The theme of the policy forum is Water 2030 – who cares? The conference will focus on the strengths, weaknesses and practical actions required to realize the European Water Vision.
The Forum is organised by the European Water Partnership with the aim of advancing the European Water Vision that was launched in June 2008. The European Water Vision has the ambition that by 2030 Europe will be able to announce : We have achieved sustainable water resource management and universal access to modern and safe water supply and sanitation because we value water in all its dimensions – in its economic, social, environmental and cultural importance.
At the Forum the policy recommendations will be discussed and fine-tuned together with the new European decision and policy makers – the new Members of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council Presidency. This multi-stakeholder event will link high-level policy makers with practitioners coming from business, industry, agriculture and civil society, setting out practical actions needing to be taken on the pan-European level in order to realize the vision´s aims and thus achieve sustainable water management. Dr Grobicki, who will deliver a closing address at the conference, commented : “as the focus of World Water Day 2010 is on Clean Water for a Healthy World, the knowhow and lessons learned from the European approach to water quality issues are of tremendous value to communities and policy-makers everywhere.”
The Global Water Partnership and the European Water Partnership signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 16 August 2009 in Stockholm where both organisations acknowledged their “common interest in improving water resources management for sustainable development”.
UN-Water has chosen ''Clean Water for a Healthy World" as the campaign theme for World Water Day 2010. The overall goal of the World Water Day on 22 March 2010 is to raise the profile of water quality at the political level so that water quality considerations are ranked alongside those of water quantity.