The international Bled Water Forum took place in Bled from June 13 to 14, 2024, where the main topics of expert discussions were new drinking global trend, new standards, new understanding, water safety and quality. Discussions also covered trends and understanding of water drinking and technological innovations. The forum concluded with the awarding of the European Water Awards and the presentation and testing of waters and water cocktails, under the aegis of the European Water Sommelier Association.

100 participants from 25 countries participated in the forum. Among the honorary guests was Eliza Jean Reid, the First Lady of Iceland, and the honorary patron was Nataša Pirc Musar, President of the Republic of Slovenia.

After the event, we spoke with Marko Gajić, co-founder of the Forum.

Q1 Can you tell us something about the history of the Bled Water Forum? When did the idea for the event come about, what is the main purpose of the Festival, and why in Bled?

It was in 2011 when my wife first had the idea to start environmental activities related to water, development, conservation, underwater cleanups, etc. in Bled. At that time, no one had thought much about environmental projects. Our first beginnings were in 2014, and in 2016 we founded Bled Water Festival (BWF), a non-profit organization that has always strived toward innovation. That year, we organized a two-day local event and, for the first time, in addition to the professional work (awarding prizes to the most innovative in the field of water, together with the Ministry of the Environment, Slovenia), I organized a water tasting, just for a joke. We brought water from 10 different places around Slovenia and gave it to the participants for tasting and asked them what they felt. They all knew how to describe each water as having a different taste, and they also knew how to tell which was good and which was not. It was this part that was strongly accepted by visitors to our forum and the media, so in 2018 I brought over an official water sommelier from South Korea to Slovenia. In the first two years, we created and tested which direction our organization should travel. In 2020, we focused on the development of a new understanding of drinking water, created new standards, founded the European Water Sommelier Association (EWSA). In addition to all of this, in partnership with the Ministry of the Environment, from 9 countries (who are also part of our organizational committee), we were constantly developing a platform from other countries where the most innovative could meet in two categories:

1. the most innovative technological solutions in the field of drinking water, and
2. the most innovative in the field of other waters

In 2023, we start providing the international BWF certificate. The certificate is given to facilities and locations who offers the cleanest, high-quality water, and the people who operate at these points have new knowledge about the drinking water that we bring. Therefore, these new standards enable people to know that the water is above the normal good standard, with all the other explanations that come with it.

I was born in Bled, and I grew up creating this together with other members.

Csilla Mezosi, Secretary General, European Spas Association, Nataša Pirc Musar, President of the Republic of Slovenia, Iztok Albauer, Managing Director, Slovenian Spas Association

Q2 How has the understanding of water as a resource changed over the years, is there more awareness of the importance of water than before.

When we started creating the story in 2011, awareness was not at the level that it is today—not even close. Global perceptions showed little interest in this area. Over the years, however, this trend has risen and is still on the increase today. However, when it comes to the understanding of drinking water and water sources, we could be said to still be in the times of black and white television. The technology in this field has evolved greatly, and today we know where we are. In the field of understanding of drinking water, it is we, BWF, together with our partners from South Korea and China, who have created these new global trends and shifts in this field. To summarize using the television metaphor, I can say that we have given water shades of color; and it is these shades that have brought the revolutionary global development for our generation and certainly a significantly better future for generations to come.

Q3 What is the contribution of this year’s Festival? Are global trends going in the right direction?

This year we introduced global trends such as:

– how water can be determined according to its purpose of use in four categories (hydration, hydration for purpose, health, children). These are the four symbols we use.
– we presented which contaminants are present in drinking water, as well as in other waters. We are talking about microplastics, nanoplastics, hormone disruptors, antibiotics, pesticides, PFAS and so on. EU regulations will have to keep up to provide people with even better drinking water
– we have presented how these contaminants affects the quality of people’s lives
– we present the largest and most innovative utility companies at home and around the world and what approaches they use to improve the quality of drinking water
– we present water cocktails that are a true hit at the BWF and for the EWSA
– we award BWF certificates of water excellence
– we educate schools, educators, the gastronomy sector and other water lovers
– we showcase companies, both established and new, who are innovative and revolutionary in this field
– we presented international European Water Awards to two companies in 2024

Global trends are going in the right direction, since we are the ones who co-create them. Experts and organizations from all over the world are involved in this development. The time when we understand water in detail and what benefits it brings us is here and it is approaching very quickly.

