UNESCO contributes to the agenda of the 8th World Water Forum by organizing some of its sessions and side events, and bringing experts from all over the world to take part as speakers at the event. Altogether, UNESCO will organize and/or will give lectures in more than 40 thematic ordinary or special sessions and in side events in the Forum. It will also have an institutional booth in the Expo area (of exhibitions). In addition, during the period of the Forum, the specialists of the Organization will participate in a special schedule organized by the UN System in Brazil.

The major event of UNESCO during the Forum will be the special session for the global and official launch of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR). It will take place in Room 29 of the Convention Center, on 19 March 2013, at 2:30 p.m. The launch counts on the presence of the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay. This year, the Report's theme is "Solutions for water based on nature". Launched annually, the WWDR is the main study of the United Nations on freshwater and its preparation is coordinated by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) led by UNESCO. The Report is a shared effort of UN agencies and other entities that comprise the UN Water.

UNESCO is also the lead-Organization of the Forum sessions related to water sharing issues. It means that, together with four other institutions, UNESCO organized the sessions and events of the Forum related to this theme. Water sharing is the main theme among the nine ones discussed in the 8th World Water Forum: climate change, people, development, urban, ecosystems, finance, sharing, empowerment, and governance.

About 200 specialists connected directly and indirectly to UNESCO will be at the 8th World Water Forum. Among them are representatives from UN Water, specialists from UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP), UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, from multiple UNESCO Chairs of the UNITWIN Programme related to the theme, in addition to institutes and centres connected to the Organization. 

UN System in Brazil 

Apart from the Forum's agenda, but also discussing  water management, UNESCO will participate in the parallel event ‘SDG Planet‘, which aims at acting as a reference area in the city for discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), focusing on SDG 6 on water and sanitation. SDG Planet takes place in the Brasilia Planetarium, on March 22, to celebrate the World Water Day. The event is a partnership between the UN System in Brazil and the Government of the Federal District (GDF).  At 11:00 a.m., the UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) will be presented to the Brazilian audience, specifically to the heads of the UN agencies in Brazil and to the main partners of the Brazilian government involved in water issues. About the World Water Forum

The World Water Forum is the largest global event on the theme. Organized by the World Water Council, the Forum takes place every three years. This is its eighth edition. This year, for the first time, a country in the Southern Hemisphere will host the event. Forty thousand people from around 150 countries are expected to attend.

• See all the side events and sessions of the Forum in which UNESCO is involved (link in Portuguese), either by organizing or by having one of its specialists as a speaker. 
• Learn more about the 8th World Water Forum.

Media contacts: 

• UNESCO in Brazil

Ana Lúcia Guimarães, a.guimaraes(at)unesco.org,  +55(61)2106-3536 or +55(61)99966-3287

Fabiana Pullen, f.sousa(at)unesco.org, +55(61)2106-3596 or +55(61)99848-8971