It is a great pleasure to invite you to join our 8th International Symposium on Water Supply Technology in Kobe, Japan, from 10 to 12 June, 2009.

     With the support of the International Water Association (IWA), we are planning to hold this symposium on the same grand scale as the previous symposium in Yokohama with about 1,000 participants from 30 countries / regions in the world.

     It is delight for us to be able to introduce the special features of Japanese water service to the world, which has one of the safest and the best quality drinking water supply systems among the world.

     This symposium will provide an excellent opportunity to review advances in the field, with the theme, “New challenges for sustainable drinking water services”.

     To overcome various issues that the world now faces and to hand down our “Water” to future generations, we plan to invite prominent experts from around the world, hold discussions and explore three subjects in depth: “Improvement and Innovation of Water Treatment Technologies”, “Water Distribution Technologies for a Sustainable Future” and “Governance and Management for Sustainable Drinking Water Services”.

     Kobe, one of the largest cities in western Japan, experienced a severe earthquake in 1995. Japan's advanced technologies and the energy of its people have made it possible for Kobe to recover well from the devastation to today become an attractive and earthquake-proof designed city.

     Please join us with your partners, family, and friends. We look forward to meeting you at the 8th International Symposium on Water Supply Technology in Kobe 2009.