Arup

In the year that WaterAid is celebrating its 25th anniversary, Arup is celebrating its 60th year. Arup is keen for the central element of its 2006 celebrations to be community-based, of global reach, and with the potential for staff involvement by those wishing to participate.

With this aim, Arup has agreed a long-term partnership agreement with WaterAid to undertake a series of activities around the world.

The strategic objectives of the partnership are:

• To develop an international relationship between Arup and WaterAid that complements the strong relationships already in existence in the UK.
• To provide Arup staff with opportunities to be involved in activities such as fundraising, community awareness campaigns or actual project work, through pro bono provision of skills and expertise.
• To support WaterAid's vision of a world where everyone has access to safe water and effective sanitation.
• To support Arup's vision to shape a better world.

Arup has already begun working together with WaterAid through their offices in the UK, Australia, and the USA and many cross-working projects are now underway.

These include hands on project support for WaterAid country programmes, support for WaterAid's new website and intranet, a water-related art competition and a major global fundraising drive around World Water Day on 22 March 2006 to support a rural project in the Dhanusha district of Nepal.

Arup is a leading global provider of design, engineering and business services and is the creative force behind many of the world's most innovative and sustainable solutions in the building, transport and civil engineering sectors.

Established by Ove Arup in 1946 as a firm of consulting structural engineers, we have evolved into a truly global firm of over 7,000 designers, engineers and planners with over 70 offices in 32 countries around the world.

The ethos of the firm - as defined by the values of Arup's pioneering founding partners - has been a constant throughout the firm's history and still shapes the way the firm carries out its business today.

This includes a commitment to the environment and to the local communities in which we are based. Arup's sense of community goes beyond a policy statement. Our work has a significant impact on the built environment, and one of the defining features of our many offices is the positive impact that our work has on the communities in which we live and work.

It provides us with an ideal opportunity for our people to use and develop their skills to help shape a better world through worldwide humanitarian aid projects. Staff around the Arup world remain actively involved both in fundraising and field assignments for a number of charitable organisations.

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