Forums and Summit

The Glasgow Summit on Water for People: From Commitment to Delivery is designed as a strategic moment in the global process leading to the UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi. The Summit aims to bridge the gap between policy and practice by bringing the global practitioner community into the discussion, translating and stress-testing the emerging agenda against real-world implementation challenges. Attendance at the High Level Summit will be by invitation. The Summit will include an exploration of how financing can support long-term, equitable, and sustainable service delivery.

Date: Thursday, 8 October 2026

Circular economy thinking can turn today’s waste into tomorrow’s high value resources. Through two sessions, delegates will collaborate to develop recommendations around rethinking resource value for large-scale success, which will discussed. The first session will discuss rethinking bioresource for the energy and nutrients they can offer. It will pose the challenge to maximise value and minimising pollution with increasing concern around ubiquitous pollutants. The second session will showcase global best practice in harnessing bioresource safely and sustainably and explore how policy and regulation can unlock circular economy models that turn solids from wastewater into resources.

Delegates should attend to connect across sectors, learn from practical examples, and help shape the priorities that will drive circular economy impact in water and beyond. It will provide an opportunity to learn what works, share what you know through new partnerships, and help define the next steps for circular innovation globally. Delegates will be able to collaborate with policy makers, experts from water, industry, and academia to turn circular ambition into real, measurable progress. This forum is by registration only and capacity will be limited – we strongly encourage early registration of your interest.

The IWA Emerging Water Leaders Forum is an event which sets an open platform for young water professionals to connect with their peers from around the world. The Forum is a place to share professional experiences and highlight the critical responsibility of Young Water Professionals (YWPs) working on solutions for the future of water. The focus of the 2026 edition of the EWL Forum is on Blueprint for Water Action: People, Skills and Leadership in Practice.

Open to all YWPs attending the congress.

Date: Monday, 5 October 2026

The Groundwater Forum aims to promote groundwater as a critical resource to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Organised by an international partnership — Danish Water Forum, IWA Groundwater Management Specialist Group, GEUS, BGS, Grundfos, UNESCO Groundwater Youth Network, and DANVA — the forum connects science, policy, and practice.

What you will gain from attending:

• New knowledge on global groundwater challenges and solutions
• Insights into cutting-edge technologies and innovation
• Stronger understanding of governance and societal engagement
• High-value networking with international water professionals

The International Water Regulators Forum (IWRF) is the international meeting of the global network of regulators of IWA. It gathers high-level representatives of regulatory authorities and officials of agencies with regulatory and supervisory functions over the provision of water, sanitation, and wastewater treatment services.

The 11th IWRF will be held during the IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition in October 2026 in Glasgow, UK, where a highly prioritised agenda addressing current regulatory priority challenges and topics of interest to regulators will be covered. This Forum is being shaped and steered by a diverse and motivated Programme Committee, a committed group of professionals consisting of high-profile members of the IWA Regulators Community.

Participation is by invitation only. If you are part of the regulatory regime in water and sanitation – anywhere in the world – please connect with Dr Isabela Espíndola to explore how you can be part of this transformative Forum.

Date: Monday, 5 October 2026

Investing in nature is more crucial than ever with the ever-increasing pressures from climate change and knowledge of the water sectors dependency on nature. This forum will consist of three sessions around nature resilience, systems planning and incentivising action for all. Recommendations to deliver success at scale will be discussed, documented and fed back as part of the drive for action to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through three sessions, the forum will delve into the climate and nature crises and our current reliance on nature; contrasting examples and experiences from across sectors and the world. It will explore how long-term resilience can be implemented in rural and urban contexts. The second session will discuss ‘Systems Planning’, and how it has the potential to break through some of the current blockers to delivering catchment scale restoration by driving collaboration and collective action. The final session, ‘Incentivising Action for All’ will explore how we can include and incentivise others to deliver for nature. The whole day will incorporate audience participation to galvanise meaningful action.

The Industrial Water Forum brings together technology providers, regulators, governments, and industries around a shared challenge: industrial water use is growing fast, yet most of what’s consumed is never reused, leaving enormous room for improvement. The problem may be universal, but the fixes rarely are — what works in one region or sector often doesn’t translate elsewhere, which is exactly why collaboration matters so much here. The 2026 forum puts that idea at its centre, focusing on how partnerships across sectors can unlock smarter financing, scale up new technologies, and clear the barriers standing in the way of more resilient industrial water use.

