November 19th is the World Toilet Day1. Jack Jim, founder of the World Toilet Organization2 (WTO),said, "Toilet is the symbol of the human civilization."The 2004 World Toilet Summit3 was held in Beijing from November 17th to 19th.Around 40 academics, sanitation experts, toilet designers and environmentalists4 from 15members of the WTO participated in the three-day summit. Highlighted topics in cluded "A global perspective-relationship between toilets and quality of human life, Design-the challenges and considerations in establishing the code of practice for toilets," "Water conservation: the costeffective use of a valuable resource, water,"and "The past, present and future of public toilets in Beijing."