The Opening will introduce the theme Water for Sustainable Growth.
Speakers at the opening session on 29 August include the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary-General of OECD, Delegate Minister of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment, Morocco, 2016 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate Professor Joan B. Rose, from Michigan State University, USA, and Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican.
The Opening Plenary will be livestreamed. Got a question for the panel? Tweet us your question by using #WWWeek #Ask.
Two Prizes
Two prizes will be awarded during World Water Week, to recognize excellence in the water world. On Tuesday 30 August, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize will be awarded by H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden to one of 29 competing nations.
On Wednesday 31 August, the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Professor Rose, for her tireless contributions to global public health; by assessing risks to human health in water and creating guidelines and tools for decision-makers and communities to improve global wellbeing.
The prize will be awarded by patron of the prize, H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden.
The World Water Week in Stockholm in 2016 will echo and follow up on the UN ”water and jobs” theme, but do so in the broader context of sustainable growth, and thus directly and indirectly contribute to the (proposed) SDG 8 to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.
Hence, the theme will address sustainable growth for all by focusing on inclusiveness in terms of the societal and human dimensions in all regions of the world.
Water for sustainable growth
While the primary focus will be the “water for sustainable growth” theme, the Week will also follow up more generally on the implementation of the water related SDGs and the new climate agreement.
Firmly placed at the intersection between policy, research and practice the World Water Week is also a natural place for exploring new ideas and perspectives in the area of water and sustainable growth between a diverse set of actors.
2016 is a critical year for addressing the role of water in the post-2015 development agenda.
That agenda has been developed in 2015 through two pivotal events:
(1) the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the UN General Assembly, charting the world’s development course through 2030, and
(2) a new global climate agreement adopted by COP 21 in Paris with important implications for water related mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
2015 was also the year of world summits on disaster risk reduction and finance for development. These events have profound importance for water development, stewardship and management.
3000 participants from more than 120 countries.
Some 3,000 participants from more than 120 countries will participate at this year’s World Water Week – representing governments, the private sector, multilateral organizations, civil society and academia.
World Water Week in Stockholm is the annual focal point for the globe’s water issues. It is organized by SIWI.
This year, the theme is Water for Sustainable Growth. It is also the 20th jubilee of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. In 2015, over 3,300 individuals and close to 300 convening organizations from 130 countries participated in the Week.
Experts, practitioners, decision-makers, business innovators and young professionals from a range of sectors and countries come to Stockholm to network, exchange ideas, foster new thinking and develop solutions to the most pressing water-related challenges of today.
We believe water is key to our future prosperity, and that together, we can achieve a water wise world.