The purpose of the Industry forum is to engage, inspire and share knowledge on the topic of sustainable water management across industrial and regulatory sectors. Industry is a large consumer of water and energy, with > 22 % of the total global water withdrawals being used for industrial purposes and is projected to increase rapidly over the next years and decade. Decreasing availability of clean water is a risk many industries face worldwide and as less than 15 % of industrial water is being reused, there is a massive potential. While this problem is global – the solutions are highly local, to solve this water & energy nexus it is crucial with collaboration across technology providers, governors, regulators and industries.

Industrial Water Forum is open for all

Date: Wednesday, 7 October 2026

The inaugural Indigenous Water Forum is an Indigenous-led platform within IWA, introducing Two-Eyed Seeing — a decolonial framework bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge systems — to address water’s deepening ecological and social challenges. Grounded in traditional worldviews, the Forum brings together Indigenous leaders, practitioners, and allies to explore how Indigenous stewardship can reshape water governance, operations, and service delivery in practice. Beyond the 2026 Congress, it lays the foundation for future Forums in 2028 and 2030, building a lasting platform for global knowledge exchange toward more just and resilient water systems.

Objectives

• Explain the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) and its relevance to water governance and service delivery, highlighting how it enables respectful integration of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems.
• Recognize the limitations of dominant water management paradigms and the need for relational, stewardship-based approaches centered on reciprocity, place-based knowledge, and intergenerational responsibility.
• Identify practical pathways for integrating Indigenous knowledge, leadership, and partnerships into water utilities and policy frameworks.
• Reflect on participants’ own roles and responsibilities in advancing more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive water systems.

Indigenous Water Forum is open for all

Date: Wednesday, 7 October 2026

Water, society’s health and wellbeing are highly interconnected, and face emerging threats to water quality. This forum will consist of three sessions around how water interacts with health, land and food, and the environment. Recommendations to deliver success at scale will be discussed, documented and fed back as part of the drive for action to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The ‘Water, Land and Food’ session will examine the links between water quality, livestock, wildlife, and food production, highlighting how reducing anti-microbial resistance (AMR) risks can strengthen ecosystem resilience and protect the safety of our food supply. The final session on ‘Water and the Environment’ will consider key questions such as, whether source-control interventions deliver greater environmental benefits than downstream, end-of-pipe solutions such as quaternary treatments. It will also examine collective environmental stewardship, bringing together communities, landowners, and water companies to strengthen shared responsibility and public awareness.

Convened around the needs and interests of water and wastewater utility leaders charged with service delivery, the Utility Leaders Forum (ULF) is a unique opportunity for those tasked with managing utilities to exchange views, network and to access the insights of prominent water utility leaders in a setting that is by utility leaders for utility leaders.

The Forum will bring together some of the world’s most prominent water utility leaders with the most impactful case studies to share experiences and knowledge. Curated by an international committee of experienced utility practitioners, the forum is structured to facilitate an open and interactive dialogue around some of the most critical issues facing utilities. Active delegate participation will be key.

Participation in the Utility Leaders Forum is limited and by invitation. Utility leaders and relevant stakeholders who wish to request an invitation are invited to complete the form below. More information about the Forum is available here: 2026 Utility Leaders Forum – International Water Association

Date: Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Whilst it is common to us all, rainfall patterns are rapidly changing worldwide. With the existential threat and impact of climate change, this forum will hear from representatives from nations who have successfully implemented progressive policy approaches to valuing this precious resource better where it lands – simultaneously addressing water scarcity and water excess issues (such as flooding and overflows), and lowering carbon footprints.

Through two sessions, delegates will collaborate to develop recommendations around rainwater management for large-scale success, which will discussed, documented and fed back as part of the drive for action to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The forum will provide delegates with the opportunity to share how their country’s policies fare with other nations and hear from leaders from nations whose policy approaches manage rain well where it lands. Speakers will be sharing the multi-layered benefits that source-control principles and policies can bring to rainwater, but also, how obstacles to better approaches were overcome, enabling implementation at scale.

Date: Saturday, 3 October 2026

The SG Leaders Forum offers a valuable in‑person opportunity for IWA SG Leaders to connect with one another and with the IWA Secretariat, discuss matters related to IWA strategies, share experiences on SG management and member engagement, and strengthen links with other IWA structures. The Forum enhances the effectiveness of all IWA SGs and Clusters and supports improved collaboration across groups to better serve the water sector. Following the successful delivery of several SG Leaders Forums, the next edition will take place ahead of the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Glasgow, UK, on Saturday, 3 October 2026. Stay tuned for further updates.

Open exclusively to SG, Cluster, and Working Group Leaders (Chairs, Vice Chairs, Secretaries.