The 8th World Water Forum takes place from March 18th to 23rd, in Brasília, in the Federal District.
This year, with Brazil as its headquarters, the World Water Forum will come to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. The eighth edition of the Forum also promises to be the largest ever held.
The official theme of the Forum will be “Sharing Water”. The objective is to bring together the main experts on different subjects related to the topic, from Brazil and the world.
An audience of approximately 45 thousand people is expected, in addition to 10 thousand congressmen. The event aims to unite society, government, private companies and researchers, in discussing the crisis and increasing water scarcity.
Topics such as climate change and global warming, more frequent and intense weather events, in addition to the increasing use of water in food production, are some of the topics that will be discussed in more than 274 activities and 18 panels during the event.
In the following article, you will have a complete overview of the World Water Forum, in addition to Water Business Day, a parallel event to the Forum, aimed at business audiences.
Have a great read!
What is the World Water Forum
The idea of the World Water Forum was born in 1996, together with the foundation responsible for its creation, the World Water Council.
O WWC (acronym for World Water Council, the World Water Council) is an organization of the think thank you, where experts come together to discuss a topic, create and aggregate information and studies that can be implemented, with a focus on human development.
On your website, WWC presents itself as an international multi-stakeholder platform, where various interested parties work with the mission of mobilizing actions directly on water problems around the world.
To further expand this discussion, bringing together knowledge and experiences at an international level, the World Water Forum, with its first edition taking place in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 1997.
The objective of this first Forum was to lay the foundations, launch challenges and structure future standards, aimed at water, life and the environment in the 21st century.
After that, every 3 years, the International Steering Committee – or ISC, International Steering Committee – is responsible for determining the location that will host the event. 24 members are part of the ISC and work with maximum responsibility for the Forum.
This International Steering Committee is made up of 12 representatives of different nationalities, who are part of the World Water Council and are appointed by it. The other 12 components of the Committee are appointed by the National Organizing Committee.
The National Organizing Committees are organizations specific to each Forum host country. It includes the main institutions related to water and areas where its impact can be most felt.
The Secretariat of the International Steering Committee (ISC, acronym for International Steering Committee), based in Brasília, is the body responsible for implementing the 8th World Water Forum, in Brazil.
Panels and discussions, the Fair and Exhibition scheduled for the Forum, in addition to other administrative matters related to the Forum, are also the responsibility of the Secretariat of the International Steering Committee.
The Executive Director, primarily responsible for the Secretariat, organizes activities related to logistics and support necessary for the infrastructure and holding of Forum events.
Participants at the World Water Forum
The topics proposed at the Forum are of global interest. The discussions held and the decisions made seek to reach the entire society.
Because of this, it is essential that the Forum's audience is made up of authorities responsible for such decisions, in their regions of operation.
Thus, numerous political representatives, heads of state, parliamentarians and ministers, CEOs of various companies, and representatives of social movements are expected at the 8th World Water Forum.
The different participants will be able to choose between numerous panels, as shown in the Program of Special Sessions and das Ordinary Sessions.
The applications and decisions of the World Water Forum
At the website of the 8th edition of the World Water Forum, the main objectives of the event are clearly described. The Forum appears as a democratic, open and participatory platform what you are looking for:
- Promote the exchange of experiences between countries in good practices, public policies and integrated water management based on the motto of the 8th Forum “Sharing Water”.
- Raise awareness in society about the importance of water for socioeconomic development and quality of life on the planet.
- Create political commitments, aiming to raise the water issue on the government's priority agenda.
It is also important to clarify that the basis of all the content of the themes and panels of the Forum program was developed by several working groups over the last 2 years.
The production and organization of this content They are implemented by five specific Commissions for each theme and interest.
- Thematic Process: discusses topics to be addressed by the Forum.
- Political Process: involves governments at local, regional and national levels, parliamentarians, and its results are presented in memorandums of understanding, agreements and cooperation treaties for integrated water management.
- Regional Process: discusses various problems and guidelines for cooperation and integrated water management in each continent or geographic region.
- Sustainability Focus Group: discusses adherence to public policies and also actions and principles of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) in a transversal manner, participating in other processes.
- Citizen Forum: promotes the participation of organized civil society in discussions, exchanges of experiences and other activities of the Forum.
CEBDS participation in the World Water Forum
O CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development), with the aim of promoting sustainable development, seeks to always be associated with governments and civil society, disseminating concepts and practices related to development.
Because of this, CEBDS will participate in two Special Sessions during the 8th World Water Forum, within the Sustainability Focus Group.
