It was an event not to be missed, but if you weren't there, here is what happened:

Three days packed with important information. 216 participants from 27 nations, including 15 Danube region countries, and, for the first time, representatives from Central Asian nations. Five dozen distinguished speakers, moderators and poster contributors, among them two high-ranking representatives of the European Commission, an Infrastructure Deputy Minister from a war-torn country, and a Water Resources Management Specialist from Turkey who contributed a quote from an oriental philosopher. This was “Looking Back, Looking Forward”, the Danube Water Conference 2025.

This was “Looking Back, Looking Forward”, the 2025 Danube Water Conference. As we reported already, the focus of this year's conference was on fresh and yet unpublished data from a comprehensive update of the report on the state of the water sector in the Danube region, originally published in 2015. The whole conference was organized along the chapters of the report, dealing with every aspect of the regulatory environment, investment financing and asset management down to the intricacies of crisis management and the challenges of the revised EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.

Among many memorable contributions, the most captivating were a video from last year's flood disaster that hit Valencia, Spain out of the blue and a report from Ukraine's Infrastructure Deputy Minister on dealing with war damage that left the audience stunned.

But it was not all doom and gloom. As a matter of fact, the State of the Sector Update shows that across the region, utilities, associations and governments on every level are doing a solid job. Comparison with the situation 10 years ago shows a remarkable upward trajectory. All countries are on the right path, albeit some are far ahead, and some struggle to find the necessary money to keep up with the mounting challenges. The optimism was also visible in the final word cloud, when the audience was asked to describe the conference in one word:

There was also a lot of joy and celebration, with a social program that lived up to the renowned Viennese hospitality, although one contribution during the final feedback round was a plea for even more networking opportunities. We promise to work on that, taking to heart the quote from Persian philosopher Rumi that Ms. Canan Yildiz put at the end of her presentation on a Turkish Water Circularity project: “Yesterday I was smart and wanted to change the world. Today I am wise and want to change myself.”

Our thanks go out to all supporters who made the 2025 DWC possible, to all contributors who made it exciting, to all participants who made it enjoyable, and to the organizing team who made it smooth, especially our very supportive friends from the Young Water Professionals.

See you again next year for the 2026 Danube Water Forum!