GeoAfrica 2009 – 9 weeks to go!
It is hard to believe that in only nine weeks from now, GIGSA will be hosting the first regional conference on geosynthetics to be held under the auspices of the IGS in Cape Town. Much hard work has gone into the organisation of the conference, and we are busy finalising the review of papers submitted.
We anticipate that at least 70 papers will be presented in two parallel sessions, covering the themes of reinforcement, barriers, filtration and drainage, and erosion control. In addition a number of poster papers will be displayed at the conference. We are proud to announce our three keynote speakers for GeoAfrica 2009, whose papers will be presented in plenary session:
- Wednesday 2 September, Prof Kerry Rowe of Queen’s University, Canada, will talk on “Long-term performance of leachate collections systems and geomembrane liners for MSW landfills”
- Thursday 3 September, Kelvin Legge of the Department of Water & Environment Affairs, South Africa will talk on “Geosynthetics for Africa”
- Friday 4 September, Prof Jorge Zornberg of University of Texas at Austin, USA, will talk on “Geosynthetic Capillary Barriers: Principles and Applications”
In addition, there will be two special lectures presented in plenary session:
- Prof Richard Bathurst will talk on “Recent Developments in Reinforced Soil Wall Testing, Analysis and Design”
- Prof Malek Bouazza and Prof Jean-Pierre Gourc will talk on “Overview of geosynthetics applications in Northern Africa through case histories”
During the conference, the IGS Council will make a number of IGS Corporate awards, and GIGSA will present its annual awards.
On the social side, there will be a “Meet and Greet” cocktail function in the exhibition area after the first day’s technical proceedings. At this function, two well known pioneers of the geosynthetics industry in South Africa, Mr Glen Lawson and Mr Clifford Gundle, will each give a short talk on the history and development of geotextiles and geomembranes in South Africa.
After the conference on Friday evening 4 September, we will enjoy a gala dinner with a Cape Malay theme and entertainment. On Saturday 5 September, we will have a day outing to the Spier wine estate to taste good South African wines and enjoy a traditional African lunch at Moyo’s restaurant.
We are still accepting registrations at the “early bird” discounted rates, so I would encourage you to register soon for what promises to be a memorable international event for geosynthetics networking and knowledge transfer.
Please go to the GeoAfrica 2009 website for more information regarding registration, accommodation, social tours etc. www.geoafrica2009.org
Peter Legg
Conference Chairman, GeoAfrica 2009
