The 2018 edition of World Water Week takes place on 26 – 31 August in Stockholm, Sweden. During the week, UN-Water will convene various sessions and events.
Sunday 26 August
Water Action Decade Event- Organizer: UN-Water / United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs / United Nations University-Institute for Water, Environment and Heath
- Date and Time: Sunday 26 August | 16.00-17.30
- Venue: Room: FH Cabaret
- Short description: The International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Sustainable Development’, commenced on World Water Day, 22 March 2018, and aims to accelerate efforts towards meeting water-related challenges, including limited access to safe water and sanitation, increasing pressure on water resources and ecosystems, and an exacerbated risk of droughts and floods. This session will include presentations from UN-DESA, UNU and other members of the UN-Water Task Force on Decade Implementation, and bring participants up to speed on the current state of the Decade implementation and how to get involved. The event will provide an overview of existing projects and programmes in support of the Decade from the Members States, the United Nations, civil society and private sector, and focus on how we can mobilize action to make sure that we meet all the water-related Goals.
Monday 27 August
Presenting the global baseline situation for SDG 6- Organizer: UN-Water
- Date and Time: Monday 27 August | 14.00-15.30
- Venue: Room: NL Pillar Hall
- Short description:In embarking upon the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a dedicated goal on water and sanitation, credible data are needed to underpin sector advocacy, stimulate political commitment, inform decision making and trigger well-placed investment towards health, environment and economic gains. To follow-up on and review progress towards SDG 6 we need to know our point of departure — the baseline situation for water and sanitation in the world today. To support countries in monitoring water- and sanitation-related issues, and to report on global progress towards SDG 6, in 2014 UN-Water launched the Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6, which includes the eight UN agencies who are the custodians of the 11 SDG 6 indicators. During the past 18 months, the focus of the Initiative has been working with the Member States to generate data and to compile it to establish a global baseline for SDG 6 and all its indicators, and in this session, the baseline results will be presented. Participants will also have an opportunity to discuss these results with custodian agencies and country representatives, as well as the lessons from the baseline process.
- Organizer: UNESCO WWAP and UN-Water
- Date and Time: Monday 27 August | 12.30-13.00
- Venue: UN-Water Pavilion
- Organizer: UN-Water, UN Environment, UNECE, UN-Habitat, UNICEF, FAO, UNESCO, and WHO
- Date and Time: Monday 27 August | 17.30-18.15
- Venue: UN-Water Pavilion
Tuesday 28 August
UN World Water Development Report 2018 “Nature-Based Solutions for Water”- Organizer: UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme / UN-Water / UN Environment / United Nations University-Institute for Water, Environment and Heath / Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / United Nations Development Programme / UNESCO International Hydrological Programme
- Date and Time: Tuesday 28 August | 09.00-10.30
- Venue: Room: FH Congress Hall A
- Short description: Water management is still largely dominated by human-built (i.e. ‘grey’) infrastructure, whereas the enormous potential for nature-based solutions (NBS) to address contemporary water management challenges across all sectors, and particularly regarding water for agriculture, sustainable cities, disaster risk reduction and improving water quality remains under-utilized. The 2018 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report aims to encourage policy and decision-makers, inside and outside the water community, to find the most appropriate blend of green and grey investments to maximize benefits and system efficiency while minimizing costs and trade-offs. The session will introduce the main findings of this flagship publication of UN-Water and facilitate a free discussion among the panelists and the audience concerning its policy messages and concrete applications of NBS to achieve the water-related Goal (SDG 6) and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Organizer: WSSCC and the CLTS Foundation
- Date and Time: Tuesday 28 August | 17.30-18.30
- Venue: UN-Water Pavilion
Wednesday 29 August
UN-Water Stakeholder Dialogue- Organizer: UN-Water
- Date and Time: Wednesday 29 August | 09.00-10.30
- Venue: Room: NL Music Hall
- Short description: The UN-Water SDG 6 Synthesis Report 2018 on Water and Sanitation was developed to ensure an integrated approach to SDG 6 reporting ahead of the in-depth review of SDG 6 at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (July 2018). As a joint position from the UN family, the Report and its production is an example of multi-stakeholder coordination and the United Nations speaking with one voice. The World Water Week in Stockholm represents a unique opportunity to disseminate the findings and the UN-Water Stakeholder Dialogue provides a relevant forum for participants to share their experience about the implementation of SDG 6. Following a presentation of the report, panellists will provide a pitch around three/four main water related interlinkages. The audience will be invited to break out into different groups and discuss the responses, synergies among the SDGs and information needed of public and private sector to boost SDG 6 implementation and financing. After the discussion within the small groups, panellists will report back to the main group. The Synthesis Report was produced by a UN-Water Task Force composed by 14 different UN Agencies and coordinated by the UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) of UNESCO.
Thursday 30 August
World Water Day 2019: Leaving no one behind- Organizer: UN-Water
- Date and Time: Thursday 30 August | 09.00-10.30
- Venue: Room: FH Cabaret
- Short description: When the 2030 Agenda was adopted in 2015, all countries and stakeholders set out an ambitious agenda envisaging a world free of poverty, hunger, disease and want. A world where all life can thrive and where no one is left behind. At a time of immense global challenges – poverty, inequalities, natural disasters, humanitarian crises and forced displacement, the 2019 edition of World Water Day looks at why people have been left behind and how access to water and sanitation and sustainable water management can be drivers of change.In this session, participants will get an opportunity to learn more about what it means to leave no one behind and identify ways to be actively involved.The 2019 World Water Day campaign is coordinated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on behalf of UN-Water.
