Around 30 representatives of World Plumbing Council member organisations gathered in Centurion, Pretoria, South Africa for a WPC meeting on 21-23 October 2009.

The meeting, which had been arranged at the invitation of WPC Full Member the Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA), was preceded by a Symposium which was attended by about 60 delegates including many members of the IOPSA. The Symposium focused on a range of plumbing industry activities including the excellent work which IOPSA has been doing in creating the Plumbing Industry Registration Board and the WPC plans for a publication on the environmental aspects of plumbing. IOPSA President, Steve Brown of Durban welcomed the local and international delegates to the event and expressed the thanks of his Institute that WPC was meeting in his country for the first time since the very successful World Plumbing Conference at Sun City in 1999.

During the two days of the WPC meeting, discussion took place on a wide range of issues including:

• Plans for the first ever World Plumbing Day to be celebrated on 11 March 2010;
• WPC’s status as a Non Governmental Organisation in official relations with the World Health Organisation and the projects which have been undertaken in conjunction with that organisation;
• The development of a DVD training presentation to support the message that good plumbing is closely linked to good health;
• The WPC Trainer’s/Lecturer’s Scholarship;
• The process of developing WPC’s planned publication on the Environmental Aspects of Plumbing;
• Membership recruitment and the desire to see WPC represented in many more countries throughout the world;
• WPC’s relationship with partner organisations including Messe Frankfurt and WorldSkills International;   

It was noted that the next WPC meeting will take place in Sydney, Australia on 15-16 March 2010 and it was agreed that the following meeting would take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 2010.

Speaking after the meeting, WPC Deputy Chairman Russ Chaney noted, “Many outside our industry, especially those in government, do not understand the contribution made by the plumbing industry in protecting public health and the environment.  As a consequence, the WPC has made a major commitment to illustrate the important role plumbers play in protecting our environment and the health of the world’s inhabitants.”

WP Chairman, Robert Burgon, commented that “this was a very useful and positive meeting for WPC. Our agenda is wide and we depend to a large extent on the efforts of volunteers. In spite of this, I believe that progress is being made and that more people are coming to understand that plumbing is a huge contributor to good health and the environment. It was good to see representatives attending from many countries including our only member in Nigeria. WPC greatly appreciates the efforts which IOPSA put into the arrangements for this event and we look forward to gathering again in Australia in March 2010.”