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4th World Water Forum Mexico, 2006
Over 40 FAN members attended the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico City in March 2006 along with almost 20,000 participants, representing governmental, intergovernmental and civil society organisations, private companies, local authorities and legislators. Participants engaged in 206 thematic sessions and presented 1,600 Local actions for a global challenge over 5 days.
The event was held at the Banamex Centre, a huge exhibition centre in Mexico City. FAN had a stand in the Water Fair along with other civil society organisations, but we were very disappointed by the dominance of commerical organizations in the Water Expo and it was shocking to find that the only drinking water available in the Forum was bottled by the Coca-Cola Company.
FAN members got involved in many different activities in the Forum and enjoyed sharing experiences, learning from others and promoting their initiatives to a wide and diverse international audience. For them it was a unique opportunity to network, lobby and build relationships with each other, with donors and with senior government officials. Read FAN members' session reports and more about our activities at the Forum
High levels of security at the Banamex Centre and the cost of entry prohibited entry for many local people and Mexican groups. This led to further accusations that the Forum was an undemocratic, exclusive talk-shop. However, on a more positive note, most sessions did seek to explore pro-poor and sustainable solutions to water management and were of a high standard and well attended. It is not clear at this stage what will happen to the outcomes but FAN will be monitoring the process. Read about the official Forum outcomes here
An estimated 10,000 protesters took part in the "March in Defense of Water against the Forum in Mexico City and some FAN members participated in the Alternative Forum; the International Forum in Defence of Water, Read more KYOTO WORLD WATER GRAND PRIZE
Congratulations to FAN member, Gram Vikas of India who were awarded the Kyoto World Water Grand Prize at the Forum.
Joe Madiath delivers his winning presentation
The Kyoto Grand Water Prize received over 400 applications and 30 were shortlisted to present in Mexico City. The winners, Gram Vikas, were praised for their excellent contribution to building peoples dignity through community-managed rural water and sanitation with poor and marginalized people in Orissa, one of the poorest states of India. Gram Vikas received the prize of 5,000,000 to be spent on furthering the project.
NINE FAN members short listed for the Kyoto Prize
FAN was delighted that nine out of the thirty finalists invited to Mexico were FAN members and that four of them made it to the top ten as semi-finalists! This demonstrates the value of FAN members participation in the Forum and recognizes that FAN members are involved in successful and sustainable local solutions to water-related problems.
Gram Vikas, India
Building dignity through community managed rural water and sanitation in Orissa First Prize
Anjuman Samaji Behbood, (ASB), Pakistan
Community involvement in provision of water and sanitation
Second Place
Gana Unnayan Sangstha (GUS), Bangladesh
CBO turns into development in the SW coastal region of Bangladesh
Semi-finalist
Maji Na Ufanisi (Water and Development), Kenya
Kiambui Water and Environmental Sanitation KIWESA project
Semi-finalist
Ulew Che Ja, Guatemala
Traditional forest and natural resource stewardship of the Maya Quiche in Totonicapn
Finalist
Bread of Life Development Foundation (BLF), Nigeria
Integrating pro-poor policies into PPP:Lessons from Nigerias water reform process
Finalist
Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Ghana
The Mole Conference Series: A Rallying Point for Civil Society Advocacy in Ghana Finalist
Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE), Egypt
National Community Water Conservation Programme NCWCP Finalist
Uganda NGO Water & Sanitation Network (UWASNET)
UWASNET NGO Capacity Building Programme / The role of UWASNET in building capacity of NGOs to effectively contribute to the sector goal in Uganda
Finalist
Hideaki Oda, Secretary General of the Japan Water Forum, organizers of the Prize, said that candidates activities were excellent examples of what truly can be done to solve local water issues as a booster for development, using innovation and stakeholder participation. He hopes that all of the local actions presented will be scaled up and replicated in other contexts to help the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Congratulations to them all!
Read more about the Kyoto prize
Read the evaluation criteria ALTERNATIVE FORUM
the International Forum in Defence of Water
Organised by the Coalition of Mexican Organisations for the Right to Water (COMDA) this event created an alternative space in parallel to the Forum. They held workshops, strategy sessions and cultural events.
300 water activist organisations signed a Declaration in support of recognition and enforcement of the human right to water delivered by publicly managed utilities and urged for governmental support for the development of public-public partnerships.
Read more
Read the joint declaration of movements in defence of water
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Reflections on WWF4
FAN is currently conducting a survey among members who attended the Forum to gather their reflections from the Forum. It will available to download from this website very soon |