Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. — With 40% of the world's population having no access to personal sanitation, the United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. To aid the World Toilet Organization and to provide the best information available for attendees at the World Toilet Summit & Expo at the Venetian Macau-Resort-Hotel in Macau from Nov. 4-6, 2008, the International Code Council Plumbing, Mechanical Fuel Gas is hosting the Summit's educational track.
“The ICC is so proud to be playing such an integral role in this year's Summit,” said Jay Peters, the ICC's executive director of PMG. “Helping to better educate professionals on global sanitation issues and opportunities during the International Year of Sanitation couldn't be more critical or rewarding.”
The event will focus on the lack of funding for sanitation projects worldwide in conjunction with the United Nations Millennium Development Goal on sanitation. Topics such as the untapped sanitation market of four billion people, health and hygiene, portable and eco-sanitation will be covered. The conference will be a partnership between several international organizations that include the WTO.
The WTO's objective for this year's event is to expand awareness of the importance of sanitation and drive sustainable practices through market-based initiatives. This will optimally result in the pursuit of both the altruistic goal of helping to improve global sanitation and the tremendous revenue opportunities available.
To ensure the track and summit are as meaningful and successful as possible, the ICC is inviting manufacturers, academia, standards developers, associations and others interested in the advancement of safe sanitation and development to submit papers for consideration. The track, which is entitled, “Sanitation in an Urban Environment,” relates to Global Sanitation Policies & Standards. The WTO's deadline for submission is May 5, 2008.
Jack Sim, founder of the WTO, is excited about the opportunity this affords those in need. “The partnership between the WTO and the ICC's PMG creates a synergy that, not only increases the awareness of our organizations' like-minded goals, but actually has the potential to offer immediate results that are needed to progress the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.”
Aside from requesting abstract submissions by those interested in sharing their expertise and guidance for the Global Sanitation Policies & Standards discussions, sponsorships at varying levels for the tracks are also available.
The ICC PMG is also spearheading the ICC USA Pavilion, a main attraction at the Expo. Aside from the added traffic the Pavillion will enjoy based on its size and pre-promotional efforts, booth space within the Pavilion is available at favorable rates. Businesses interested in learning more about exhibit and sponsorship opportunities can contact ICC's PMG Resource Center.
Sponsors and Expo participants will reap the satisfaction of knowing their support is helping to further the efforts of improving sanitation worldwide. But they will also gain high profile visibility and recognition at all Summit functions and related activities, as well as in WTO and ICC-driven pre- and post-show marketing and advertising materials.
For more information regarding sponsorship opportunities or to submit a paper (due no later than May 5, 2008) to be considered for participation in the education track, contact ICC's PMG Resource Center via e-mail at [email protected] or by calling 1-888-422-7233, 4PMG.