Water for Women at UN Water Conference

The UN 2023 Water Conference will take place this week in New York from 22 - 24 March

This week, the world will unite for water action. The United Nations (UN) Headquarters will welcome thousands of participants, representatives of governments, UN System and diverse stakeholders, including civil society and business leaders, young people, prominent mayors, scientists and many more to the UN 2023 Water Conference.

The level of engagement and diversity of topics being covered across the Conference programme is a reflection of the great mobilization power of both this Conference and water issues as a whole. Water action can increase food security and equality between genders, water action keeps children in school, communities at peace and nature healthy, the time to act is now.

UN

A key outcome of the Conference will be an ambitious Water Action Agenda, which captures new water-related commitments from UN Member States and other stakeholders, through an online registry. In the words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres: this Conference must result in a bold water action agenda that gives our world’s lifeblood the commitment it deserves.

Australia - water partners for development @UN Water 2023 

Water for Women will again be collaborating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Australian Water Partnership (AWP) as Australia – water partners for development. Many water and WASH partners across the two programs will be playing an active role during the conference both on the ground in New York and via online and pre-recorded inputs, such as our pre-event virtual World Water Day Webinar: Women at the forefront: Valuing diverse voices, leadership and action on SDG6.

We will be keeping you up to date on sessions from Water for Women, AWP and partners as well as UN Water 2023 proceedings and opportunities to join online over the coming days and as they happen on the ground. You can view some key water partner sessions below and register to join where possible, or follow our social media for some end of the day in New York and start of the day in Australia updates and highlights. 

In New York, Water for Women will be represented by Dr Alison Baker, Fund Manager, Joanna Mott, Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion Advisor and WaterAid PNG's Country Director, Navara Kiene.

Water partner sessions

Below please explore a range of events that Water for Women, AWP and partners are leading, participating in and co-convening (times listed are New York (UTC-4)). The full programme can be viewed here. As the time zone is not conducive to Asia Pacific time zones, we will provide updates from the day before at the start of each day via Twitter.

A core part of proceedings will be interactive dialogues addressing five key topics, these are also listed below and can be watched live on UN TV.

Water for Women will be represented on the ground by Dr Alison Baker, Fund Manager, Joanna Mott, Gender and Social Inclusion Advisor and Navara Kiene, Country Manager of WaterAid PNG along with many partner representatives contributing to the event both in-person and virtually.

Wednesday 22 March

Interactive Dialogue 1 - Water for Health: Access to WASH, including the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

22 March | 10:00AM – 1:00PM UTC - 4 EDT

Conference Room 4, UNHQ, New York

Read concept paper

Watch on UN TV

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Thursday 23 March

Interactive Dialogue 3 - Water for Climate, Resilience and Environment: Source to Sea, Biodiversity, Climate, Resilience and DRR

23 March | 10:00AM – 1:00PM UTC - 4 EDT

Conference Room 4, UNHQ, New York

Read concept paper

Learn more

Side Event: Supporting gender equality in the Water Action Agenda with Global Multi-stakeholder effort

23 March | 5:00 – 6:15PM UTC - 4 EDT

Conference Room 6, UNHQ, New York

The side event Supporting gender equality in the Water Action Agenda with Global Multi-stakeholder effort is organized in the framework of the UN 2023 Water Conference to bring the voices of the Global Multi-stakeholder Coalition and discuss the implementation plan of concrete actions for a decisive advancement of the Water Action Decade objectives, and agree upon a defined roadmap and timeline.

Register to attend

Co-organized by the Presidential Secretary for Women of Guatemala and the Multi-stakeholder Coalition for accelerating gender equality in the water domain. The Global Multi-stakeholder Coalition forms a wide-scale community of action that multiplies the members’ individual efforts and provides ample visibility. It consists of -among others- 21 Member States, and more than 150 individual members from international and regional organizations, funding agencies and ODAs, international and local NGOs, private sector, civil society, foundations and academia.

Friday 24 March

Roundtable: Empowering Women, Youth and Indigenous Persons to Accelerate Global Water Security in the Water Action Decade 

24 March | 8:30 – 10:00AM UTC - 4 EDT

Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza Hotel, Riverview Room, Floor 28 (Address: One Un Plaza, New York, NY 10017)

The World Bank, along with 14 partner organizations, is organizing a session during the UN Water Conference on empowering women, youth and indigenous people to accelerate water security in the Water Action Decade on March 24th.

Eng. Nadhifa Kemikimba, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Republic of Tanzania; Dra. Myrna Cunningham, indigenous leader of the Miskito community of Waspam and active voice for equitable access to natural resources; and Phera Ramoli, Executive Secretary of the Okavango River Basin Commission, Botswana will provide keynote addresses.

This interactive format will bring together member nation representatives, representatives from water and sanitation utilities, from water resource management and river basin organizations and Ministries, indigenous leaders, network organizations, young water professionals, civil society, and development partner organizations to develop a consensus around key strategic actions and practical steps to accelerate progress in diversity in decision-making in water.  Panel discussions on the following themes will contribute to the UN Water accelerators of data and information, capacity building, and innovation to achieve measurable outcomes:

• Scaling up gender benchmarking and shifting norms in water supply and sanitation institutions.
• Scaling up benchmarking gender diversity, and gender representation at decision-making levels, in river basin organizations and other water resources management organizations (at transboundary and national levels). 
• Enhancing effective voice and influence of indigenous persons in decision-making processes and leadership spaces in water. 
• Sharing successful experience  on youth engagement in decision-making processes and leadership spaces in water. 
• Enhancing effective voice and influence of women in community level water user’s associations, community level disaster risk management committees, flood emergency/early warning committees. 

Among many others, panel discussants will include Evis Gjebrea, Deputy General Director of Tirana Water and Sewerage Utility; Phil Duncan, member of the Gomeroi Nation; Patricia Gualinga, from the Kichwa People of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon; Commissioner Henry Lickers, Haudenosaunee citizen of the Seneca Nation in Canada; and Navara Kiene, Country Director of WaterAid in Papua New Guinea.   Resource persons include representatives from WaterAid, Water Youth Network, Water for Women Fund, Women in Water Diplomacy Network, World Bank, UNESCO WWAP, International Water Association, Xylem, American Water Works Association, Institute of Global Dialogue and others.

Register to attend

Interactive Dialogue 5 - Water Action Decade: Accelerating the implementation of the objectives of the Decade, including through the UN Secretary-General’s Action Plan

24 March | 10:00AM – 1:00PM UTC - 4 EDT

Conference Room 4, UNHQ, New York

Read concept paper

Learn more