The selected representatives will have the opportunity to showcase the difficult water issues they and their communities face, and the solutions they are exploring when it comes to balancing water needs of humans and nature during the XVIII World Water Congress in Beijing, China, September 11-15, 2023.
The IWRA World Water Congress is the largest event linking water researchers and policy practitioners in the world. In its 18th edition since 1973, the theme of “Water for All: Harmony between Humans and Nature.” The Congress aims to promote coordination and balance between the water needs of humans and nature. The Congress will facilitate knowledge and experience sharing, focusing on investigating the relationship between water, humans, and nature, identifying, and reconciling all water-related factors in a coordinated manner, and making and implementing water management strategies and polices using systematic approaches.
During the Congress, each World Water Envoy will have the opportunity to briefly introduce the difficulty in balancing the water needs of humans and nature in their community and the impacts those competing needs have on everyday life. They will then have the chance to discuss these issues and potential solutions in more detail over the following days with experts attending the Congress and in a dedicated workshop.
During the Closing ceremony, they will be asked to summarise what they have learned over the week, and what connections they made that might help their community to better meet the water needs of humans and nature in their community. The collaboration between IWRA and the World Water Envoys will begin before the Congress. The months leading up to the Congress in September 2023 are also an opportunity for the Envoys to engage with each other and with IWRA and give them the opportunity to take part in related IWRA Task Forces and projects.