Join the Dutch Government for World Water Week At Home

This year, the biggest water conference in the world is shifting online and the Netherlands invites you to be a part of it.

Enlarge image Loopbrug die over een glad wateroppervlak met rietpollen voert
Image: ©Carel de Groot

About WWWeek At Home

Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is hosting WWWeek At Home from 24 to 28 August 2020 to help bridge the gap between the 2019 and 2021 World Water Weeks. This new online format will bring together convener-hosted, virtual adaptations of sessions on water and climate change originally planned for World Water Week 2020.

The Government of the Netherlands (GoN) is convening and co-convening several water and climate-related sessions ranging from valuing water, climate adaptation to financing, among other diverse topics. It will also host an engaging virtual social event on Friday, August 28. Scroll down for more details . This time, all sessions are free and all are welcome to attend.

Water, climate change and COVID-19: the GoN perspective

The Government of the Netherlands (GoN), with its rich experience and deep understanding of water management intends to contribute to the global challenges that countries and the international community are facing in the water sector. It will do so while proudly also serving as an official partner to World Water Week.

Water is key to the wellbeing and resilience of people, societies and our global economy. COVID-19 has reminded us that water is at the heart of a range of key challenges.  For the most vulnerable around the world, this rings especially true. Lack of access to safe water and sanitation combined with too much, too little or polluted water due to climate change is creating unprecedented risks and vulnerabilities.

For the Netherlands, this is why water matters. We are placing a priority on tackling the water crisis - now during the pandemic and beyond. The climate crisis cannot be solved without water solutions – you can’t have one without the other. As the world is preparing for economic recovery, we must also focus on resilience. We must build back better.

By prioritising water in our actions, we can tackle multiple challenges and strengthen future health and economic sustainability for all, ensuring we leave no one behind.

Join GoN sessions for interesting content and some fun networking

We welcome you to join our sessions to discuss more on the above, to share experiences and to get to know each other better. The GoN is convening the following sessions during WWWeek At Home:

Enlarge image Mensen staan bij de waterbassins tussen de akkers
Image: ©Carel de Groot

Adapt our World: Climate Adaptation Through Water Action

Monday 24 August | 16:00-16:45

Water is the solutions broker and the entry point for all climate adaptation possibilities; from nature-based solutions and resilient cities, to agriculture and energy.

Water is an enabler. How can we convey within the water sector and to other sectors that water and all themes are inextricably linked? The goal of the GCA’s Water Action Track (WAT) is to accelerate and scale up climate adaptation using water and the water sector as an essential enabler and connector to safeguard a sustainable and resilient future for all everywhere. What should the role of the WAT be? And what can partners in and outside the water sector offer?

Conveners: Government of the Netherlands, Global Center on Adaptation, World Bank Group, World Resources Institute

Save the date and go to the World Water Week website for more information

Enlarge image A young Afghan man is crouching down next to an irrigation channel in Uruzgan
Image: ©Hans Stakelbeek

Action for Change: Practical Lessons in Valuing Water

Tuesday 25 August | 13:00-13:45

The Valuing Water Initiative promotes better decisions impacting water through the UN Valuing Water Principles. In this session, leading companies who actively value water in their activities will share their insights into what this can mean in practice. An expert panel will help identify key learnings from the showcases.

Conveners: Government of the Netherlands

Save the date and go to the World Water Week website for more information.

Enlarge image Twee meisjes in Bangladesh spelen in het water met hun waterkannen
Image: ©Carel de Groot

Communicating for Impact - How to Engage with Non-water Audiences

Wednesday 26 August | 14:00-14:45

Water has been in the World Economic Forum’s top five global risks for years, yet many decision-makers outside the water community still do not realize that water stress is real, urgent and material. We must communicate better to reach those beyond our sector whose decisions have an impact on water.

Conveners: Government of the Netherlands, World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Water Youth Network

Save the date and go to the World Water Week website for more information.

Enlarge image Mensen aan de waterkant en op een boot op de rivier die langs een sloppenwijk voert
Image: ©Carel de Groot

Water as Leverage (WaL) for Climate Impact and Financing Adaptation

Thursday 27 August | 14:00-14:45

Water as Leverage aims to bridge the gaps hindering climate action, with a focus on project origination. This is a major hurdle, translating these challenges into inclusive processes for the purpose of developing integrated, transformative, bankable project proposals that address localized climate-related urban water issues which has not been tackled before.

Conveners: Government of the Netherlands, OECD, World Bank Group, City of Semarang (Indonesia), Deltares, Water Youth Network.

Save the date and go to the World Water Week website for more information.

Enlarge image Ikenna Azuike in gesprek met mensen op de eindreceptie van een voorgaande editie van World Water Week
Image: ©World Water Week

WWWeek Social Event / Virtual Dutch Reception

Friday 28 August | 14:00-14:45

This virtual social event builds on the tradition of an annual Dutch Reception. Instead of sharing ideas under the Stockholm sky, the event embraces the opportunities that virtual tools provide for networking and engaging people across the globe in a fun and interactive way.

More details will follow soon, so save the date and keep an eye the updates on the virtual social event on the World Water Week website.

The GoN is also participating in several other sessions as a co-convener throughout the week. Visit the GoN organization page on SIWI's website for the latest information.

Looking forward to seeing and engaging with you during WWWeek At Home!