[Air-l] SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS, Focus on Africa

[Chris Ward]

Dear Sir, Madam,

On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of Delft University of 
Technology the
two-day symposium, "Sustainable Solutions, Focus on Africa" will take place
Thursday 1 and Friday 2 November 2007 at the university's Aula 
Conference Centre.

The key question of the symposium is, 'What contribution can (technical)
Universities make to sustainable development, particularly but not 
exclusively
in Africa?' To answer this question properly, the relationship between the
technical quality of projects and the social (People) environment 
(Planet) and
economic (Prosperity) quality will be established. The metaphor for this 
'4P'
model is the tetraeder. Although the main quality is at the top, it still
rests on the three other qualities.

The first part of the symposium focuses on mono-disciplinary themes such as
water, energy, food, health, urban areas, resources, mobility and ICT. These
are followed by more interdisciplinary themes such as entrepreneurship and
climate change and risks. In the last part, there is a quest for a
trans-disciplinary approach in which government authorities, business,
science, education and NGOs work together.

This trans-disciplinary approach is necessary to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals of the United Nations before 2015. This concerns a marked
improvement in the area of poverty, hunger, education, women’s rights, child
mortality, aids and malaria, a sustainable living environment and fair 
trade.
In Africa, particularly, this is an enormous challenge.

The symposium will bring together representatives from various world
perspectives and continents: government authorities, business, (technical)
universities, other educational institutions and NGOs. Together, they are
working on sustainable solutions for Africa and the rest of the world.

For information and registration please visit the website
http://www.lustrum.tudelft.nl/symposium

I look forward to welcoming you to the symposium in Delft on 1 and 2 
November.

Sincerely,

Professor Kees Duijvestein
Symposium Committee Chair