Northumbrian Water is not letting the coronavirus lockdown stop it from holding its Innovation Festival, which has been rearranged as an entirely online event with sprints, dashes and data hackathons hosted via live streams.
The event was due to welcome 3,000 people to Newcastle for four days of sharing ideas and finding solutions to some of the challenges in the water sector and the wider community. It will now take place in September instead of July,
Northumbrian said the “feel-good festival spirit” will still be present with virtual wellbeing sessions, group exercise classes, pub quizzes, bingo, comedy, live music and even celebrity appearances online.
Nigel Watson, director of innovation at Northumbrian, said the pandemic made the company think differently about how to do things. “This is us adapting, flexing and being innovative with our innovation festival. We’ve changed it, improved it and we’re making it work for people, right now.”
He said support from partners, sponsors and customers in favour of keeping the event on made the team make the switch to digital and even opens up the chance for people to take part who could not physically be there.
“It means people from all across the globe can get involved in the festival in a safe and accessible way. It opens up lots of brand new opportunities for us both in terms of the way we work and what we can look to achieve.”
Previous festivals have brought to life ideas that have helped the water sector through collaborative working and sharing ideas.
The event will be held between 14 and 17 September.
Another date for your diary is the Waterwise Conference 2020, which was postponed from March and will now take place online between 13 and 17 July. The event will focus on climate emergency and water efficiency with a series of online webinars and videos around these topics taking place each day.
The team at Waterwise are building on the momentum of Water Saving Week that saw the public and those working in the water sector getting involved in activities and learning about how water usage is linked to not only the climate emergency but also how to save cash, benefit the community and care for gardens efficiently.