Courtesy of World Water Day 2011 International World Water Day was initially introduced at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) as a recommendation to celebrate and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources across the globe. Since its debut, World Water Day has been celebrated nationally on March 22.
Today, World Water Day has come a long way.
Each year, World Water Day highlights a new aspect of freshwater. In 2009, the theme revolved around “transboundary waters” and was titled, “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities.” Last year, the theme focused on water quality, reflecting its importance and a number of resources for water management.
This year, World Water Day introduces its newest theme, “Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge.”
This theme was chosen because urbanization today presents a big challenge to the environment. According to World Water Day’s website, one in two people on the planet live in a city, and 93% of urbanization occurs in poor or developing countries. This year, World Water day strives to combat this issue head on and raise awareness by holding various events around the world.
To find out about events going on in Philadelphia, continue reading after the jump.
Sunday, March 20, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
In celebration of World Water Day the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing is sponsoring a 5k walk to raise money to provide filtration systems and access to clean water to a national nursing school and its affiliated clinics in Port-au-Prince Haiti. The walk will take place on UPenn’s campus. For more information, contact Troy Majnerick at themeyear@lists.upenn.edu or call (215) 573-1218.
Tuesday, March 22, 8:30 a.m.
Valuing Water: Business Challenges & Opportunities for Innovations: Help celebrate World Water Day by attending this conference/workshop. The workshop will provide an overview of challenges in fighting water scarcity and costs, including a global perspective on the best practices and business strategies. There will be breakfast! The event will take place at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. More information can be found here.
