Highlights and images for 19 August 2023

From the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze commitments under the Water Action Agenda, to how water issues can be mainstreamed across international fora, participants reconvened early on Saturday morning to continue discussing follow-up on the UN 2023 Water Conference.

The second and final day of the 38th UN-Water Meeting opened with a review of the small group discussions during World Café sessions that took place during the first day. Later on, participants discussed, among others, preparations for upcoming awareness-raising activities, such as World Water Day, and activities led by the Task Force on Water and Climate.

In his summary of the World Café session on the Water Action Agenda, Tomoyuki Okada, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), reported broad support for clustering of commitments announced during the UN 2023 Water Conference. Clustering would facilitate analysis of the Water Action Agenda’s coverage and impact, and identify networks of relevant organizations, among other objectives. Participants also raised the possibility of using AI or engaging other sources of information technology to help identify clusters.

On whether and how a UN system-wide strategy for water and sanitation could be pursued, Colin Herron, Global Water Partnership, said participants had felt a key benefit of a strategy would be in providing a common vision and direction for UN agencies, especially at the highest level. They suggested that heads of agencies should be involved in its development to ensure broad support.

On mainstreaming water issues in international fora, Kristin Meyer, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and Nicolas Franke, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), noted suggestions to create capacity among UN-Water Members and Partners to engage with policy processes on the global level. They noted calls for more and better information, data and evidence to support such work. Many agreed UN-Water should pursue a more coordinated approach to put water on the agenda across agencies.

Dani Gaillard-Picher, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), reported back on the discussions in the group on “What are other actions we need to take following the UN 2023 Water Conference?” and highlighted four key points:

• Communicate more effectively for underlining the importance of water to the public and decision-makers;
• Get out of the “water bubble” by entering diverse spaces and fora;
• Drill down to local realities but aim high, including understanding realities on the ground while also seeking to reach politicians at the highest level; and
• Dare to be disruptive by working with diverse actors, including youth groups, governments and local communities to ensure more accountable and transparent water management.

UN-Water Members and Partners agreed to create a Task Force on Innovation to develop recommendations for advancing the innovation accelerator of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) Global Acceleration Framework and discussed planning for the UN World Water Development Report 2024 and World Water Day in 2023 and 2024. A lengthy discussion followed an update on the activities of UN-Water’s Expert Group on Water and Climate Change.

Participants were also informed about the recent launch of the report titled “From commodity to common good: A feminist agenda to tackle the world’s water crisis,” a joint publication with UN Women that is grounded in a human rights framework and calls for the full realization of women’s rights in the acceleration of implementation of SDG 6. Participants also expressed broad support for establishing a new expert group on groundwater.

UN-Water Chair Houngbo expressed his appreciation for the participation and support of Partners and closed the open meeting at 11:02 am.