World Water Week: Reflecting the Fluid Nature of Water in a Global Convening Process

Water and World Water Week: The Amorphous Nature of Both

If there’s one element that perfectly embodies the essence of World Water Week, it is water itself. Like water, which is amorphous and often enigmatic—its true nature revealed not just in the body but also in its surrounding floodplains, marshes, and deltas—World Water Week thrives in both its core event and its periphery. The formal sessions represent the "body" of the water, a structured space with constance where dialogues are presented and communicated. However, the real dynamism often emerges in the "flood banks" and "marshes" of the event—the side events, candid closed-door debates, informal meetups, spontaneous discussions over lunch, and the intimate dialogues that happen in hotel lobbies and bar talks. This is where the true confluence of ideas and actions occurs. This makes natural sense, the stage is not to make decisions, but to convey them and assess their outcome, Decisions are made where the dialogue is intimate and personal but can still happen in plain sight.

Water is often undervalued, and yet it is undeniably one of the most critical elements for life on Earth, threatening not only community and national boundaries but also trade and planetary boundaries. The saying "If climate change is the message, water is the messenger" captures this perfectly. Similarly, World Water Week, through its various channels, conveys urgent messages about water challenges and solutions that ripple across industries, communities, and nations, but yet it stands at point where we ask, what is the price of access? how is this theme aligned to us? and do we value the sessions or the lunch next to the venue with the same audience?

Content Curation: A Year-Long Ritual of Refinement

The process of shaping World Water Week's content is much like water carving its way through rock—a slow, deliberate, and ongoing ritual. The scientific committee that curates the content spends the entire year reviewing, refining, and reimagining the sessions to reflect the most pressing water issues. This is not a simple task; it is a delicate balancing act that involves navigating a diverse array of stakeholders, perspectives, and interests. World Water Week is conceived 3 years before the event, I only learnt that after endless hours of patient explanations from Adrian Puigarnau on how to make World Water Week as a project in SIWIlization —a story for another time. The process involves gathering feedback from each iteration, analysing shifts in the global water landscape, and sitting in on the famous Swedish "consensus" process. This isn't just planning; it's a complex choreography of collaboration, negotiation, and foresight.

Stockholm as a Host City: The Enigma of Accessibility and Affordability

Stockholm has been a steadfast host city for World Water Week, and while there have been perennial debates about its accessibility—geographically and economically—the event continues to attract a diverse and dedicated audience. The irony lies in the fact that while Stockholm can seem far for many, it remains a hub that pulls in global participation year after year. This speaks to the power of World Water Week (even more than that of Stockholm city) as an essential ritual for those who work in water, policy, science, and sustainability. The fact that the city has fantastic public transport, enabling people to stay close and far from the city center and the week's venue, is a rare option.

Discussions have often arisen internally about whether World Water Week should rotate locations—moving from Stockholm to cities like Pretoria/Johannesburg (Shout out to Anton Earle for saying this in 2018 over SIWI planning days), Nairobi, or Phnom Penh. Yet, the city of Stockholm has played an integral role not just as a venue but as a co-creator in the fabric of this convening process. It has provided the capital and support needed to sustain it, even as economic realities shift and priorities evolve.

Pricing and Access: An Ongoing Challenge for Global Engagement

A recurring challenge for World Water Week is the pricing of access to the event itself. While Stockholm can be surprisingly affordable compared to other major global cities during high-profile events (think New York COP, Cairo.. endless list), the ticket prices for World Water Week sessions remain a barrier for many, particularly those from less-resourced organizations or regions and lately even for the well resource's organizations (because like water resources it is about prioritization not just accessibility). There is a tension between the need to sustain the event financially and the mission to be an inclusive platform for all voices, particularly those most affected by water issues.

