6th World Water Forum in Marseille – Time for Solutions

 

March 12- 17, 2012, Marseille, France 

Every three years since 1997, the World Water Forum mobilizes creativity, innovation, competence and know-how in favour of water. It gathers all stakeholders around today’s local, regional and global issues that cannot be undertaken without all stakeholders into a common framework of goals and concrete targets to reach. The goal of the 6^th World Water Forum was to tackle the challenges our world is facing and to bring water high on all political agendas.

Children participated in the opening session singing songs for saving water around the world.

The 6^th WWF focused on the thought – Time for Solutions. It brought together stakeholders from different worlds and activities, with different interests and goals, to discuss and work on common objectives for providing solutions to everyday water problems. From 12^th to 17^th March, over 250 sessions were dedicated to providing solutions! Apart from many technical sessions, there were number of political meetings. The Ministerial Declaration (http://www.worldwaterforum6.org/en/news/single/article/the-ministerial-declaration-of-the-6th-world-water-forum/) was prepared through a series of Preparatory Committee meetings (PrepComs) by national governments in consultation with Major Groups, international organisations and the thematic/ regional coordinators of the Forum. Part of the political process was also the Regional Trialogues organised among Ministers, Parliamentarians and Local/Regional Authorities. These Trialogues were based on targets selected by the regions themselves and discussed as to how each level of government can help the other in their implementation and whether improved multi-level governance mechanisms would aid in achieving their solutions.

The Butterfly Effect

Butterfly Effect sessions, Solutions from civil society: Inspiring change through a human rights based approach and Occupy the 6th World Water Forum: Building inclusive human rights-based governance is in progress.

The Butterfly Effect is a coalition of international NGOs, which advocates effective local solutions that have a sustainable impact on water and sanitation. We have consulted with NGOs for over a year, bringing our experience and expertise together with a common set of messages for government delegates at the 6th World Water Forum, March 2012. Made up of over 90 civil society organisations, NGOs, networks and womens’ organisations, we are an open movement that’s growing fast. Our solutions are based on human rights principles, communities’ experience, and relate to policies, projects, information campaigns and empowering stakeholders. Crucially, these solutions are local, sustainable, adaptable, innovative, equitable, accountable and people-orientated.

Butterfly session – cat walk for water brought in key messages from Civil Society Organisations in an innovative way (in Picture – Anjal and Jayati from SaciWATERs)

Time for lunch and networking!