TV stars George Clarke and Simon Reeve are set to headline Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival in Newcastle next week.
The ninth annual event, which has the theme of ‘regeneration’, takes place at Newcastle Racecourse next week. North East-born architect and broadcaster George Clarke will be opening the event with a live chat about his career and his work with sustainable housing while explorer Simon Reeve, who has made a number of TV series, will deliver a talk on his global adventures and how to innovate to make a difference.
Other speakers at the event will include Water Minister Emma Hardy and serial entrepreneur Priya Lakhani.
More than 3,000 people are expected to attend the festival, including 650 students from North East schools who will be taking part in the Young Citizens Work Experience Festival. The event aims to bring together businesses and innovators to tackle a number of questions on how the region can regenerate infrastructure, ecosystems, and economies for a more resilient future.
Previous innovation festivals have led to a number of projects being developed to improve Northumbrian Water’s performance, including some schemes that went on to receive funding from the Ofwat breakthrough challenge.
Angela MacOscar, head of innovation at Northumbrian Water, said: “This year’s Innovation Festival promises to be our most dynamic and impactful yet, which is why this line of guests is so perfect. Each of the personalities on this year’s line-up bring something completely different, yet they have all had to regenerate and innovate in order to go on to make such a difference in their fields.
“I can’t wait to see how they really inspire our attendees, and I guarantee that Simon, George and Priya will each spark our guests to think creatively about the future of our environment as they head into their sprints.”
Earlier this year, Northumbrian Water was awarded £9.5m from the water industry’s innovation fund for three projects that aim to improve the environment and boost customer service. The company has received financial support from the Ofwat Innovation Fund’s Water Breakthrough Challenge for 19 schemes over the last five years, the largest number of any single company in the Ƶ water industry.
