Hi everyone,
I have been asked to send this to the list. It has an ethical
theme, so I have done so.
Regards,
David Pearson (list-owner)
*****
22 March 2000: World Day for Water
"Water for the Twenty-first Century"
The world celebrates the World Day for Water on 22 March. UNESCO is the UN
agency preparing events and activities this year. The theme selected for
this particular year is "Water for the Twenty-first Century" and focuses on
the challenges to be faced by humanity in water resources development and
management in the coming century. This theme was selected to complement and
enhance the efforts and impacts of the World Water Vision exercise and the
2nd World Water Forum to be held in The Hague (Netherlands) from March
17-22, 2000.
In order to raise public awareness of water issues, UNESCO would like, on
this day, to promote water-related activities and events organised by
associations and groups focussing on water issues from across the world. The
major objectives shall be to:
* Empower individuals and communities so that they may all have access
to safe water and hygienic living conditions;
* Manage human activities to ensure the conservation both of quantity
and quality of freshwater ecosystems that provide services to humans and all
living things.
The broad theme chosen for the year 2000 allows several subjects to be
considered. Below are some suggested topics to be focussed on, depending on
the particular emphasis of your organisation or problems in your region:
* Make water everybody's responsibility.
* There is a water crisis now and it is getting worse: think of the
next generations and work now for a better future.
* Participation of women in water management.
* Involvement of youth in water management.
* Make everybody aware of the importance of this scarce and precious
resource.
* Manage land and water at the basin level.
* Influence your political representatives (town councillors,
parliamentary members, senators, etc.) to make change possible.
We encourage you and your organisation to celebrate this day with a special
event or action. Some suggestions of potential events to be organised by you
and your network are:
* the organisation of an 'Open Day' during which institutions and the
private sector dealing with water issues are open so that all stakeholders
can visit water supply installations, treatment plants, irrigation
installations, etc.
* articles on water issues in local newspapers newsletters and other
(governmental) periodicals;
* newspaper supplements on water resources;
* TV feature programmes on water resources;
* TV interviews with senior water spokesperson;
* school competitions;
* distribution of brochures and posters to secondary schools
(based on
material downloaded from web sites);
* water quizzes on radio programmes;
* photo exhibits;
* water seminars and symposia;
* water cleaning or saving campaigns.
On the occasion of this celebration UNESCO, through the International
Hydrological Programme (IHP), has prepared a web site at the following
address: www.unesco.org/science/waterday2000. If you have a web site and
wish to link it to ours, please send your request to Jesús M. de la Fuente
([log in to unmask]). This way we will add yours to our list of related
web sites and you will help us reach, inform and involve as many people as
possible.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like more suggestions or
information on how you and your organisation can celebrate this day. We
would like to know what actions you organised and how your activities went
in order to include your events in a special section of our web site.
UNESCO, through the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), and the
World Water Vision exercise invite all of you to join us in the celebration
of this day. Please celebrate this day and contribute your ideas and
comments not only to improve our web site and information exchange, but also
to attain a better world for water in the 21st Century.
Thank you in advance for your collaboration.
Andras Szollosi-Nagy
Secretary
International Hydrological Programme
UNESCO
1, rue de Miollis
F-75015 Paris
World Day for Water 2000 Co-ordination
Division of Water Sciences
UNESCO
1, rue Miollis
F-75015 Paris
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
http://www.unesco.org/science/waterday2000
Tel: +(33-1) 45 68 40 06 / 41 80
Fax: +(33-1) 45 68 58 11
--
David Pearson, Phone: +44 (0)118 9318741
ESSC, Fax: +44 (0)118 9316413
University of Reading, Email: [log in to unmask]
Reading RG6 6AL,
UK. www.nerc-essc.ac.uk/~dwcp/Home.html
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