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The 9th World Water Forum kick-off meeting brings participants from around the world to Dakar for two days of collaborative work. Let Africa show the path of peace.
“Africa is rich in natural resources, in land resources and especially rich thanks to the intelligence and energy of its children, women and men living here…For two years Africa, Senegal and Dakar will be the Capital of Water. Let’s use this opportunity…for African voices to be heard,” said the President of the World Water Council, Loic Fauchon, during the opening ceremony with the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Serigne Mbaye Thiam.
Many participants from the whole world met at the kick-off meeting for the 9th edition of the largest international event on water challenges.
Over the course of two days, policy makers, academia, international organizations, civil society and the private sector, contributed with the strength of their ideas and the weight of their experience in the construction of the program for the Dakar World Water Forum in March 2021.
This collaborative work is articulated around the four main priorities of the 9th Forum:
- Water Security
- Cooperation
- Rural Development
- Means and Tools
This collaboration will provide the answers that citizens around the world expect to improve their lives and regain their dignity.
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World Water Council President Loic Fauchon revealed the Council’s four overarching priorities for the coming years at UNESCO’s International Water Conference “Leveraging Intersectorality for Sustainable Water Security and Peace”.
The priorities are complementary to the Council’s triennial strategy and will steer the organization’s activities throughout the next two years.
- Storing water today for future needs: For water security to become a reality, the availability of the water resource must be increased by building storage space, developing desalination and encouraging water reuse. Digital innovation is key in managing demand and optimizing water consumption.
- Five finger alliance: Water is essential to almost all human activities from food to energy production, health to education. An intersectoral and horizontal approach in water management is crucial and the Council’ network of Universities for Water in Beirut is a first step in the right direction.
- Water is politics: The World Water Council must engage in active hydro-diplomacy through the prisms of knowledge, finance and governance.
- Senegal, Africa, capital of water: The 9th World Water Forum, which will be held in Dakar, Senegal, in 2021 will be key in providing visible and concrete answers to global water challenges.
Echoing the theme of the conference, President Fauchon said “Technical solutions exist. We must now convince national governments, parliamentarians, and local authorities to adopt an intersectoral and horizontal approach in managing this precious resource”.
To reinforce the messages, the World Water Council released a new video “What are you doing for water?” highlighting its priorities and calling upon decision makers for their active involvement.
