Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2021 takes place as a fully virtual event from 21 June to 2 July. The biennial event connects stakeholders from the global value chain in the water industry to share best practices, policy developments in water and showcase the latest in technological innovations and tap business opportunities.
On 18 November, the Starting at the Source to Save the Ocean event was co-convened by members of the Action Platform for Source-to-Sea Management (S2S), as part of the United Nations ‘Ocean Decade’ (2021–2030). Participants learned of the importance of taking action on land in order to improve ocean health. The event focused on the interlinkages of freshwater and marine water resources.
GWP and Wuhan International Water Law Academy are co-organising an interactive online series called the "Transboundary freshwater security governance train". The series of online engagements sessions is conducted in an approach of a ‘train’ stopping at various locations in the world, with focus on topics related to transboundary freshwater security. At each of the stops, a different topic from the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security is explored. In the 4th session, the topic is "International Water Law and Climate Change" and it takes place on 20 April.
We are happy to introduce the GWP Water Academy for Youth (W.A.Y.). The GWP W.A.Y. is an opportunity for young professionals to realise their potential in the water community, become influencers and leaders, create momentum with key actors, and enhance youth engagement and empowerment in water resources management. The first global activity is a joint GWP, CAP-NET, University of Andres/UNESCO online course, “From Learning to Leading: Beyond the ABCs of Youth, Water, and the SDGs.” Registration opens on 17 August and the course is free.
In the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science, a satellite event will be co-organized by partners of the Action Platform for Source to Sea Management (S2S platform) that include Global Water Partnership, UNESCO-IHP, Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands, Stockholm International Water Institute. The Starting at the Source to Save the Ocean session will be held on 18 November 2021, at 14:00 (CET) and will explore ways in which freshwater and marine communities can strengthen their collaboration, advancing ocean health.
An information and sharing workshop on an initiative for ecological water management to contribute to the scientific animation of the World Water Forum to be held in Dakar in March 2022. The aim is to support local elected officials in taking into account the ecological dimension of water in development policies.
Dr. Agnes Kalibata, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to the Food Systems Summit; and Gilbert F. Houngbo, UN-Water Chair and President of the International Fund for Agriculture Development, are convening an online global dialogue on water on 27 April.
The 2021 edition of World Water Week concluded on 27 August after a packed week of digital events. As in previous years, GWP was engaged in many sessions. One of the milestone announcements of the week was the UN-Water release of the SDG 6 Progress Reports, based on the 2020 Data Drive initiative, which GWP contributed to through the SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme. The message from the launch was clear: we are not on track to meet the 2030 Agenda water goal so we need to urgently accelerate progress. Throughout the week, GWP presented several of its initiatives that aim to do just that.
