The World Water Week of the year 2020 is observed as the World Water Week at Home (WWWeek at Home) from 24rd August 2020 to 28th August 2020.The World Water Week, organised by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has been annually celebrated as the most influential, innovative and dynamic movement for transforming the global water issues. The World Water Week has been celebrated and organised since 1991.
The World Water Week of the year 2019 was observed from 25th August 2019 to 30th August 2019.
The theme of WWWeek at Home 2020 is ‘Water and Climate change: Accelerating Action’.
2020 WWWeek at Home:
i.The WWWeek at Home was opened on 24th August 2020 with around 120 unique sessions.
ii.The sessions will be conducted virtually to engage the participants in productive discussions amid the global pandemic.
iii.During WWWeek 2020, water and development experts around the world will share the best ideas and solutions to solve the global water issues, climate change.
iv.Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of SIWI, mentioned the three prominent trends in of WWWeek at Home, they are,
- Water-related climate solutions
- Strengthened resilience
- Behavioural change
Note:
i.SIWI has decided to cancel the annual conference which was scheduled to take place from 23 to 28th August 2020 in Stockholm, due to the global pandemic due to COVID-19.
ii.The contents developed for the 2020 WWWeek will be incorporated in the WWWeek 2021.
iii.The World Bank Group will convene and participate in 20 sessions of World Water Week 2020.
Competitions and Awards of 2020 WWWeek:
Stockholm Water Prize:
i.the Stockholm Water Prize 2020, under the patronage of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, was awarded to Dr John Cherry for the discoveries which revolutionized the understanding of the vulnerability of groundwater.
ii.He will be celebrated in the 2021 WWWeek.
Stockholm Junior Water Prize:
i.Hiroki Matsuhashi and Takuma Miyaki of Japan won the 2020 Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their method to control soil runoff and increase food production.
ii.HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Patron of the Prize, announced the winners at an award ceremony on 25 August 2020.
Diploma of Excellence:
Zoe Gotthold from United States of America(USA) received the Diploma of Excellence for her project P.E.N.G.U.I.N.S, Promoting Emulsion Nullification Greenly Using Innovative Nucleation Surfaces, a solution to tackle the oil spills through addressing the emulsion that forms between sea water and oil.
People’s Choice Award:
i.The 2020 competitions gave a chance for the public for the first time to vote for their favorite project.
ii.Adittya Kumar Chowdhury and Khaled Iftekhar from Bangladeshi received the most votes for their water purification approach.
About SIWI:
Executive Director– Torgny Holmgren
Headquarters– Stockholm, Sweden
