Description
The 9th World Water Forum took place from 21 to 26 March 2022 in Dakar, Senegal. As part of the World Youth Parliament’s 5th General Assembly, young water leaders from all over the world actively participated in the Forum, with WYPW members sharing youth perspectives and messages in a wide range of sessions, from mobility to nature-based solutions and from local action to transboundary cooperation.
Alongside water youth organizations from all over the world, WYPW advocated for stronger and more meaningful youth inclusion in the water sector. The policy statement developed by General Assembly participants over the course of the event emphasizes three main objectives and demands towards the global water sector:
- Local youth action is recognized and implemented into all water sectors
- Job opportunities are improved and diversified
- Youth inclusion in decision-making is the norm not the exception
Looking forward, WYPW is involved in several preparatory processes towards the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York, 22-24 March 2023, working with the co-hosting government of the Netherlands to ensure active youth participation in this flagship event. Throughout different meetings and panel discussions at the World Water Forum, WYPW representatives emphasized the importance of tangible actions that ensure youth inclusion in the twelve months leading up to the UN Conference and recognize young people as equal stakeholders and participants in global water governance processes.
Beyond these high-level advocacy involvements, WYPW was also involved with a number of activities at the World Water Forum that directly built upon the network’s initiatives over the past months and years. Learn more about some of them below.
Announcement of the UNESCO Groundwater Youth Network
For the past months, WYPW has worked with UNESCO-IHP to develop a new platform for youth participation in groundwater. The steering committee of this new UNESCO Groundwater Youth Network met for the first time ahead of the World Water Forum. During UNESCO’s high-level panel in celebration of World Water Day 2022 under the theme of ‘Groundwater – making the invisible visible,’ WYPW president Carolina Tornesi MacKinnon formally announced the new network. In her speech, she reflected on the connection between youth and groundwater: “Youth and groundwater are kindred spirits – we are key parts of the future, but often overlooked. We need to continue working on making both visible.”
Youth in regional water dialogue and decision-making
WYPW is a proud member of the Blue Peace movement, with WYPW members being involved in numerous Forum sessions on the topic. During the Geneva Water Hub’s session on ‘Water as a tool of cooperation, peace and stability,’ WYPW board member Lorette Douzals emphasized the importance of including youth in regional water dialogues and river basin organizations. She highlighted the added value of youth inclusion based on two examples of youth-led initiatives, the Blue Peace Index assessment for the Chu-talas river basin led by Central Asia Youth for Water (CAY4W) and the Youth for the Rhine initiative. Including young people in regional water dialogue and decision-making processes sensitizes them for regional water challenges and strengthens the exchange of ideas on water within youth groups and between youth and water authorities at different levels. Given the large youth population in many transboundary river basins, this ensures the representation and active inclusion of a significant portion of the population. Youth engagement can also bring new solutions to river basin challenges, as youth-led innovations transform transboundary water management.
During the World Water Forum, the Geneva Water Hub also launched its first annual report of its Global Observatory for Water and Peace, which includes several contributions by WYPW members on youth commitments for water and peace around the world.
Youth voices on the future of water research
First insights of the WYPW Research Group’s current ‘Youth voices on the future of water research’ campaign were discussed during a roundtable discussion in the Youth Space. The panelists, all young water researchers themselves, reflected on the challenges encountered by young researchers, new opportunities for participatory water research and the need to turn research into tangible action to address water challenges. Video messages submitted by campaign participants were included in the session.
The roundtable discussion also served as the official launch event for the WYPW Research Group’s new working paper ‘A youth vision for inclusive water research,’ which summarizes key messages submitted by young water researchers during the first campaign phase and outlines the shared vision of water research that is participatory, open access and future-oriented.
Thank you to all of our core partners for making the 5th WYPW General Assembly possible:
