Women Water Forum: 'Bridging Voices to Actions' Pre-Conference Event

The High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, seeks to engage a wide range of stakeholders and communities in discussions about the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation and other water-related goals. The conference will take place on 20-22 June 2018 in Dushanbe and will aim to raise awareness on the Water Decade, gathering ideas and best practices, pursuing advocacy, networking and promoting partnerships and action for finding solutions to water-related issues.

A number of pre-conference events (PCEs) will be organized within the Conference. UN Women office in Tajikistan is one of the main organisers of PCEs and will partner with the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT). Other oco-organizers of PCEs are FinWaterWEI II, GIZ TWM Programme, EU and DFAT. PCEs will create an additional platform to discuss water-related issues under specific themes. PCEs are to take place on 19 June 2018 in Navruzgoh starting from 09:00 until 17:00. 

Women’s Pre-Conference 2018 unites the voices of women from different parts of the world and from different sectors in society to spotlight the importance of women’s empowerment and their inclusion in water governance, discuss women’s challenges and actions that need to be taken within the Water Action Decade. The event will aim to emphasize how addressing gender aspects of water issues can have a positive and lasting impact on community development as a whole. The Women’s Preconference 2018 builds on the women and gender fora of the Water for Life Decade (2005 – 2015) and other global fora, notably 2013 Dushanbe Gender Forum and High-level Panel on Water Cooperation and Gender, 2015 Women for Water Forum, 2017 High-level Meeting for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in IWRM and the Expert Workshop and High-Level Women and Water Session during World Water Forum 8 in 2018. A key message from the 2013 High-level Panel on Water Cooperation and Gender was: “Water co-operation should begin and end with women’s full inclusion at all levels. There needs to be a critical mass of women in positions of influence in water management at all levels, which requires targeted investments in women’s human capital.” 

To achieve this, it was considered a priority action to: “… create a Women for Water Fund to support women projects and programs in water management, with a scholarship fund to support the training of women water professionals.” Key issues to be discussed: 1) Women as key agents of change in ensuring the implementation of the SDGs; 2) No one left behind – access to water for the most disadvantaged people; 3) Strong multi-stakeholder partnership and collaboration is a key precondition for successful implementation of the SDGs – Gender Road Maps; 4) Investing in women and gender. Follow-up actions: 1) Draft recommendations based on the discussions and agreed decisions; 2) Draft pre-conference report with recommendations to be voiced at the High-level Conference plenary by most active participants.