Climate change is increasingly affecting cities, municipalities and rural regions. The danger of a decline in the quality of life due to heat or damage caused by heavy rainfall events, floods and dry periods therefore requires a change in urban and regional planning with a focus on a more targeted use of water as a resource. The 3rd Hof Water Symposium of the Institute for Sustainable Water Systems at Hof University of Applied Sciences (inwa) will offer suitable solutions for this on November 15, 2023 at the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (Hans-Högn-Str. 12) and provide information on how to deal with natural phenomena.
Promising solutions are known under the term sponge city to make urban and regional planning more water-sensitive. However, they are not yet applied in the required breadth because the actors very often lack suitable analysis tools to make the complexity behind the term sponge city visible and assessable. The lack of an overall perspective means that isolated measures remain, and potential synergies through interdisciplinary project networking are too little recognized and exploited.
The new Competence and Transfer Center Sustainable Sponge City and Region (KTnS) is to close this gap and to systematically record the complexity of the topic “Sustainable Sponge City and Region” on a project-related basis for municipalities, authorities and planning organizations, to identify focal points for action together with those responsible and to support the development/selection of suitable solutions. Supported by the research groups of the Institute for Sustainable Water Systems at Hof University of Applied Sciences (inwa), the different solutions and activities across the state and the country will be collected and made available in a structured way. Furthermore, different further education, training and coaching offers are provided to learn or consolidate the necessary competences.
At the Bavarian State Office for the Environment in Hof, visitors can expect an interactive, innovative, networking and sustainable symposium on the mega-topic “Sponge City and Sponge Region”. Insights into the SPORE (SmartSPOngeREgion Oberfranken) research project and the Sponge City certificate course will be provided. Furthermore, the purpose and goals of the new competence and transfer center sustainable sponge city and region will be discussed with experts.
Register now!
The 3rd Hof Water Symposium serves as an exchange to identify new and interesting projects and to get to know future cooperation partners. Registration is now open at: Online registration – Hof University of Applied Sciences (hof-university.de)
Deadline for registration is November 08, 2023.
Program:
9:00 a.m.: Start of the day
Greetings:
-Dr. Richard Fackler, Vice-President of the Bavarian State Office for the Environment
-Prof. Dr. Dr. hc. Jürgen Lehmann, President of Hof University of Applied Sciences
-Dr. Oliver Bär, District Administrator of Hof County
-Eva Döhla, Mayor of the City of Hof
Opening and foundation of the Competence and Transfer Center Sustainable Sponge City and Region by Prof. Dr. Manuela Wimmer and Prof. Günter Müller-Czygan.
09:45 am: The sponge region of the future – SPORE
Climate change is water change – where and how will Upper Franconia have to develop? With triad in harmony – technically, socially and economically Prof. Günter Müller-Czygan, Walter Friedl (Kompetenznetzwerk Energie und Wasser e.V.).
10:15 a.m.: Coffee break
10:45 a.m.: On the way to implementation – SPORE
From Concept to Real Solution – SPORE Best Practices Experiences, Reflection and Continuation Options – Discussion in the Worldcafe Introductory words by the mayors of the participating cities and municipalities.
11:45 a.m.: Knowledge is power – but then who does it?
With 80 participants around the “sponge world” – What made the certificate course “Sponge City” a success?
Experiences, reflection and continuation options – panel discussion with participants from the course Moderation Prof. Günter Müller-Czygan.
12:45 p.m.: Lunch break
14:00 h: Do we need a competence and transfer center sustainable Sponge set and region? Yes, because …!
Goals, task and services – knowledge transfer and implementation support concrete!
Prof. Dr. Manuela Wimmer, Prof. Günter Müller-Czygan
15:00: Coffee break
15:30: Concentrated water competence – the new inwa Institute for Sustainable Water Systems
“The inwa with its research groups – Quo vadis water research at Hof University of Applied Sciences” – Selected research projects in dialogue.
16:15 h: Conclusion and networking
Following the event, there will be the opportunity to participate in a detailed presentation of the green roof concept of the SPORE project Schauenstein at the conference venue. The company Browatech from Geroldsgrün/Landkreis Hof invites you to this event including a small snack.
Do you have any questions?
Feel free to contact us at wasser-symposium@hof-university.de – for more information about the new Institute for Sustainable Water Systems “inwa”, please visit the Institute’s website at: inwa (hof-university.de)
