Closing Conference – Great Finale of Polder2C’s
- 20 March 2023
- Francien Horrevorts
All the Polder2C’s research activities, field trips, exercises and tests have been done. One final time to mark the completion of our project was the Closing Conference. This three-day event took place from 7-9 March in Antwerp, Belgium. Read more about the conference and find presentations, posters, videos and visuals that were used in this article.
Three-day Conference
The Closing Conference consisted of three days; a conference day for any interested parties, a second day with a field trip to the Hedwige-Prosperpolder and a third day for the partners. The theme of the conference was Past, Present and Future of Flood Prevention. Find more details below and in the shared documents per day.
Day one – 7 March
Over 150 people traveled to Antwerp for a programme with interactive plenary sessions, workshops about some of our main topics, a Polder2C’s Parade presenting the results of the project and key notes by Tim Soens, University of Antwerp and Ian Hodge, Environment Agency. It was an inspirational day, (re)connecting partners, colleagues and new students from across countries.
Go to the programme, presentations, posters and visuals of Day 1
See the video for an impression of the day.
Day two – 8 March
On Wednesday it was bitter cold in Belgium. Thankfully, this did not put off a large group of levee managers, safety experts, students and researchers. Around seventy people went to the Hedwige-Prosperpolder and Kruibeke to learn more about the area, its nature and inhabitants. They visited the newly built Field Station, and had some crash courses on topics such as using sand bags, a warmth camera and a grass sod pulling device. It was a suitable final Polder2C's Field Trip.
Go to the programme, presentations, posters and visuals of Day 2
See the video for an impression of the day.
Day three – 9 March
The final day of the conference was exclusively for partners and observer partners of the project. Several highlights, case studies and experiences were shared and Willem Helms, US Army Corps of Engineers, joined online as our key note speaker. Successful international partnership and future collaboration were also important topics. Many partners hope to continue working together to share knowledge and strengthen cross border collaboration. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding, symbolising their interest to cooperate and join future projects.
Go to the programme, presentations, posters and visuals of Day 3
See the video for an impression of the day.
Successful event
The lead partners of the project look back at a successful event. “We could not have wished for more, this Closing Conference is the great finale marking the end of the Polder2C’s project” states Ludolph Wentholt, STOWA. Patrik Peeters, Flanders Hydraulics, could not agree more. “These three days are a perfect representation of the project, with many interesting results, positive energy and of course our engaged group of partners. We thank all the partners for their contribution, positive input and support for the future.”
Presentations, posters, visuals
Did you miss the event or do you want to dive into some of the topics into more detail? You can find the presentations, posters and visuals that we can share online.