Here in this post, we are going to talk about one special event which invites water-men, water researchers, water users including industries, water managers etc from across the globe to share their views and activities, in Stockholm. Yes, we are going to talk about the World Water Week in Stockholm.
The World Water Week in Stockholm is celebrated every year in Stockholm from August 23 to August 28. It is organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to address a wide range of the world’s water, development, and related things for the International Development.
As we know, many parts of the world today are facing water-challenges. Since, life on this planet is impossible without water, the whole world is worried to avert the water crisis. Most of the responsible persons across the globe are leaving no stone unturned to save water resources and to device strategies for its most judicious uses.
The World Water Week is celebrated to help link the practices of water conservation in the world. It is through this stage that the efforts of linking science, technology, experiences, partnerships etc to search joint solutions to global challenges of water are taking shape. It is during this week that Stockholm Water Prize, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, and the Stockholm Industry Water Award are given out through different award ceremonies.
How did it begin? The World Water Week began as the Stockholm Water Symposium in 1991. Since then, it is continuously organised every year. The event took the official name of the World Water Week Stockholm in 2001.
The conferences that are held every year since 1991 focused on different aspects of water crisis escalating across the world. However, about one billion people across the world lack access to safe water and basic sanitation facilities.
About one billion people are still living without electricity and about the same number of people are still hungry in different parts of the world.
Our lives and livelihoods along with other living creatures depend on water. Without water we cannot have a productive economic system to live healthy lives, to produce our food, to generate energy for our needs and other basic necessities and commodities. This is the reason why the World Water Week in Stockholm has been focusing on these issues.
The themes for this occasion during the successive years from 2012 to 2014 have been- “Water and Food Security” , “Water Cooperation” , and “Energy and Water” respectively. The theme for the year 2015 conference was “Water for Development in 2015”.
Hosted and organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), World Water Week is the leading annual global event for water issues and related international development topics.
World Water Week 2020 has been moved to a virtual format, dubbed World Water Week at Home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking place from 24-28 August 2020.
While events and conferences have been cancelled, important projects and schemes to address essential water issues are forging ahead despite the global pandemic. SMEC asked some of its people across different roles, teams and countries around the world, “What does World Water Week 2020 mean to you?”
In India, water is an issue of critical importance if the nation is to progress on major development challenges, including food security, rapid urbanization, disaster, risk management and adaptation to climate change.
With many freshwater eco-systems suffering degradation, the rural water supply sector in India is undergoing a period of change and innovation in response to the challenges of achieving universal access to safe, affordable drinking water and sustaining those services.
A number of key points that are to be covered through the World Water Week are- drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, water resources, water productivity, water governance, water quality, improved resilience, healthy eco-systems, mitigation of water related disasters like floods and landslides and cyclones, managing waste water and reducing water pollution.
In the above lines we see that different sections of societies, scientists, industries, researchers etc are going to exchange views and to make plans to conserve water and to save life on this earth. What we on our levels should do? We too may organise different programmes to celebrate Water Week in our areas. Our programmes pertaining to water should be related to water problems of our local areas.
For Students, Programmes may be designed and conducted through Science Clubs, Eco-clubs, National Green Corps and Cultural Clubs to perform at home.
Science Clubs on colony-level can also organise programmes and celebrate Water Week keeping proper physical distances and yes, using masks.
Surveys, mini-research-projects, Eco- modeling, debate, Poster Competitions, Seminars, Paintings, Awareness Drives, Rallies etc may form the programme structure for the celebration.
But not in the COVID-19 period… So, start now at homes.
