Delta Programme Knowledge Festival
The Knowledge Festival took place on 23 June in Almere. The theme of this year’s festival was the transition “from thinking to doing” and was brought to life by the organisers, parties who are playing a major role in this transition: this time NLingenieurs and Deltares, in collaboration with the municipality of Almere, the province of Flevoland and Zuiderzeeland Water Authority, plus the staff of the Delta Commissioner.
The preferred strategies and policy frameworks for the Delta Programme have been developed over the past years. The presentation of the Delta Programme 2015 to the House of Representatives this year on Prinsjesdag (the state opening of parliament) will mark the start of the phase of further elaboration and implementation. In this new phase, the importance of implementing companies and organisations will increase significantly.
At the Knowledge Festival, the participants took stock of the knowledge and innovations that are needed for this new phase and which of them are available. This was done in 18 workshops and 6 master classes on subjects including Building with Nature, Opportunities for Management and Maintenance, and Digital Delta.
Attention was also paid to innovations that have added value for society and deliver work for the business community, innovations involving flood defences and the freshwater supply, for example. Furthermore, approaches to the issues concerning urban areas were examined, including water-robust and climate-proof cities, as well as the knowledge and tools available to support such approaches.
During his opening, Ed Nijpels, Chair of NLingenieurs, referred to the
“golden triangle”, the collaboration between the business community, research
institutes and the government, which, according to Mr Nijpels, has proven its
worth, especially in the Delta Programme.
Henk Mulder, member of the municipal executive of Almere, spoke about the past,
present and future of his city, in terms of becoming climate-proof. Thanks to
the spacious way in which the city is laid out and an abundance of greenery,
Almere can be “climate-proofed” more easily than older cities. How this can be
achieved and what will be needed is being worked out. As a source of inspiration
he was presented with the booklet published by the Foundation for Applied Water
Research (STOWA) which contains examples of climate-proof cities.
Delta Commissioner Wim Kuijken spoke about the Delta Decisions, the implementation phase and the new Water & Climate 2015-2020 knowledge and innovation programme. He also expressed his appreciation for the fact that STOWA and Rijkswaterstaat have stated that they will be organising the knowledge festival in 2015!
Henk Ovink (Ministry of I&M) explained the importance of knowledge and innovation, and cooperation between authorities, the business community and research institutes. He also provided inspiring examples in this regard from the USA. According to Mr Ovink, the Netherlands is unique in setting up a programme for which there is urgency, without waiting for a disaster to occur first. The opposite applies in the USA.
Maarten Smits (Director of Deltares) spoke about the binding and supporting role of knowledge in the Delta Programme; bonds that are not only important now, but which will also provide prospects for follow-up activities. He went on to signal the start of the workshops and master classes, also on behalf of his co-organisers.
Lively discussions took place in the workshops and master classes. Some new demands for knowledge and opportunities for innovations were identified, which will be included in the knowledge agenda of the Delta Programme 2015. A report on the Knowledge Festival will be available shortly, including on this website.