Ellen Boyer Pokorny
Communications Manager, Stockholm International Water Institute
Join World Water Week 2024 to bridge borders for a peaceful and sustainable future. Explore global water cooperation for a resilient world.
Water is crucial for our survival and global development. However, it is often undervalued despite its essential role. This neglect has led to a global water and sanitation crisis. In many places, poor sanitation contributes to disease outbreaks while, in others, water scarcity demands fair distribution.
Disputes over water can have devastating consequences, depleting resources necessary for survival and impacting various sectors. To address these challenges, global cooperation around water that is inclusive and consists of all stakeholders is necessary.
Global collaboration addressing water issues
Since 1991, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has hosted World Water Week — the world’s leading conference on water issues. The conference brings together scientists, policymakers, young people, water experts, non-government organisations (NGOs), business leaders and activists to collaborate on sustainable water development on a global scale.
World Water Week reaches every corner of the globe with over 15,000 participants from over 190 countries/territories. Since the 1990s, the Stockholm Water Prize and Stockholm Junior Water Prizes have been awarded during the conference for extraordinary water achievements and research projects, respectively.
Water can be an entry point for cooperative dialogues that bring together several sectors.
Peaceful water cooperation globally
In August 2024, SIWI will host World Water Week, ‘Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future.’The theme of the conference (peaceful water cooperation) intentionally echoes that of the UN Water Conference held in New York in March 2023 so that commitments made then can continue to be improved and implemented.
The diverse audience at World Water Week will contribute international perspectives to the theme, bridging gaps in dialogues, information-sharing, capacity building and policy development. With a global voice, water can be the peaceful platform on which to base other interlinked areas including security, conflict resolutions, food and water scarcity, ecosystem fragility and climate resilience.
Water can be an entry point for cooperative dialogues that bring together several sectors, such as agriculture and energy. Peaceful cooperation over water is essential to sustainable, lasting, climate-resilient solutions on a global scale. It is only together that sustainable peace can be achieved.