About FSM6

31 MAY – 4 JUNE 2021

Celebrating 10 Years: FSM Heroes- Past, Present and Future

Introducing FSM6

The FSM Alliance is excited to take on its role as the new host and organiser for the International Faecal Sludge Management conference (FSM conference). The FSM Alliance was announced at AfricaSan 5/FSM5 in Cape Town, South Africa in 2019 to create a centralised platform for those working in the FSM sub-sector. 

The 6th International Faecal Sludge Management conference (FSM6) will continue its mission of sharing best practice and innovation to improve how faecal sludge is managed and how to expand service to the 4.5 billion people lacking access to safely managed sanitation. The FSM conference is held biennially and alternates between being held in Asia and Africa. FSM6 will draw experience from Asia to address the demands and challenges of the sanitation sector, while also highlighting best practice and lessons learned from around the globe with a focus on including examples from Africa and Latin America. It will, once again, provide the opportunity for sector professionals, governments, policy-makers, utilities, development partners, investors, industries and service providers to coordinate, develop and share learning to provide affordable and workable solutions at scale.

This conference will focus on practical solutions to sustainably manage the whole sanitation service chain, covering the toilet, containment, emptying, transport, treatment and reuse, as an essential component of city-wide urban sanitation services. It will also highlight best practices on how to incorporate marginalised stakeholders and consumers into the institutional frameworks and enabling environments with a focus on providing service to low-income communities and disadvantaged populations.

Celebrating 10 Years: FSM Heroes – Past, Present and Future

The theme of FSM6 is, Celebrating 10 Years: FSM Heroes – Past, Present and FutureFrom our first conference in 2011, to the FSM Alliance now being an established organisation- we have certainly come a long way. One thing that has remained constant in the sanitation sector is the need for safe service provision at all levels. Sanitation workers have been providing essential services, especially to communities with poor sanitation infrastructures. Much progress has been achieved within FSM, and there is no doubt that current research and implementation of FSM is making great leaps toward achieving SDG 6.2. 

With the deadline of the SDG’s just 9 years to go, FSM6 will focus on the evolution of the FSM sub-sector to date with a look towards the future on the key issues we feel can contribute to a world where everyone has access to safe sanitation. 

FSM6 will feature a  format with a wide range of session formats to appeal to the varied professionals working in the sector. A total of 36 abstracts will be selected for oral presentations and a total of 60 posters will be selected for our poster track. 9 oral sessions will be developed from the selected abstracts, 3 under each of the 3 tracks (Tracks 1-3 below). 

A fourth track featuring the work and progress Indonesia, and their recent efforts in FSM will be designed and curated by our local partners in Jakarta. 

Additional topics will be covered through a diverse set of sessions during the conference. These sessions will be chosen by the FSM6 Conference Committee. The conference will also feature additional activities such as, The World Emptying Challenge and an exhibition. 

Track 1

Gender, Equality, and Inclusive Sanitation Service Level

Track 3

Role of Sanitation and FSM Actors

Track 2

Service Delivery for Low-Income Communities

Track 4

Poster Track- Applied Research

The FSM6 program will feature a variety of live and on demand sessions

The 6th International Faecal Sludge Management Conference (FSM6) aims to identify and disseminate the latest trends, information, and evidence in the FSM sector. For FSM6, we wanted to bring together a more holistic program than a conventional abstract process can deliver. The program will feature a variety of session types: including plenaries, Track sessions, the FSMA Spotlight Series, and Sector Hosted Sessions. 

We wanted to draw our program from a wider range of stakeholders so a portion of the program has been curated from our abstract process where abstracts were submitted and reviewed by external reviewers, with the final sessions being organised by our Track Leads. More information about the track themes can be found here. 

Approximately, 40% of the program will be designed by the FSM6 Conference Committee and the FSM Alliance through our FSMA Spotlight Series and the remainder of the program will be convened and led by organisations and stakeholders in the sector via our Sector Hosted Sessions