Women at the forefront: Valuing diverse voices, leadership and action on SDG6

To celebrate International Women's Day, we are pleased to invite you to our World Water Day event that will highlight Pacific voices for climate-resilient water and WASH and take these learnings and messages to the UN Water Conference 2023 in New York, a watershed moment for the water and WASH sectors.

Wednesday 22nd March

10am Melbourne | 11am Fiji | 7pm New York

Yumi stori

The event will hear from a range of speakers in the form of short 'Yumi Stori' discussions.

Navara Kiene (WaterAid PNG) interviewing Kessy William Sawang (Member for Maadang Rai Coast, PNG)

Tema Wickham (Plan International) interviewing Noelene Nabulivou (DIVA for Equality, Fiji)

Lucía Gamarra (AWP) interviewing Ursula Rakova (Tulele Peisa Inc, Bougainville)

Juliet Willetts (UTS-ISF) interviewing Lilly Sar (University of Goroka, PNG)

Michael Wilson (eWater) interviewing Phil Duncan (Indigenous Water Leader)

About the event

Women at the forefront of risk

Climate change is impacting women and marginalised groups, including those with disabilities, in disproportionate ways, as entrenched gender inequalities place higher burdens on women and girls and directly affect their ability to adapt. Recognising and valuing the critical contributions of women, including Indigenous women, as decision makers, stakeholders, farmers, educators, carers and experts across sectors and at all levels is key to a climate resilient future. Recognition and meaningful action on this front is a “game-changer” and the key to successful and sustainable solutions to climate change and achieving SDG 6.

SDG6 by 2030: accelerating the critical connectors

Without women’s voices at the table, SDG6 won’t happen. In order to achieve water and sanitation for all by 2030, we must:

Accelerate gender equality
Accelerate equitable systems change
Accelerate social norms change

Women at the forefront of change

Gender equality and diverse voices in water and WASH decision-making are critical for climate resilient water management. Leadership and participation of women and diverse people promotes equitable and sustainable systems change. This transformation towards inclusive decision making can only happen if we, in the water and WASH sectors, have an explicit focus on supporting local communities and institutions to shift harmful norms that exclude the diverse voices of women, people with disabilities and marginalised groups. With increasing climate hazards across the globe, and their devastating impacts on local water and sanitation resources and services, we cannot afford business as usual approaches.

Pacific women leading

The event will provide a platform for voices from women leaders in the Pacific to share their actionable messages, strategies and solutions from community to policy and institutional levels on how to accelerate the implementation of sustainable and resilient water resource management, and safely managed water and sanitation services to achieve SDG6. We will highlight the critical links between water, gender equality, food security, climate change, community health and resilience, demonstrating the importance of this integrated approach in the Pacific and the broader Global South. We will hear from a range of diverse speakers from across the Pacific sharing perspectives on how to accelerate action and strengthen climate resilient water and WASH in the households, communities and institutions in which they live and work.

A virtual, global event

Co-hosted by Australia – water partners for development, a collaboration between the Australian Government’s flagship water programs, Water for Women and The Australian Water Partnership along with The University of Technology Sydney – Institute for Sustainable Futures, this virtual event will highlight the voices of women, male allies and people from marginalised groups in Australia and the Pacific. We will hear from people who are at the forefront of water and climate risks, but who are also leading actions and solutions that are transforming their communities and institutions to be more climate resilient and advocating for the prioritisation of effective water stewardship and equitable WASH access at all levels. Knowledge and perspectives on critical intersectionalities will be shared from the field experience in water and WASH projects and more broadly.