MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL

Dear Members and Colleagues,

Last week, after close consultation with our Australian Government partners, we've made the difficult decision to postpone the IDA World Congress initially scheduled for November 7-11, 2021. The new date is May 29- June 2, 2022, with an extended abstract submission deadline of September 15, 2021.

While we are disappointed to make this announcement, providing a safe in-person event for all delegates and ensuring the invaluable scientific and business engagement of the Congress is of utmost importance to the IDA. Our thanks go out to all the authors who so diligently submitted their extended abstract on time, and our current corporate sponsors Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Dupont, ROPV, and Almar Water Solutions. Additionally, we are thankful for the confirmed exhibitors we have to date: SWCC, Dupont, ROPV, Almar Water Solutions, Acciona Agua, Danfoss, EBRO Armaturen, Toyobo, Sulzer, Beaudrey, Kyowakiden Industry Co., American Water Chemicals, and H. Butting GMBH, representing 30% booking of the show floor. We also thank the thirty-four volunteers who serve on the IDA World Congress Technical Program Committee, for lending their expertise to curate a four-day, four-track, peer-reviewed program.

With this same concern, we have postponed the IDA Biennial International Water Reuse and Recycling Conference in Rome, Italy, to October 11-13, 2021, and extended the abstract submission deadline to April 30, 2021. We thank our current sponsors for their understanding: Dupont, Toray, Aqceptance Group, and Almar Water Solutions.

In this issue of IDA Global Connections, we are honored to feature the cover story article, an interview with Fady Jameel, known for his global philanthropism, thought leadership, and investment in the water-energy sectors.

New to Connections is a special section curated by former IDA President Jim Birkett and IDA Board member Jantje Johnson titled "Favorite Papers." They have asked a handful of respected and experienced IDA members to name and submit their favorite desalination papers. This section includes papers on the fundamentals of distillation, aquatic biofilm formation, reverse osmosis, and the composite tubular assembly for reverse osmosis desalination. We think there is much to be learned from each.

This Spring we continue with the IDA Academy Webinars which have served to stimulate knowledge exchange and membership interaction. We are pleased to announce Waterleau, our corporate sponsor for the upcoming March 10th webinar “Industrial End-User Case Studies on Water Reuse.” This webinar is followed by the April 7th webinar developed by the IDA Public and Private Utility Advisory Group addressing “Digitalization of Water Assets and Utilities.”

As we aim to engage with more partners, I am pleased to spotlight the thorough and incisive legal viewpoints in the article from Mr. Carlos Vazquez and Eduardo Orteu Gomez titled "Sustainable financial investments in the water sector according to the European Union." The article provides a window into the legal frameworks of sustainable practices across the globe.

Likewise, the Executive Insight article features a brilliant analysis from Julie Carles and Tiziana Smith of the International Finance Corporation, on how the private sector finance of non-conventional water treatment facilities can fill the water gap in the Middle East and North Africa region, and elsewhere. We are also excited to announce the IDA collaboration with SWCC Desalination Technology Research Institute (DTRI) to conduct two boutique conferences this fall in Saudi Arabia on Innovation in Desalination and Ocean Brine Mining. The latter aims to capture a new industry trend of turning brine generated by desalination plants from a waste product into a sustainable and valuable alternative source of minerals currently obtained by terrestrial mining. Included are tours to SWCC Brine Mining Research Facility in Jubail and the 320,000 m3/day Ras Al Khair desalination plant. A visit to SWCC demonstration facilities showcasing several innovative technologies of the DTRI developed in-house or created in partnership with key industry partners such as Hydranautics, FEDCO, Toyobo, Waterise, Fluid Technology Solutions, ERI, Pacifica Water Systems, and the University of California Los Angeles.

As well, it is my pleasure to announce our soonto-be-launched program, The IDA Talks, a video series publicized on IDA social media platforms, IDA YouTube Channel, and the IDA website. IDA Talks is our approach to sharing knowledge and creating conversations on essential topics on desalination and water reuse and relevant energy solutions. These talks will also be a dynamic way for experts to interact with the IDA community and a global audience.

In closing, I would like to welcome our new corporate members: Thames Water, Goulburn Valley Water, Keppel Urban Solutions, SIGMADAF, Kyowakiden Industry Co., Ltd., Waterleau, and Kazadi Enterprises.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Shannon K. McCarthy IDA Secretary General