Canadian NGO receives International Award for Water Innovation

CALGARY, June 7 /CNW/ - CAWST, the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology was awarded the Special Prize in the SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Water for All Foundation Competition at the Institut de France in Paris on June 4.

The Canadian NGO was honoured for the formation and development of itself. Receipt of the Prize recognizes that CAWST is a unique organization and an institutional innovation, making a difference in water and sanitation for the poor.

The SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Water For All Competition aims to create awareness of innovative solutions to improve and expand water and sanitation services in urban areas of developing countries. The contest is aimed at higher education institutions of research or training and rewards technical, economic or social projects that have shown positive results, are ready to be shared, and are supported by a local public entity. Only two prizes are awarded worldwide each year. The Special Prize of 30,000 euro rewards original tools and methods for providing and disseminating know-how applicable to managing water and sanitation services.

"Winning the Water for All Special Prize is an incredible honour", says Camille Dow Baker, President and CEO of CAWST. "Engineering services have traditionally been one of Canada's strongest and most internationally competitive service industries. CAWST has added a much-needed humanitarian element - water and sanitation for the poor. The SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Water for All Foundation has recognized the value of that contribution."

The SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT- Water for All Foundation works under the aegis of the Institut of France, the "French Parliament of the Learned." "SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT has been working for many years on meeting the challenge of sustainable access to water, wastewater and waste services in the countries in which it is located. We are very pleased to encourage actions in favour of sustainable development and aiming to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the water and sanitation domain" says Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT and President-Founder of the Foundation.

CAWST is a non-profit engineering consultancy - a hybrid of a humanitarian organization and a professional engineering consultancy. It was formed in 2001 to provide subsidized training and technical support to NGOs and government agencies in developing countries, so that they can more effectively provide water and sanitation to the poor. Since 2001, CAWST's clients have helped over 3 million people in 58 countries get better water and sanitation. In 2009, 52,000 people, of which 80% were women and children, were trained using CAWST training materials.

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For further information: or to request interviews: Lisa Rushka, BComm, APR, Momentum Communications, [phone], [email protected], www.cawst.org; Louis de Genouillac, Water for all Foundation, [email protected]