Marina Grossi, President of CEBDS, is also President of the Board of Directors of the Forum's Sustainability Focus Group and will be in charge of both Special Sessions, one on 19/03 and the other on 22/03.
The first will be a presentation of the discussions and results of the Water Business Day – side event of the Forum, which will be held the day before, 18/03.
The second Special Session, on 03/22, will deal specifically with Sustainability. It will address three main points:
- actions for a more ecological Forum;
- results related to sustainability, coming from sessions of other processes (through focal points);
- general discussion on how the Forum can further contribute to the sustainable use of water.
Water Business Day
During the 8th World Water Forum, a parallel event will take place, but directly associated with the Forum's objectives and interests.
The first Water Business Day will take place on 18/03, one day before the start of the World Water Forum. Participants will meet at the headquarters of the CNI – National Confederation of Industry, in Brasilia.
Developed and organized by Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), together with CNI and the UN Global Compact Brazil Network.
Also part of the co-organization of the project is the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), being the CEBDS Brazilian representative of the organization.
The event will also feature the partnership of CDP – Carbon Disclosure Program It's from CEO Water Mandate
What is Water Business Day
Brazil has the honor of hosting the 1st Water Business Day, an event that will go down in the history of the World Water Forums.
Both the World Water Council and other institutions linked to the Forum realized the importance, responsibility and leading role that industries and companies in the private and public sectors have within sustainable and water management and innovation.
The Forum is a great opportunity to bring together companies interested in discussing and getting involved in the main concerns addressed at the Forum, but with a business-oriented focus.
The objective of Water Business Day
In addition to bringing together Brazilian and international companies to, together and at the same event, discuss the direction of sustainability and the future of water, participants must review their responsibility towards these topics.
They will also be able to share experiences and explore new approaches related to water sharing. In addition, they will discuss innovative solutions in the field of water management and security in addition, of course, to the impact of industries on water and sustainability.
As the main objectives of Water Business Day, we can highlight:
- Encourage companies to commit to ambitious actions to safeguard water resources.
- Present challenges and opportunities for companies to reduce their impacts on water availability and quality. Both in direct operations and throughout supply chains.
- Demonstrate and promote good practices on water and climate, addressing adaptation and driving collective actions.
- Facilitate understanding of the critical role of water in companies’ contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – UN SDGs, the Paris Agreement and Nationally Determined Contributions – NDCs.
- Reinforce the message that the business sector is not just a user, but also an important part of the solution to improve water security.
Water Business Day participants
For Water Business Day, an audience of approximately 300 people is expected.
The majority of Business Day participants are representatives of the business and industrial sector, both Brazilian and international.
Several representatives from senior leadership positions in companies and industries are also expected for Business Day. These include presidents and vice-presidents of large global corporations.
Thus, the Business Day agenda has attracted a lot of interest, even though it is the first event of this category in the history of the World Water Forums.
So much attention and interest guaranteed a next edition of Business Day, even before it took place. The event is scheduled to take place alongside the 9th World Water Forum, in 2021, in Senegal, a country in West Africa.
The importance and relevance of Water Business Day
The idea for Business Day was born to be discussed in association with the World Water Forum. The topics discussed and proposed by big businesspeople on Business Day will gain space and validation in Special Sessions of the Forum.
Thus, new research, new discoveries and innovative actions, used in a local and restricted way, can be consolidated and shared in a suitable and available space to absorb and add to your own experiences.
It is important that all Business Day objectives and their processes are clearly documented and organized. The idea is to replicate this event model in future Forums, such as the one in 2021, or even traveling events.
Conclusion
Now in its eighth edition, the World Water Forum takes place every three years, in different countries.
The event has already taken place in Daegu, in 2015, in South Korea; Marseille, France, in 2012; Istanbul, in 2009, in Türkiye; in Mexico City, in 2006; Kyoto, Japan, in 2003; in The Hague, in 2000, in the Netherlands; and its first edition, in 1997, in Marrakesh, Morocco.
An event created in 1996, born together with the World Water Council, the World Water Forum seeks to unite numerous political and business leaders from around the world, with the aim of establishing commitments regarding water resources and sustainability.
It is also important to highlight the Expo and the Fair, which will take place parallel to the Forum. In addition to being a great opportunity for exhibitors to offer products and services related to the sector, it will also be a great space to close agreements and deals.
Access to the Expo is exclusive to those registered at the 8th World Water Forum, while access to the Fair will be open to the general public, with free access.
For this year's event, the 8th World Water Forum, approximately 45 thousand participants are expected from all over the world, interested in global water management.
