22 to 24 March
The Department of Water and Sanitation in partnership with KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and United Nations Water will host a three-day World Water Day Summit and Expo from 22-24 March 2017 at the iNkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
The National Water Week is an awareness week campaign by the Department of Water and Sanitation which serves as a powerful campaign mechanism re-iterating the value of water, the need for sustainable management of this scarce resource and the role water plays in eradicating poverty and under-development in South Africa.
The Summit will be attended by President Jacob Zuma, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the United Nations (UN) High Level Panel on Water initiatives and he will use the opportunity to launch the UN’s World Water Development Report 2017 (WWDR).
President Zuma will also present a Declaratory Statement on roll-out activities of the High Level Panel on Water initiatives (HLPW) at domestic, regional and global level, on behalf of the HLPW as a Panel member supported by Panel members available to participate.
The National Water Week will be held under the theme “Water and Sanitation is a Human Right” line with the South African government’s calendar of activities that sees March celebrated as a Human Rights Month.
The campaign seeks to continue building on the ongoing awareness creation within the broader South African community. This awareness creation is coupled with the responsibility that every citizen must take in ensuring the integrity of our water resources and its efficient use.
Particularly, the linkages between water services, supply, resource management, and poverty eradication, social and economic development are emphasised in a number of innovative ways. The campaign has been influenced by local needs and international sectoral trends.
As custodians of this awareness week, the Department of Water Affairs encourages all South Africans to focus on the need to restore and preserve the integrity of this most precious resource, water.
South Africans must take responsibility to make sure this scarce resource is managed in an effective and sustainable manner.
