GWC and World Water Day 2011

Global Water Challenge (GWC) supports the activities of the World Water Day. This coalition is a group of diverse organizations from the water, sanitation, hygiene and health sectors that have come together to raise awareness and call for commitments and robust action to ensure universal access to safe water and sanitation.

To celebrate World Water Day, GWC has organized a series of seminars and events on the theme of water

Sunday, March 20

Seminar on Values-Based Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education – Capetown, South Africa This seminar will focus on successful Human Values-based implementations; case studies; didactic teaching methods for hygiene, water and sanitation education and engaging participants in breakout group dialogues in order to share questions, ideas and experiences to better manage the challenges and to learn best practices around human values-based WASH education.

When: 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Where: Room 2.43, Cape Town International Conference Center, Cape Town, South Africa For more information: Contact John Etgen, Project WET Foundation at john.etgen@projectwet.org

Monday, March 21

“Making Progress” Learning Forum – Washington, D.C. – Supported by Global Water Challenge and Tetra Tech. A series of sessions to share successes and failures in water, sanitation and hygiene programming. Learning themes are:

-Private Sector Participation in Water Supply
-WASH Sustainability and Climate Change
-Achieving Operational Sustainability
-Accountability and Transparency

When: 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
Where: Center for Strategic and International Studies 1800 K Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006

The 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital – Washington, D.C. To mark World Water Day and bring attention to the global water crisis, the Pulitzer Center presents films on water and population. A discussion with Katherine Bliss, Director of the Global Water Policy Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and filmmakers Stephen Sapienza, Rhett Turner, Jonathan Wickham and Fred de Sam Lazaro will follow the screening. Pulitzer Center Executive Director Jon Sawyer moderates. Free and open to the public. Please RSVP here.

When: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Where: Carnegie Institution for Science Elihu Root Auditorium. 1530 P Street NW, Washington, D.C.

Tuesday March 22 – World Water Day

World Water Day Cross-Sectoral Working Groups – Washington, D.C. Integrating Advocacy to Improve Access to Nutrition, Safe Water and Health – Contact: Hope Randall at hrandall@path.org

Breaking the Silos: Aligning the WASH and Education Agendas – Contact: Susan Dundon at susan.dundon@mwawater.org

WASH and Healthy Ecosystems: Advancing Freshwater Management Through Integrated WASH Programming – Contact: Sarah Davidson at sdavidson@tnc.org

When: 9:00am to 10:30am
Where: World Bank, 1818 H Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20433

Note: the Working Groups are by invitation only. If you would like further information please email the appropriate contact listed above.

World Water Day High Level Event – Washington, D.C. This event will feature high level leadership from the US State Department and the World Bank and commitments from the philanthropic and corporate sectors to help solve global water challenges. The event will feature the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the US Government and the World Bank.

When: 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Where: World Bank Atrium, 1818 H Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20433

Wednesday, March 23

Advocacy Day – Washington, D.C. – Supported by Procter & Gamble.Learn how to educate members of Congress and be a voice for those who lack the basic necessities of clean water and sanitation. This event will include a congressional briefing, advocacy training, and meetings with Congressional Staff.

When: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Where: Capitol Visitor’s Center, First Street and East Capitol Street, NE, Washington, D.C.

For more information: Visit waterday.org.

Thursday, March 24

Global Water Day: Challenges & Opportunities – GlobalJoin U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero, for a live Q&A webchat in follow up to World Water Day.

When: 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM
Where: Live on Facebook

For more information: Visit the event’s Facebook page.