2018 Danube Water Conference was held from 2 to 5 May 2018 and organized by the International Association of Water Utilities in the Danube Region (IAWD) and World Bank (World Bank - WB).

Vodacom as one of the regular participants at the Conference had an active participation this year as well. Vodacom's representative was a panel session moderator on the topic of Smart Policies for Inclusive Services - Smart Policy for Inclusive Services in the Sector, within which there was a discussion on the experiences with social tariffs for inclusive services and better business performance, on the modernization of the workforce: Improving gender equality and youth employment in the sector and methods to organize inclusive services in rural areas. Dynamic discussions were divided into three parts, presenting studies and practical examples from Bulgaria, Albania, Romania and Kosovo.

Vodacom’s representative was the first representative of Young Water Professionals (YWP) from Montenegro and had an active participation in the workshop with representatives of Austria, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, and Croatia. Throughout the workshop, representatives of Austria, Albania, Kosovo and the Czech Republic shared their experiences with other participants on how to set up the Young Water Professionals in their countries, as well as the possibilities and opportunities that YWP provide in the sector. Upon this Conference, Montenegro will consider the possibility of establishing the YWP as well as the YWP modality in the sector.

Participants at the Water Conference this year were private and public sector entities that directly or indirectly deal with water supply, sewage and wastewater treatment services, financial institutions presenting investment interest in the sector, representatives of ministries, local self-governments, companies and companies from Danube region and beyond in order to share experiences, present business services, best practices in solving problems in the sector, and attract the attention of stakeholders in solving key issues with the aim of improving living standards and the level of environmental protection.