South West College has announced that it will host delegates from 26 countries as part of an International Passive House Association (iPHA) camp taking place at its Erne Campus in Enniskillen from Monday 26th to Friday 30th September 2022.
Enniskillen was chosen as the location for the prestigious event as the Erne Campus is presently the world’s largest Passive House Premium Rated building in the world and the first educational building to achieve the accreditation.
Passive House is the fastest growing standard in global construction and visitors from Europe, the Americas and Australasia will spend a week learning about the building and exploring other energy efficient construction projects currently in development across Northern Ireland.
In support of the iPHA programme of activities, South West College will also host a two-day ‘Building a Sustainable Future’ conference on Tuesday 27th & Wednesday 28th September. The conference programme has been designed for local and national delegates, particularly those engaged in the public, local authority and education sectors. Conference attendees will participate in a series of themed workshops exploring sustainable construction for both public and private sector buildings, transport sustainability, fleet management and strategy development. Renowned industry speakers and academics will present a series of case studies and take part in interactive discussion panel sessions over the course of the two days.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council will be the principle strategic delivery partner for the Building a Sustainable Future Conference and iPHA Camp.
South West College’ Interim Chief Executive, Leo Murphy said;
‘I am very proud that the International Passive House Association has chosen to host its camp in Enniskillen this year. 100 of the world’s leading influencers in sustainable construction will be in attendance to learn about our Erne Campus and to also share their knowledge on new and emerging practices that will transform the local and global industry.
The team at South West College put together a very compelling bid to host the event and this follows on from the presentations at the COP26 conference in Glasgow last November and our membership of the United Nations High Performance Buildings initiative. We also hope that representatives from the United Nations will be attending and speaking at the event in Enniskillen which is sure to be unmissable.’
The Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Cllr Barry McElduff said:
“The Council appreciates the opportunity to be a strategic partner in the International Passive House Conference to be held in South West College’s Erne Campus, Enniskillen.
The Council wholeheartedly congratulates the College on securing the opportunity to host the Building a Sustainable Future conference. This is a major achievement.
We very much look forward to welcoming delegates from all over the world to Enniskillen to see at first hand the stunning landscape and unspoilt beauty of Fermanagh and the wider Council area”.
Jessica Grove-Smith, Joint Managing Director Passive House Institute and International Passive House Association
We are very excited to come to Enniskillen for this stakeholder meeting of our closest partner organisations. During this camp iPHA’s Affiliate organisation, as well as Passive House course providers and building certifiers from all around the world will get together to strengthen our collaboration and efforts to grow and scale Passive House worldwide. South West College and its exceptional Erne Campus Passive House Premium is the perfect place to host this event.
Having the ‘Building a Sustainable Future’ conference run simultaneously with our camp provides a fantastic opportunity to take part, network and position Passive House in a wider sustainability context. Delegates from both events will be able to benefit from the many projects and activities in the area that show the energy saving and comfort advantages of Passive House construction in real-life.
Dr Barry McCarron, Chairperson of Passive House Ireland said;
‘Being selected to host this prestigious iPHA camp with delegates from almost all of the member countries is an honour not just for the college but for the wider region and is a celebration of the work that South West College has been doing in the development of internationally renowned sustainable buildings and the training of Passive House accredited professionals.
Registration is now open for the two day ‘Building a Sustainable Future’ Conference. The final programme and speaker line up will be revealed through the conference website over the coming weeks. The delegate registration fee will also include admission to a conference dinner hosted by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on Tuesday 27th September and to the inaugural South West College climate resilience lecture which will close the conference on the evening of Wednesday 28th September.
Further information and tickets are now available at https://swc.ac.uk/events/building-a-sustainable-future or by emailing conference@swc.ac.uk
