The launch of Delta Alliance will be celebrated in this plenary event hosted by journalist Tracy Metz. Representatives from deltas around the world will participate, including minister Tineke Huizinga of The Netherlands and Governor Bowo of Jakarta. A highlight will be the signing of the Delta Alliance Declaration, a statement on the value of the world's deltas and the importance of international cooperation for improving their resilience. Further there will be a presentation of the winners of the student DeltaCompetition 2010. The launch will be followed by a reception, where all participants will be invited to sign the Delta Alliance Declaration and become a member of the international network. 

Thursday 30 October, 17:00- 18:00
Rotterdam Hall
Master of Ceremonies: Ms. Tracy Metz, journalist and former member of the Netherlands Delta Commission

The worldwide DeltaCompetition challenged students to formulate creative solutions for adapting the delta cities of the world to climate change impacts. The competition, run by Delta Alliance, the City of Rotterdam and Royal Haskoning, received 24 unique submissions from eleven countries on five continents. Submissions covered and integrated many disciplines including engineering, policy, and landscape architecture. In this session the three winning student teams will present their submissions. Final prizes will be awarded and the top 10 submissions will be represented by posters.

Thursday 30 September, 15:15- 17:00
Beurs Lounge
Chair: Mr. Tom Smit, Director of Spatial Development, Royal Haskoning

The focal deltas of Delta Alliance will shortly present their major issues, which they think are relevant for international sharing of experiences and identification of possible joint collaboration (bi- or multilateral). In a state-of-the-art interactive ‘Electronic Board Room Session’ this will be discussed and all attendants are able to contribute their own ideas in a joint learning process. Most promising joint project opportunities in the field of delta research and development will be identified and prioritized. Also the ongoing comparative delta study within Delta Alliance will be subject of discussion. The results of this session will be used in the plenary session of the Delta Alliance launch on Thursday afternoon.

Wednesday 29 September, 14:00 – 17:00
Blue Room
Chair: Mr. Rob Schoonman, Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Netherlands

Deltas around the world are faced with many of the same challenges – how can deltas most effectively learn from and assist each other in responding to these challenges? Delta Alliance is hosting this session to showcase two examples of cooperation between deltas: The Dutch Dialogues in New Orleans and the Delta Research And Global Observation Network (DRAGON). Working from these examples an interactive session will focus on key factors critical for successful cooperation between deltas, and how to strengthen and build upon existing cooperation mechanisms.

Thursday 30 September, 13:00 – 14:45   
Van Walsum Room
Chair: Ms. Lies Janssen, Senior Project Officer of the Netherlands Water Partnership

During the conference, Delta Alliance, World Estuary Alliance and Connection Delta Cities will have a shared booth in the exhibition hall. You are very welcome to visit our booth, speak with us and pick up information about these networks- working together on safe, vital and sustainable deltas in times of climate change. 

Wednesday 29 September- Friday 1 October, 9.00- 18.00
Exhibition Hall