Interestingly, a large portion of the critical conversations and networking happens outside the formal event—where access is more relaxed, and costs are minimal (Josh's Water Jobs becoming Water Drinks, is fulfilling evidence.). This creates a unique paradox where the formal event serves as a stage for validation and legitimacy, while the periphery serves as the engine room for innovation and collaboration. This dichotomy raises the question: how can World Water Week better balance these two spaces to ensure both are accessible, valuable, and sustainable?

Looking Ahead: A Rotating Chair and a New Model for Convening?

Given these complexities, perhaps it is time to reimagine the future of World Water Week. Could a rotating chair of organizations and locations offer a more dynamic, inclusive, and globally representative format? Could this model allow for fresh perspectives, new partnerships, and broader accessibility? Can we build transparent pricing? instead of a "pass" can we look for a "convenors cost"? Embracing such changes would require bold thinking and a collective willingness to adapt, but it might just be what the water community needs to stay relevant and impactful in a rapidly changing world. If we can't do this, we might Aswell have state what is the future of the fresh water agenda.

Back in 2019, Steven Downey and Monika Ericson gave me a firsthand glimpse into the intense, 48–72-hour marathon of convening Global Water Partnership's (GWP) vast and diverse membership—a process that, remarkably, took place year after year. Point to note is, This was all before the pandemic, making the scale and energy of these gatherings even more striking in hindsight. Witnessing this pre-COVID effort to bring together a global community around water issues in such a condensed timeframe is again evidence to the immense dedication and urgency required to address the world’s most pressing water challenges.

Two years ago, Stina Nystr?m and I found ourselves at a crossroads. Many of our WWF network sessions didn’t make it onto the main agenda of World Water Week, despite each representing what we felt were priority conversations. In a moment of candid reflection, Stuart Orr reminded us "that losing relevance for fresh water biodiversity wasn't an option simply because the agenda seemed overcrowded; an overcrowded agenda is, in fact, a clear indicator of the urgency and importance of these issues". This insight pushed us to think differently. We decided to experiment with a mini parallel week to fulfil our need for focused dialogue.

This initiative came to life thanks to a few key enablers. We were fortunate to have Sharif Hoque step in, offering to cover the foundational budget if we couldn’t raise enough capital—an informal but fantastic example of how third-party financial guarantees can support and drive the water agenda forward. This year, with Deepa Maggo having perfected the process and Alexis Morgan serving as our ambassador, drawing people to the table, slots were sold out within days not months. Point to note is in this third iteration, six major organizations—representing conservation, policy, and governance and deeply invested in World Water Week—collaborated to host two full days of multi-track, in-person parallel sessions, all centered around the Freshwater Challenge.

These are just two examples—one digital, one onsite—that showcase how we can deliver the message and strive to be inclusive. Yet, they are just a glimpse into what’s possible. There are hundreds of side conversations happening every year that could be better organized, aligned, and combined to drive collective impact. We have a wealth of qualified and capable leaders, organizations, and models that can not only help these initiatives survive but make them thrive.

Much like water itself, which adapts, flows, and finds a way, many of the issues we face in the water sector already have solutions. The real question is whether we will decide to decide—commit to actionable steps—or continue to waver. The future of World Water Week, like the future of water, hinges on our ability to come together, adapt, and build something even better than before.

A Call for Reincarnation: Embracing Metamorphosis for a New Era

As we reflect on the evolving dynamics of World Water Week, it is clear that the time has come for a metamorphosis—a fundamental transformation that moves beyond the fear of the event ending or fading away. Instead of viewing the latest challenges as a potential death knell, we should see them as a rare opportunity to rebuild and renew this vital convening process with all the lessons we’ve learned over the years.

Much like the element of water itself, which constantly changes form but remains essential to life, World Water Week must also evolve to remain relevant and impactful. This isn't about losing the event; it’s about embracing its reincarnation. By shifting our focus from what might be lost to what could be gained, we open the door to reimagining a more inclusive, accessible, and action-oriented World Water Week.

With the right collective mindset and all stakeholders on board, we have the chance to create something new—one that honors the spirit of the original but is better equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities of our changing world.