The official UN event celebrating the day took place in New Delhi, India, on 20 March. GWP India and its network of partners celebrated the day at six locations in India, among these a Walk for Water, organised on 22 March in collaboration with Municipal Corporation in Gurgaon (Haryana). Reports from GWP India events are available online. Within GWP South Asia, GWP Pakistan also celebrated the day, with a large conference – a full report of this event is available online.
GWP China co-organised a Forum on Water and Sustainable Development. More than 300 people attended the opening ceremony of the Forum, and there were four thematic sessions on green growth, water treatment, water protection and water strategy for enterprises.
Within GWP Southern Africa, staff in Zimbabwe attended the World Water Day commemorations organised by Mukuvisi Woodlands Nature Reserve and Environment Centre, which incorporates the Eco Schools Environment Education Programme. View photos on Flickr.
GWP Central Africa commemorated World Water Day with a digital campaign based on the #wateris hashtag, focusing around the theme “water and sustainable development; other GWP regions worldwide also actively took part in this UN-Water campaign. Among other events within GWP Central Africa was a celebration in Sao Tome on 22 March which raised awareness on youth, particularly pupils/students and traders in water resource management issues. Students were sensitized on water management, sanitation system, hygiene and waterborne diseases.
Within GWP Eastern Africa, the World Water Day was commemorated in Uganda on 23 March. The celebration ceremony took place at the new premises of the Directorate of Water Resources Management in Entebbe. The event highlighted specific aspects of freshwater to ensure that the year 2015 provides an important opportunity to consolidate and build upon the previous world water days to highlight water’s role in the sustainable development agenda.
GWP Central America organized a regional forum to celebrate World Water Day 2015 in San José Costa Rica on March 19, to raise awareness on the need for a dedicated water goal. More than 100 people participated in the event, including members from the six countries of GWP Central America. The presentations where organized around the water and development theme and revolved around the solutions that different sectors are working to meet the challenges of water resources in the region, including government, private sector, civil society and academia.
GWP West Africa, Eau Vive (a French NGO), IRC, the municipality of Dori in Burkina Faso and other partners celebrated the World Water Day in Dori (in the northern part of Burkina Faso) by paying a tribute to GWP West Africa’s former Chair the Honorable Hama Arba Diallo, who passed away on 31 October 2014.
In GWP Central Asia and Caucasus, GWP Armenia conducted a number of events devoted to "Water and Sustainable Development of Communities". This activity was within yearly project "Let's take care of Armenia", in collaboration with its partner "SPRING Group".
Top photo: India Water Partnership celebrations on World Water Day.