist soon!

19/11/2025

We’re pleased to announce the first of our panellists for our upcoming Mark Pascoe Sandpit Event: From Vision to Action: Leadership for our Water Future

✨ Emma Thomas, CEO of Seqwater
Emma leads one of Australia’s largest water businesses, critical to Southeast Queensland’s communities and economies. She brings a wealth of experience not only from the water sector but also from aviation, rail, public transport, infrastructure, and local government, offering a unique and broad perspective on leadership.

This year’s panel will explore what leadership looks like in practice across and throughout large organisations. Through interactive panel discussions and peer conversations, we’ll unpack the kinds of leadership needed to drive impact.

👉 Register by 22 November: https://events.humanitix.com/2025-mark-pascoe-sandpit
📍 When & Where: 1 December 2025 (1-4pm at the Grove Rooftop, Brisbane)

Stay tuned as we announce our other panellists!

06/11/2025

🗓️💧The Mark Pascoe Water Sandpit is just one month away, happening on 1 December!

This year, the Sandpit theme will be on the topic of in the water sector - what it looks like in practice, and how it shows up at every level of an organisation. Through panel and peer conversations, we’ll discuss the kinds of leadership needed across all levels of water organisations to help them achieve their goals and create lasting impact.

Leadership isn’t just an opportunity and responsibility of executives; it’s a skill and mindset that anyone can use to influence change.

Panelists will be announced very soon - stay tuned!

🔗 Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/2025-mark-pascoe-sandpit
📅 Registrations close 22 November

Don't forget, following the Sandpit, we’ll be celebrating IWC’s 20th Anniversary! 🎉
We’ll be showcasing a photographic timeline of our 20-year journey, and we’d love your contributions. Dig into your photo archives from your time with IWC, and upload one or two to be part of the celebration.

Instructions on how to upload your photos to our timeline: https://watercentre.org/about/

If you’re attending the Sandpit and would like to stay for the anniversary celebration and networking event, simply add it on to your ticket.

We look forward to seeing you there!

01/10/2025

Join us for an insightful panel session titled 'Going Beyond the Environment to Support SDGs,' where we will explore innovative approaches and interdisciplinary strategies to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in our inaugural SDG Research Summit.

The SDGs cover a range of goals, towards ending poverty and other deprivations linked to improving health and education, reducing inequality, and spurring economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve the environment.

In our second session of the day, attendees will hear from Griffith University researchers whose work aligns with the SDGs in different ways and has been extended to national and international contexts.

From the connections between cultural sustainability and social justice, to how the pursuit of security can generate invisible forms of slow violence, to how ensuring water safety goes beyond water itself.

Join Dr Miriam Deprez (Disrupting Violence Beacon) Associate Professor Catherine Grant (Creative Arts Research Institute - CARI, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, and Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University), and Associate Professor Regina Souter (Director, International WaterCentre) in this session, where they will provide tangible examples of research impacts and working towards delivering the broader SDGs.

Thursday 9th of October at the EcoCentre, Griffith University.

Come along to all sessions or stay for just one!

Register via the link below:
https://events.griffith.edu.au/event/473a044f-773f-409b-aa10-fffbfd907fbf/summary

16/09/2025

The International WaterCentre is turning 20! 🎉

This year marks 20 years of the International WaterCentre, and we’re inviting you to celebrate with us!

🎥 To mark this milestone, we’re launching The Heart of IWC: A Visual Story of People and Places - a photographic timeline capturing the people, places, and moments that have shaped IWC over the past two decades.

Our community spans the globe - alumni, partners, staff, collaborators - and while we may not all be in the same place, your stories are at the heart of our history. Whether you studied with us, worked alongside us, or collaborated from afar, we invite you to share a photo and a short memory to help bring this visual timeline to life.

How to contribute - follow this link https://watercentre.org/about/ that will bring you to our website with instructions on how to upload your photo. There, you will find the link to add to the timeline!

We'll be showcasing the timeline at our anniversary celebration on 1 December in Brisbane, following our annual Mark Pascoe Sandpit. If you're in Brisbane during that time, we'd love to see you there (registration link will be available next week). For everyone else, the timeline will be hosted on the IWC website once complete!

Thank you for being part of our journey. Here’s to the next 20 years! 💧

“At the International WaterCentre, we believe tomorrow’s solutions lie in effective leadership, capacity building and approaches to integrated water management. We are united by a strong sense of community, multidisciplinary approaches, ethical values and a desire to build capacity to manage cha...

02/09/2025

The 26th International River Symposium is fast approaching! Hosted by the International RiverFoundation, this event is happening in Brisbane on 8 - 10 September. This year's conference is centered around the theme River revolution: Accelerating solutions for climate resilience.

Griffith University (Australian Rivers Institute / International WaterCentre) is a proud sponsor of the conference this year, with the IWC team facilitating two sessions:

Monday 8 September from 1:30 to 5:00pm
💧 Master Class 5 - Flood Resilience Futures through the Application of the Fluvial Transect, hosted by Piet Filet with Will Prentice, Himanthi Mendis, Declan Hearne and Adriana Sanchez-Rosas

Tuesday 9 September at 11 am
💧 River Lab 4 - What it Takes to Lead: Reimagining River Leadership, led by Regina Souter and Brian McIntosh

These sessions reflect the work we're doing at IWC to shift the way people think about and tackle complex water issues to achieve a more climate resilient future.

Check out the full program here: https://web.cvent.com/event/5b0d56f6-1069-4369-8fec-e89408642231/websitePage:c971e8ab-bb4e-4113-bcaa-b2b71182428c

If you’re attending , let’s connect! 👋

20/08/2025

Mark your calendars, we have two exciting events coming up!

💧The inaugural Mark Pascoe Water Discourse, next Wednesday, 27 August 2025 at The Ship Inn, Southbank.
Hosted by the Water Elders (WElders), the presenter will be Peter Griffiths - a long time chemical engineer, sewage treatment plant designer, occasional commissioning engineer and part time researcher and teacher, who will discuss some of the do's and don'ts of design and operation.
Tickets are sold out, but the International WaterCentre is excited to see you there!

💧 2025 Mark Pascoe Sandpit, Monday, 1 December 2025
Now in its third year, the Sandpit continues Mark’s legacy of fostering lively, solutions-focused conversations around the critical issues in water management. This year’s event will be extra special, as we’ll also celebrate 20 years of the IWC!
The registration link will be shared in the coming weeks.

We hope to see many of you at both events.

15/08/2025

🔬 It’s National Science Week! 💧

Here at the IWC, we focus on building the skills and knowledge of individuals, communities, and organisations to tackle complex water challenges. Our integrated, people-centred approach to water management is at the heart of everything we do.

In our latest Quarterly Newsletter, we share insights from some of our recent research initiatives:
- Strengthening Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Urban WASH in Melanesia
- Examining Decentralisation and Rural Water Services in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu
- Strengthening Sub-Basin Agricultural Water Management in Asia through Remote Sensing and Water Accounting

In case you missed our newsletter, follow the link to read more about our research projects and catch up on other IWC updates from this quarter!

Read the latest newsletter: https://comms.griffith.edu.au/v/117232/1072741/email.html?k=bIuVkf1IyDQXaCcIwuSI-9iTmZn3-o-tppr21-iZ3CI

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