The timeline for conferences are, not uncommonly, adjusted slightly from well out; but it is extremely rare for events to be rescheduled so near to their original dates. The organizers of the 2nd Global Geosynthetics Summit have had to make that difficult decision. It was previously planned for 8 December 2015 in New Delhi, India. New dates have not yet been announced but are expected soon.
The organizers decided to reschedule after the coming recess of India’s Parliament (26 November – 23 December) would prevent too many government stakeholders from being part of the summit.
The 2nd Global Geosynthetics Summit had been organized with a strong focus on infrastructure, including roads, bridges, railways, and coastal protection. The program included significant address of India’s ambitious infrastructure initiatives, related standards, gaps needing to be filled in regulation, and opportunities for geosynthetics.
The success of that program was largely linked to government involvement (engineers, regulators, administrators, etc.).
In a letter to supporters of the summit, the organizers noted a rescheduling was requested by various ministries, which are committed to participating in the conference but which cannot participate fully if it is held during the Parliament recess.
While rescheduling the Global Geosynthetics Summit so close to the proposed event is not ideal, it seems to be the right decision. The key decision makers who will help ensure the best possible engineering dialogue must be part of the conversation. With a new date, and aligned with government activity in New Delhi, that will happen.
Geosynthetica, which is a Media Sponsor of the event, will share the new date(s) shortly.
EVENT HISTORY
The previous iteration of the summit was held in September 2014 with the theme “Enhancing the Application of Geosynthetics in Infrastructure.”
In summarizing that gathering, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) noted that “the key take-away from the conference was that the usage of geosynthetics can be boosted through ensured QC/QA of the geosynthetics, usage of right type of materials/techniques, evolving codes/guidelines, establishing countrywide geosynthetics testing/certification facilities, undertaking demonstration projects followed by performance monitoring measures, inclusion of Geosynthetics in state level Standard of rates (SoRs) and rationalization of R&D efforts for evolving performance based design standards along with construction techniques.”
Those take-aways will be advanced when the 2nd Global Geosynthetics Summit convenes, especially since the primary stakeholders in organizing the dialogue are again involved:
- Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
- Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA)
- iNDEXTb
Also important to the coming event are input from the Gujurat Knowledge, Application, and Facilitation Centre (GKAFC) and the Government of Gujurat; as well as knowledge support from Geosynthetic Testing Service, TRI Environmental, and BTTG.
