CAWST's Second Annual World Water Day Youth Summit

Centre for Affordable Water & Sanitation Technology (CAWST)
Calgary, Canada, 22 Mar 06

http://www.cawst.org

OPPORTUNITY

The United Nations declared March 22 “World Water Day” and 2005 as the “International Decade for Action” on issues of poverty. As a non-profit centre of expertise in water and sanitation for the poor, the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) hosts a Youth Summit for Calgary and area youth to celebrate World Water Day and the Decade for Action, and plan action locally.

Goal

Get Calgary’s young men and women to consider the global problem of water and ways they can work to address this issue.

CALLING ALL YOUTH!
The Youth Summit as an annual forum for Calgary and area youth to learn more about the role of water in community health, the role of local communities and the international community in addressing these needs, and what individual Calgarians can do to have a meaningful, long-term impact.

Participants

Calgary and area youth organizations – High Schools, Universities and Colleges.

Format

Delegates participate in interactive presentations, activities and group work:
- Discussion: What kind of world do we want? What motivates people? How can we achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals? What can we do to have an impact?
- Presentations: Camille Dow Baker, President & CEO of CAWST and other notable leaders
- Group Work: Idea exchange, selection and action planning
At the end of the day, delegate teams present their action plans at the Youth Marketplace and VIP reception featuring Calgary’s community leaders.

The Legacy

Delegate teams implement their Action Plans over the coming year and present their results to date at the next World Water Day. Action plans and year-after-year results are shared on the CAWST website.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Need for Water

Over 1.1 billion people have to walk more than one kilometre to get water, clean or dirty. Over 4,400 people die each day from water borne illness, 90% of them children. Clean drinking water is the first step in poverty alleviation.

A Possible Solution

The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) is a Canadian humanitarian organization that provides training in water, sanitation and hygiene to organizations working in some of the poorest communities around the world. CAWST acts as a catalyst to build capacity of these organizations to meet their community’s needs for safe water.

To date:
- 500,000 people have been impacted with improved water in 36 countries, an increase of more than 40% since 2004
- 700 people have been trained and 50 organizations are currently implementing independent community-based programs, doubled since 2004
- 175 in-country community-based organizations are working with these implementing organizations, almost quadrupled since 2004

More Information on CAWST
Visit www.cawst.org

Contact: Alison Pidskalny <apidskalny@cawst.org>