Dhaka, Bangladesh | 25-26 February 2025
Speakers at the Toilet Conference 2025 include global leaders, experts, and innovators in sanitation and hygiene. They bring diverse perspectives and share insights on WASH advancements, sustainable solutions, and impactful strategies to address global challenges in sanitation and public health.
With nearly 2 decades of expertise in marketing, communications and strategy, Anandita serves as the Leader of Marketing for Asia at SATO, part of LIXIL. She has been working towards advancing sanitation standards in Asia through strategic story telling,impactful external communications, and global collaboration. SATO, drives a mission to improve lives and her steadfast commitment to enhancing sanitation contributes to initiatives across the region. With a passion for making a difference, she continues to foster partnerships and engage the private sector to further innovate in the field of sanitation.
Antoinette Kome is SNV's global sector coordinator for water, sanitation and hygiene. A senior expert in water resource management, watershed management and water supply and sanitation, Kome leads SNV's WASH programs across 26 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Widely recognised as Mr Toilet Man, Singaporean Mr Jack Sim stands as a prominent social entrepreneur who is actively involved in toilet activism, public education and media communications. He broke taboos surrounding toilets, elevating the sanitation crisis to the center stage with a distinctive blend of humor and factual discourse. In 2001, Mr Jack founded the World Toilet Organisation, a Singapore-based global NGO. Through this organisation, he has spearheaded a global movement that involves governments, policymakers, UN agencies, international civil society, thought leaders, and activists, all working together to address the sanitation challenge. Jack’s impact reached global proportions when he successfully advocated for the inscription of 19th November, WTO's founding day, as UN World Toilet Day at the UN General Assembly in 2013, with the resolution sponsored by 122 countries. This monumental achievement underscored his status as a global leader in sanitation advocacy. Withover 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, Dr Jack Sim, a highly successful businessman, made a pivotal decision at the age of 40 to dedicate the remainder of his life to social work after achieving financial independence.
Professor Juliet Willetts is Research Director at University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures (UTS-ISF). She leads applied research to inform water and sanitation policy and practice in Asia and the Pacific. Her contributions cover climate change, technical, environmental, governance, behavioural, gender equality and public health aspects, partnering with governments, UN agencies, research institutions and bilateral, multilateral and civil society organisations. Her achievements have been recognised by multiple awards, including IWA Gender and Diversity in Water Award 2024 and Australian Financial Reviews’ 100 Women of Influence. She holds a PhD from University of NSW in Environmental Engineering and is widely published with more than 150 peer-reviewed articles.
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With over two decades of experience, Keshav Das has specialised in climate change, multilateral engagement, sustainability, and public policy. He has spearheaded climate action initiatives for the UN and various international agencies. As Regional Programme Coordinator at UNIDO for South Asia, Keshav led programmes focused on climate, energy, and environmental issues. He has also consulted fo rnumerous UN agencies and multilateral development banks, such as UN-ESCAP, UNDP, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNCDF, SEforALL, GCF and ADB, providing expertise in climate change, environmental finance, renewable energy, and climate resilience infrastructures. Before his current role as Program Specialist for Climate and Environment at UNICEF, Keshav served as CEO of Ashden Awards and as a Climate Advisor to the Commonwealth Secretariat, GGGI, SNV, Mercy Corps, and Habitat for Humanity.
Dr M Feroze Ahmed, a distinguished Civil and Environmental Engineer, earned his BSc and MSc in Civil Engineering from BUET and a PhD from the University of Strathclyde, UK. A former Professor, Dean, and Head of Civil Engineering at BUET, he has also served as Vice-Chancellor and is now an Emeritus Professor at Stamford University Bangladesh. With over 160 published papers garnering 5,500+ citations in scholarly articles and 22 books cataloged in 152 libraries worldwide, he is recognised as a prolific researcher. He has delivered over 95 invited/keynote lectures globally and contributed as an expert to 20 development projects, including the iconic Jamuna and Padma Bridges. Professor Ahmed received BUET Gold Medal 1998 in recognition of excellence in teaching and research, Institution of Engineers Medal 2004 for the services to the nation and engineering profession and Bangladesh Academy of Sciences Gold Medal 2007 for contribution towards advancement of science and technology. He was part of the BUET-MIT team that won the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Prize for Water. He also received the Asia Education Leadership Award (2016).
Dr Roshan Raj Shrestha leads strategy and planning for the Water, Sanitation & Hygiene team’s work across Asia. He previously co-led the team’s India programme. Dr Roshan joined the foundation in 2012 and has earned numerous awards for his work, including the Bill Gates Sr. Award in 2024 for outstanding contributions to the foundation. His 30-plus years of experience in the water and sanitation sector include working with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme to plan and implement decentralised water and wastewater management programmes across South Asia. He also founded the Environment & Public Health Organisation in Nepal, where he led innovations in household water treatment and eco-friendly sanitation systems. He serves on the board of trustees of the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr Roshan earned a PhD in applied natural science from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria.
Dr Tanvir Ahmed is a WASH specialist, academic and researcher. He is currently serving as a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Dr Tanvir has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Civil Engineering from BUET and PhD in environmental engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tanvir’s primary research interests are in the field of waste management, WASH and public health, citywide sanitation planning, environmental impact and risk assessment. He has 50+ technical articles in journals, and lends professional service to Government agencies and development partners in various national projects. Dr Tanvir has served four and a half years as the Director of ITN-BUET, a Centre under the University dedicated to build capacity of WASH professionals in the country. In this position, he is engaged in shaping national WASH policies, strategies and guidelines and led the regional citywide inclusive sanitation capacity building program, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.