Conferences played a large role in developing sanitation. In Mar del Plata, the Water and Sanitation Decade was announced in 1977
The Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) conferences sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates organisation are opportunities to exchange ideas. They started in Durban with the FSM1 in 2011 and FSM2 in 2012 in Durban in 2012.
