National launch and discussion event on the Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector. First Announcement

Monday 30 June 2008, 1600-1800 hrs
Internationaal Perscentrum Nieuwspoort, 's-Gravenhage

The IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, on behalf of Transparency International and the Water Integrity Network, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Directorate General for International Cooperation, the Netherlands Water Partnership and the International Water Association would like to invite you to a launch and discussion event of the Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector.

Transparency International’s Global Corruption Report 2008 provides a detailed survey of how corruption affects all aspects of water and how it impacts on the challenges of improving access to water and sanitation, securing food production, generating hydropower and maintaining ecosystems. The authors argue that the crisis of water is a crisis of water governance, with corruption as one root cause. The report also presents promising strategies and tools to tackle and prevent corruption in water resources management, domestic water and sanitation, irrigation and hydropower and makes clear recommendations that demand the urgent attention of water and development professionals.

The programme includes:

• Presentation of the Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector ( Dr. Cobus de Swardt, Managing Director, Transparency International)
• Comments on the report by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( speaker to be confirmed)
• Comments on the report by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre in the context of meeting the Millennium Development Goals for Water and Sanitation ( Peter Ryan , IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, Delft, the Netherlands)
• An audience discussion supported by a panel of resource persons including Donal O’Leary ( Senior Water Advisor, Transparency International), Teun Bastemeijer ( Coordinator, Water Integrity Network), Kathy Shordt, John Butterworth ( IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre), Jeroen Warner ( Nijmegen University) and Darren Saywell ( International Water Association)
• Refreshments.

To register for this event please send an email to Luuk Diphoorn (l.diphoorn@nwp.nl) The Nieuwspoort Press Centre is located at Lange Poten 10, 2511 CL, Den Haag. Directions are available at www.nieuwspoort.nl/en/directions.shtml. For other queries please contact John Butterworth (butterworth@irc.nl) or visit www.irc.nl/transparency for updated details.

This national launch and discussion event is organized by IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (www.irc.nl/transparency) with the Transparency International Secretariat (www.transparency.org), Transparency International – the Netherlands (www.transparencyinternational.nl), the Water Integrity Network (www.waterintegritynetwork.net), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Directorate General for International Cooperation (www.minbuza.nl), the Netherlands Water Partnership (www.nwp.nl) and the International Water Association (www.iwahq.org). The report does not necessarily represent the official views of these organisations, but all are interested to see that it is widely read and debated as part of constructive efforts to address corruption in the water sector.

The report will be launched globally at the UN headquarters in New York on 25 June 2008. Further ordering information about the report is at www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521727952

Download the announcement as a PDF file here