GeSI CEO to speak at the Innovation Driven Water Sustainability Conference (IDWS)
December 2025 – GeSI CEO Luis Neves will be attending the Innovation Driven Water Sustainability (IDWS) taking place from the 8th to 10th December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The conference is a high-level platform bringing together global specialists, innovators and investors in the water sector. The IDWS conference highlights pioneering trends and international best practices, while fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration between forward-thinking minds and leading institutions.
Luis will be part of a panel labelled “Bridging Gaps: Building Collective Action for Water Sustainability through Good Governance, Innovation, and Blended Finance”. The session will explore how governments, the private sector, and international organizations can work together to deliver lasting water sustainability solutions, especially in water-scarce and climate-vulnerable regions. By integrating good governance, innovative technologies, and blended finance, this panel will showcase collaborative strategies that advance SDG 6 and broader global water-related targets.
Other panelists include Shannon McCarthy (Secretary General-Executive Director, IDRA), Adrian Sym (CEO, Alliance for Water Stewardship) and Jason Morrison (President, Head, UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate.
Reflecting on the upcoming event, Luis stated the following
“Water systems today face a deep and widening gap: while demand continues to grow, many regions lack the governance capacity, financial tools, and real-time visibility to manage water sustainably. Fragmented data, aging infrastructure, and siloed institutions have made it difficult to anticipate risk, optimize resource allocation, or coordinate responses across stakeholders.
That’s why digitalisation matters. From AI-powered flood forecasting and real-time leakage detection to smart metering and digital twins for urban water systems, we are witnessing the rise of data-driven, predictive, and resilient water infrastructure. These technologies don’t simply automate existing practices; they enable a shift toward proactive governance, dynamic planning, and transparent decision-making. Our member companies are advancing this shift through bold implementation and collaborative design.
One example is SAWACO – Water Desalination, a GeSI member pioneering AI-based desalination optimisation in collaboration with NEC Corporation of America . Their system uses machine learning to reduce energy use, extend membrane life, and predict maintenance needs, a powerful illustration of how digital tools can reduce environmental impact and operating costs in water-stressed regions.
GeSI is proud to build on this momentum through our upcoming Water Digitalization Initiative We are currently expanding the WDI use case repository, including initiatives on datacenter water optimization and smart systems for sustainable urban development.
This is a moment that calls for bold, digitally enabled leadership in the water sector. I look forward to engaging with government leaders, innovators, and investors in Jeddah to co-design practical, high-impact solutions that deliver both climate resilience and water security.”
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