WEDC Conference Experience

[Pip]

I have just returned from my first WEDC International conference themed on "Access to Sanitation and Safe Water: Global Partnerships and Local Actions." In fact it was many firsts in terms of participating in a conference of that scale, on the theme of my research, water and sanitation in developing countries and actually presenting my own work. The five day conference was held in Accra, Ghana with 300+ delegates, many of whom were regional but there was a good number from across the world.

I was presenting my project proposal for my PhD research which was both daunting, as it was the first time I had to present to a large audience who was knowledgeable on the topic, but also quite exiting as it was a chance to let people know what I was thinking of doing and I was eager to hear their reaction.

The questioning after my presentation was the part I was most anxious about and, as expected, my topic sparks some critical debate (which is a good thing but scary nonetheless!). With a little help from the chair who reminded the audience mine was a work in progress, the line of questioning became recommendations and suggestions to consider in my work - great, a free consultation session with a series of great minds! I’d survived my paper presentation and to make my day, at the end of the session, a NGO worker from Kenya approached me to say that they had encountered similar problems in their work - her comments somehow validating that my research is not merely an academic exercise. I went away happy that I had communicated what I was trying to achieve and with a head full of things to consider to improve it.

My presentation over, I spent the rest of the week putting faces to so many of the names that I’ve come across, meeting altogether new people and reflecting on what was going on around me. At the start of the conference the opening speeches of both Professor Wright, a legend of sanitation, and a local Chief challenged the delegates to not only to question what is accepted as known but think about how the collective knowledge can be applied in practice. These points are relevant across any topic but they ring especially true for sanitation. There is an enticing cynicism amongst many sanitation practitioners and I am wary of the danger that cynicism can be an excuse not to do anything. So with these questions framing my thoughts throughout the week, and constant input through daily interactions with such a diverse group of people, I reflected on my direction of work in terms of fundamentally what I hope to achieve and how the knowledge generated by it can be positively applied.

The benefit of discussion, interaction and idea exchange with peers was really apparent to me to improve, challenge and consolidate my perspective. I came away from the conference having met some humbling individuals, with a great network of both academic and practitioner contacts, more confident in my research after challenging it internally, totally exhausted but at the same time incredibly motivated by it all. I look forward (a little nervously) to going back to a subsequent WEDC conference with my research findings!

www.pipspeak.blogspot.com