The 10th World Water Forum 2024 will be held in Bali, Indonesia, from the 18th to the 24th of May. The theme of this edition is Water for Shared Prosperity. Organised through collaboration between the Republic of Indonesia and the World Water Council, the World Water Forum brings together political and civil society representatives, public authorities, academics, and the private sector to address global challenges related to water resource management and sustainability. Over the years, the event has seen exponential growth in participants, evolving from a gathering of a few hundred individuals to a global-sized conference welcoming tens of thousands of delegates. In the same days in Bali, water justice movements will gather in the People's Water Forum to dispute the official forum.

What is the World Water Forum

The World Water Forum is the world's largest international water sector event, co-organized by the World Water Council and a host city. As of today, the World Water Council has 260 member organisations from 52 countries on 5 different continents. The Forum is held every three years and started in 1997. The last World Water Forum took place in Dakar, Senegal, in 2022. Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 11th World Water Forum in Riyadh in 2027.

People's Water Forum for water justice

Just as occurred in Dakar in 2022, the People's Water Forum will also meet in Bali. Water justice movements from around the world are set to meet between the 21st and 23rd of May to protest the official forum.

“Marketed as a multi-stakeholder water governance space, the World Water Forum is dominated by Northern donor countries, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and some of the world’s largest multinational corporations”, explain the organisers in a press release. “These actors seek to pressure governments at all levels, especially in the South, to privatise water and sanitation systems and develop market-based solutions to intensifying global water crises including drought, scarcity, and climate disasters, 90% of which are water related.”

This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in Italiano

Image: Ulun Danu Temple, Bali, Envato

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