Last month, I had the opportunity to travel to South Korea on behalf of The Water Council. This trip was one of many recent opportunities when Milwaukee wound up on the world stage through our expertise in forming public/private partnerships. The Water Council’s ability to convene and collaborate to leverage the strongest position for growth for Milwaukee is one that many in the world would like to emulate, including South Korea.

Because of the international reputation of The Water Council, we were invited to Daegu City, South Korea, to speak at the Korean National Water Industry Cluster’s quaternary board meeting during a special session titled “Global Water Industry Development through a New Innovative Private-Public Partnership Cluster.” Along with the director of global water practice at The World Bank Group and the president of the Korea Water Partnership, I delivered a keynote speech before a panel dialogue.

What emerged from the meeting was incredible. The City of Milwaukee, Daegu City and the Water Council signed the Korea Water Partnership agreement, and next month, two people from Daegu City will attend The Water Council’s Water Summit. Between July and October, two Daegu City employees will visit Milwaukee, and in September, Daegu City’s Mayor Kwon will attend WEFTEC and visit Milwaukee to sign the memorandum of understanding.

The Water Council serves as a shining example of the success of public/private partnerships, as public entities like the City of Milwaukee, nonprofits like the Greater Milwaukee Committee, large corporations like Badger Meter, and educational institutions like the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee came together to bring a vision to life. The Korean Water Cluster has the potential to do the same and bring together design and construction firms, other industry members, educational institutions, the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and K-Water.

The GMC looks forward to more global opportunities for our region in partnership with the Water Council and continuing to serve as an organization which has the ability to bring many different groups from different sectors to the table to solve problems in our city and beyond.

Sincerely,

Julia Taylor President Greater Milwaukee Committee