The 9th World Water Forum is a multi-stakeholder event that must involve the general public far beyond the water community. To ensure this inclusiveness of the Forum, journalists have an important role to play in the preparation and organization of the major event in Dakar in March 2021. It is within this framework that a videoconference enabled Abdoulaye Sène, Executive Secretary of the Forum, to address some fifty representatives of the Senegalese and international press on 14 July 2020.
He reiterated to them the openness and availability of the Executive Secretariat towards the press, because an event like the World Water Forum requires a strong involvement of journalists specialized in water, sanitation and environment issues; and this requires providing them with the information that will enable them to do their job well with the appropriate elements.
Abdoulaye Sène presented the stakes of the event to the journalists, insisting on the ambition of Senegal and the World Water Council to organise a Forum that is effective at the social, political and economic levels, a Forum that is a catalyst for action for commitments on water and sanitation. The "Dakar 2021" Forum will address the global challenges of water for man and nature, today and tomorrow. The ambition is to accelerate the effective implementation of the global water agenda, which is a prerequisite for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in Africa, a continent where water is vital for development.
The exchanges focused on the real impact of the Forum on improving access to water and sanitation around the world and also provided an opportunity to take stock of the preparatory process. It was an opportunity to note that, despite the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the preparatory process of the Forum is going well with the work of the groups for the elaboration of the thematic content, the mobilization of actors at the national and international levels, logistical preparation, etc. However, the Executive Secretariat is attentive to the evolution of the situation and ready to adapt accordingly. A similar videoconference for English-speaking journalists will be organized in the coming days.
