More than 840 million people worldwide, or 1 in 9, do not have access to safe water, and 2.3 billion, or 1 in 3, lack access to a toilet. “Around the world, more people have mobiles phone than toilets,” explains Matt Damon, water activist and actor. In a global effort to avoid widespread water crises and to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation globally, the World Water Council organizes the 8th edition of its World Water Forum, which is taking place in Brasilia from 18 – 23 March, coinciding with World Water Day. 

The 8th World Water Forum is just a week away! Join us in Brasilia, where the World Water Council is involved in 24 key activities including five high-level panels, three special sessions and major political events, such as the International Conference for Local and Regional Authorities for Water. The Council is also a proud partner of the Hassan II Great World Water Prize and Kyoto World Water Grand Prize which will be handed out at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Brazilian Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Benedito Braga, was elected President of the World Water Council on Monday 19 November during its 6th General Assembly. The 36 members of the Board of Governors unanimously chose him to shoulder this important responsibility. “Thank you for your confidence,” Mr. Braga said and promised to work closely with the elected Board and the members. “It is an important challenge you have given me.

Dakar, Sénégal, 4-8 December 2012 – The World Water Council has continued its advocacy campaign for better access to water and sanitation on a local level at the Africités Summit, in Dakar, Senegal.  The Council met with African local authority leaders, including Mayor of Ouagadougou (Burkina-Faso), Simon Compaoré, Mayor of Chefchaouen (Morocco), Mohamed Sefiani, and Mayor of Tetouan (Morocco), Mohamed Idaomar, all of whom are signatories of the Istanbul Water Consensus, in order to evaluate the progress which has been made and identify specific issues encountered by local African gove

Since 2011 the Council has worked on examining the role of water resources in economic growth in partnership with the Korean Government. This week, the Council, represented by its Vice-President, Dogan Altinbilek, is among high-level experts, politicians and journalists in London, United Kingdom, to discuss the ‘up-scaling’ of Green Growth strategies. It is Chatham House that organizes the conference ‘Green Growth: Transforming economies for competitiveness and resilience’ in association with one of the Council’s members - Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

“We know what needs to be done. We just need the courage to do it,” said the President of the World Water Council, Ben Braga, on 6 March in the Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters at the United Nations in New York. In the presence of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, he encouraged the world community to change the approach to water related disasters and act collectively to anticipate the challenges.

The second official meeting for the 7th World Water Forum took place today in Marseille, France. It was the second International Steering Committee (ISC) of the world’s largest water event that gathered for a two-day meeting to discuss the roadmap of the preparations. The two co-chairs, Ben Braga, President of the World Water Council and Il SaKong, Chairman & CEO of the Institute for Global Economics, opened the meeting by thanking everyone for their great commitment to organising a successful Forum.