Q4 Slovenia and many other European countries are also rich in thermal water, which has many healing effects in maintaining health and rehabilitation. Has this already been a topic of any of the forums, or is it planned for the future?

It is true that Slovenia and a few other countries are rich in thermal water. The European Spa Association, together with the Association of Slovenian Natural Spas, create exceptional stories in the field of global water-health. This year, for the first time, we invited Mr. Iztok Altbauer, director of the aforementioned association in Slovenia, and thus the beginning of our cooperation was established. This is an extremely important topic with which we would like to co-create future trends.

Q5 Who are the recipients of the European Water Awards and for what achievements were the awards given?

This year’s European Water Awards 2024 winners are:

– InnTe d.o.o., Kinetic Reactor® Technology, Slovenia

– Kalymbet Mykola Volodymyrovych, Water purification using a universal composite sorbent from plant waste, Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies

Q6 The Forum also discussed the management of Lake Bled. It is one of the most visited tourist spots in Slovenia. How are you connected to it? Will we be able to preserve the lake as it was?

The  Bled Tourist Board and the Municipality of Bled are co-organizers of the international Bled Water Forum, and because Bled is a natural and world-recognized pearl, we devoted one panel to the lake in Bled. All stakeholders, both local and state, are trying to keep it in the best shape, as they are aware that if anything were to happen to the lake, there could be big problems. It needs to be acknowledged that most tourists come to Slovenia precisely because of Bled, the lake and other attractions that the city and the country offers (in addition to Slovenia’s unspoiled nature). Every year, however, the largest cleaning campaign of Lake Bled and other rivers and the sea is organized, where more than 700 divers gather from across the country and physically clean the garbage from the water, because divers are the only possible solution for such tasks. Every year, garbage is thrown into the water. Such behavior is carried out mainly by tourists. However, this is decreasing every year. Cleaning operations like this have been common practice for more than 30 years. As part of the cooperation with the Slovenian Diving Association and BWF, we have greatly strengthened them.

Q7 You are personally very connected with water. You are a diver, and you are also a water sommelier and a great promoter of this profession. Why should we know more about different types of water and connect them with culinary experiences?

When you dive below the surface, you enter a new world, a world where everything goes silent, gravity “disappears”, nature is amazing, and when you see that there are objects under the water that do not belong there, it is the obligation of all of us divers to pull out everything that has no place. Regardless of whether it is a clean-up campaign or a recreational dive, and regardless of whether we are swimming in a lake, a river, or thermal water, each different geographic location will give us something unique and positive if we have access to quality resources. Therefore, by understanding water, we can reap many positive benefits from it, because we must not neglect the fact that water is the basis of everything we have on this planet.

Take drinking water, for example. Have you ever wondered what kind of water we drink and how this water we drink will mostly affect our body? The answer should be, “it is good water, it will be fine”— but this is not the case 100% of the time. Unless you look at the water through a microscope, you don’t know what you are drinking. It is a basic human right to know what we put in our bodies, and consequently what we drink and how it will affect the body over time. Today, therefore, we know which water is clean water, without the new contaminants that the world brings, and even though the legislation does not yet regulate them, we know which water is the best for hydration, which water is good to drink occasionally, which waters are great for our health and there are clinically proven studies that show which waters are good for babies, for children, and so on.

Consequently, with this knowledge, we can greatly enrich the culinary world, because, at the moment, only water with bubbles or without is on offer. We bring a whole new range of knowledge, certification, and standards.

Just a few examples:

• If we order vegan food, we can offer it along with water with light mineralization
• If we have strongly flavored meat with a hearty side dish, we offer strong mineralized water
• If we drink tea, coffee, and so on, we can offer water with light mineralization

These are just a few basic situations in which we can connect water in the right way with other products. Of course, it is necessary to keep in mind that our service is significantly more in-depth than these listed examples. It is necessary to be mindful of the other parameters that water brings in order to achieve 100% efficiency and connection. This connection means that the right choice of water can complement the natural flavors of certain dishes or enhance other drinks, to reach desired goals. The water that is offered in restaurants around the world today lacks this connection and mostly distorts the taste, but because people do not pay attention to this —due to a lack of knowledge— this is deemed as acceptable. Well, now we are introducing these upgrades with fervor. It is the same as with wine: once we knew only white and red, but today there is a vast palette of new knowledge.

https://bledwf.com/forum

Photo credits: Bled Water Forum, Miro Zalokar