Why don't we lose sleep over clean water?
Why don't we lose sleep over clean water?
At and&, we are building an interdisciplinary space where bright minds bow their heads over 21 questions for the 21st century.
While much international attention has been focused on the question of water quantity, not least as the planet warms, a secondary impact of the climate emergency has been its effect on water quality.
Access to clean water is a privilege many of us take for granted. As the world records upwards of 2.7 million deaths from Covid-19, it’s worth noting that estimates link water pollution to 1.8 million deaths every year – many of them children.Water pollution is a global problem, asking for an interdisciplinary approach. At and& festival, international speakers from different backgrounds are raising awareness around this topic. This panel of artists and experts, amongst them a young innovator will take a deep dive into our polluted rivers, oceans and drinking water. How can innovation turn the tide?
Marco Barotti will be talking about his work Clams, which will be visible as a part of the ‘Look at us now’ exposition from Stuk Leuven. Sound and motion unite to create an experience that allows the audience to see and hear water quality in real-time, through a kinetic sound installation. Real-time data is streamed by a sensor and converted into an audio signal. The audio signal generates a live evolving soundscape which initiates the opening and closing movements of the Clam sculptures. The Clams sculptures are made from recycled industrial plastic waste.
Rory Golden turned from a marketing director into an expert diver, climber, and storyteller on a mission against water pollution. In 2000, Rory Golden became the first Irish diver to visit the site of RMS Titanic. He was a member of an expedition that recovered 800 artefacts from depths approaching 4,000 meters. His dive was in a Russian submersible. He returned in 2005; the expedition was broadcast as a BBC documentary. After being MD of Virgin Records Ireland for 15 years, Golden founded his own company, Flagship Scubadiving Ltd. It supplies and services diving and specialized marine equipment to state agencies, coastguards, armed forces divers, and search & recovery teams.
Fion Ferreira (20) is a young innovator and scientist, focusing on solving the plastic pollution crisis. He grew up in a remote region of Ireland and spent a large portion of his childhood paddling around the coasts of Ireland in his kayak with his dog India. He is currently building a device to remove microplastics from water.
Emma Robbins is an artist, activist, and community organizer with a passion for empowering Indigenous women. As Director of the Navajo Water Project, part of the human rights organization DigDeep Water, she is working to create infrastructure that brings clean running water to the one in three Navajo families. Through her artwork, she strives to raise awareness about the lack of clean water on Native Nations.
Get inspired and secure a Pro ticket in order to attend this Question.
The plastic waste issue - where does it begin?
In this talk curated by Dopper and Robinetto, multiple experts join forces to talk about the issue of plastic pollution as they try to identify the root of the problem.
Jeroen Vereecke is the man behind Boomtown Festival in Gent Founder @ Robinetto. For 18 years he tried to make Boomtown into a completely sustainable festival. He was one of the first people to introduce reusable plastic cups on the festival site. Now, he’s on a mission to eliminate plastic waste. “I am hopeful that sustainability will soon be normal. Just like paying taxes, having fire extinguishers, and guaranteeing that your stage won't collapse.”
Caitlin Clark is Impact Marketing & PR Manager, Belgium at Dopper. She is very aware that safe drinking water isn’t a luxury all people possess. When on an educational trip to Nepal, Caitlin raised money for a number of charity projects in Nepal, by doing some thumbs-up, cartwheels, dances, and peak push ups at 3000m altitude.
Patrick Doyen is Ex Sales & Marketing director at Coca-Cola Enterprises and one of the co-founders behind Robinetto. He is of the opinion that it is ‘utter madness’ to package and transport water. It wasn’t always that way. Doyen was the brain behind the strategy to sell Coca-Cola in bottles instead of cups at music festivals. “There is an awful lot of plastic in the sea thanks to me.” Right now, he’s on course to rectify that with the mission to make plastic bottles obsolete.
Tim Smits is a full professor in persuasion and marketing communication at the Social Sciences faculty of the Leuven university, and he’s very aware of the role that companies can play to change people’s behaviour. “Provocation is better used sparingly. Research has shown that shock does help to convince the viewer of a problem, but not to change his behaviour. If a campaign offers concrete solutions, the effect is greatest.”
Larissa Copello de Souza is Consumption and Production Campaigner at Zero Waste Europe. Larissa has a background in Law and she worked as a Legal Consultant on environment, health, and safety policies. She is passionate about environmental protection and sustainable development practices. She is a zero waster at heart, and enjoys running campaigns and empowering people towards sustainable consumption patterns.
Dopper is a social enterprise on a mission to eradicate single-use water bottles to protect our world's water resources, and to provide clean water access everywhere. Dopper makes the reusable bottle that is putting single-use water bottles out of business. We here you thinking, and yes, most Doppers are made from plastic. But it’s the kind of plastic you can use again. And again. And again. When you’re done with it - which you probably never will be - it can be fully recycled! Every bottle helps us progress towards a more plastic-free future, from education programmes and research to awareness campaigns. It also kick-starts clean drinking water projects in Nepal. Good karma? You bet!
The folks at Robinetto figured out that the water that comes out of your faucet is pretty darn tasty. So why package and ship billions of plastic water bottles every year? Robinetto offers water taps for the hospitality industry, offices, individuals and events. By linking those water taps to syrups, Robinetto can also provide sustainable soft drinks. Their aim is to reduce the number of plastic bottles in Belgium with 1 billion! To measure that, every tap is equipped with a clever water counter that measures how much water has already been tapped, and therefore hasn’t been transported and packaged. If you look hard enough, you can even find some Robinetto branded Doppers. Talk about a power couple!
