23 March 2018: In conjunction with the eighth World Water Forum (WWF8), the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) met to discuss its triannual strategy and participate in the first-ever WWF Junior Forum.

The WYPW, an organization comprised of young water leaders from 80 countries, convenes its Generally Assembly every three years, during the World Water Forum. This is the fourth time the Parliament has met. The session aimed to identify new members, develop an action strategy and share strategic vision, and allow youth to participate in the Forum, including through the WWF ‘Citizen Process,’ which for the first time, hosted a two-day Junior Forum.

The Junior Forum, attended by 70 youth leaders from around the world, concluded with a youth Call to Action that was incorporated in the outcomes of the Citizen Process. In the declaration, youth recommended: redefining the value of water beyond its economic commercialization; increasing funding to support youth initiatives for science and technology; and creating “legitimate” spaces for the representation, inclusion and participation of youth. In their ‘Call to Action,’ youth leaders committed to: providing young people with the opportunity to access international water platforms; and over the course of three years, organizing three youth-water events in Belém, Brazil. The Water Youth Network committed to connect young people and organizations to high-level decision-making, while the Central American Water Youth Network committed to promote the involvement of youth in decision-making spaces in the water sector to strengthen the development of Central American countries.

Youth must be recognized as stakeholders so they can reach their potential as agents of change.

Sarah Dousse, Executive Director of the International Secretariat for Water, the organization that supports the WYPW, highlighted the importance of the event given the forthcoming (July 2018) review of SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation by the High-level Political Forum (HLPF). Speaking on the event, she said, “youth must be recognized as stakeholders so they can reach their potential as agents of change.”

To prepare for the Parliament and WWF8, the International Secretariat for Water held four meetings on four continents to identify youth participants and engage them on the issues. This included five youth who came through this process as aspiring journalists, and attended WWF8 meetings with the goal of raising awareness of youth participation at the Forum and outcomes from the Parliament.

In addition to these events, WWF8 also introduced for the first time, a Citizen Village exhibit, which some 40,000 children visited. WWF8 took place in Brasilia, Brazil, from 18-23 March 2018. WWF9 will take place in Senegal, in 2021, on the theme of ‘Water Security.’ [International Secretariat for Water Press Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on WWF8 outcomes] [World Water Forum Press Release and Declaration Text] [World Youth Parliament for Water]