Programme features and highlights
WWCE 2026 Forums and Summit
The programme in Glasgow will include a number of agenda-setting Forums. These will include regular features in the event programme, such as the Utility Leaders Forum, International Water Regulators Forum, Emerging Water Leaders Forum, and Groundwater Forum. Alongside these, the UK as host country has brought forward three thematic forums – the Nature & Resilience Forum, the Valuing Resources Forum, and the One Health Forum – as well the invitation-only high-level Glasgow Summit.
The High-Level Summit will explore the role institutions and corporate organisations can play to ensure sustained financing and to consider implications for attracting private and commercial finance.
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. More information about the Forum is available here: https://www.iwa-network.org/ewl-forum.
Circular economy thinking can turn today’s waste into tomorrow’s high value resources. This forum will consist of two sessions around how solids from wastewater can become useful resources by designing circularity. 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).
Description
Through two sessions, delegates will collaborate to develop recommendations around rethinking resource value 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 first session will discuss rethinking bioresources 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 bioresources 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.
The Groundwater Forum aims to promote groundwater as a critical resource to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The forum will explore and facilitate participant discussions on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a groundwater-based water supply. By sharing knowledge on the resilience of a groundwater-based water supply in times of conflict and climatic crisis, the forum aims to support water utilities and other decision-makers urgently in need of future-proof strategies.
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.
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).
Description
Through three sessions, delegates will collaborate to develop recommendations around enhancing nature to support resilient water services, which will be discussed, documented and fed back as part of the drive for action to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ‘Nature & Resilience’ session 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.
Delegates should attend to gain practical insight into tackling real-world policy and governance issues, including how to build effective partnerships, secure funding, and ensure positive outcomes. The forum will provide exposure to examples of approaches for designing resilient water catchments at scale, examples of successful collaborations. It will provide an opportunity to challenge current practices and share ideas for the future to transform your own organisations and communities.
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).
Description
Through three sessions, delegates will collaborate to develop recommendations around safe and reliable drinking water for all 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 ‘Water and Health’ session will explore the links between water quality, sanitation, and human health, highlighting the importance of the global harmonisation standards to drive better compliance, resilience, and equal health benefits across regions. 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.
Delegates should attend to learn about the latest developments in the One Health Breakthrough Partnership, emerging risks, and the perspective of young professionals. By attending this forum, attendees will discuss practical case studies and actions with leading experts from across the globe, to support the future direction of the sector.
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.
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.
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).
Description
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.
Delegates should attend to learn what has worked where and help define the next steps for better rainwater management policies globally. Delegates will be able to collaborate with policy makers, experts from water, industry, and academia to help turn rainwater source-control principles into real, measurable policy change and implementation.