World Water Week in Stockholm
The World Water Week in Stockholm is a week-long global water conference held each year in August or September.[1] The World Water Week in Stockholm is arranged and led by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and addresses a wide range of the world's water, development and sustainability issues and related concerns of international development.
Over 2,500 participants attend the conference each year, featuring experts and members from business, governments, water management and science sectors, intergovernmental and non governmental organisations, research and training organisations, and United Nations agencies. The conference features plenary sessions and panel debates, scientific workshops, poster exhibitions, side events and seminars. More than 200 organisations from around 130 countries all over the world collaborate in the organisation of events.
Functioning as an open and dynamic platform, the World Water Week aims to help link practice, science, policy and decision making, and enables participants to exchange views and experiences, form partnerships and shape joint solutions to global water challenges. During the week, the Stockholm Water Prize, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, and the Stockholm Industry Water Award are given out at their respective award ceremonies.
History
The World Water Week in Stockholm originally began as the Stockholm Water Symposium in 1991 and has been convened annually ever since. In 2001, it officially took on the name World Water Week in Stockholm. Past conferences have placed continued focus on specific aspects of the world's escalating water crisis.
Earlier World Water Week Themes
- 1992-1997: "Minimising Harmful Fluxes From Land to Water"
- 1998-2002: "Water is the Key to Socio-economic Development and Quality of Life"
- 2003-2007: "Drainage Basin Security: Prospects for Trade Offs and Benefit Sharing in a Globalised World"
- 2008: "Progress and Prospects on Water: For A Clean and Healthy World." Special attention was given to sanitation issues as part of the International Year of Sanitation 2008.
- 2009: "Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good with Special Focus on Transboundary Waters"
- 2010: "Responding to Global Changes: The Water Quality Challenge — Prevention, Wise Use and Abatement"
- 2011: "Responding to Global Changes: Water in an Urbanising World"
- 2012: "Water and Food Security"
- 2013: "Water Cooperation — Building Partnerships"
- 2014: "Energy and Water"[2]
- 2015: “Water for Development”[3]