Organized around the theme of water for cooperation, three regional dialogues led by young people from the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW), will take place between February and March 2024, on the way to the 10th World Water Forum.

Supported by the International Secretariat for Water (ISW), these dialogues will raise awareness among young people and local decision-makers on the importance of the 10th World Water Forum and its processes, as well as providing spaces for discussion and influence on issues of transboundary water collaboration. The results of each of these events will feed into the global advocacy messages of the WYPW and the Global Youth Movement for Water, linking local movements to the global agenda. These events also serve as preparatory activities for the 6th WYPW General Assembly, to be held in the margins of the 10th World Water Forum.

From heads of state to representatives of civil society and youth, from heads of international organizations to experts, many players will be present at the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) in Bali, from May 18 to 24, 2024, on the theme of “Water for Shared Prosperity”.

However, to have a real impact, the World Water Forum needs to engage and mobilize local and regional communities and players around the world. That is why the International Secretariat for Water (ISW) is supporting these youth-led regional dialogues, organized by local and regional sections of the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW).

• Regional Youth Dialogue on Lake Chad

Organized by the Youth Parliament for Water of Chad, this dialogue will take place on March 22 and 23, 2024. It will feature a series of activities enabling young people from the region to exchange views on water management issues in the Lake Chad Basin. The aim of the Regional Youth Dialogue on Lake Chad is to mobilize, raise awareness and build the capacity of young people in the basin’s member countries on the various water issues in the region, and to initiate regional actions to address them. A plea will also be launched for the involvement of the sub-region’s youth in the search for solutions and in the decision-making process, as recommended at the 4th Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum held in July 2023 in Chad.

• Parliamentary Session of Youth from West African Transboundary Basins

Ahead of the 10th World Water Forum, a consortium of six national chapters of the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) is mobilizing to organize the Parliamentary Session of Youth from the Transboundary Basins of West African Countries from April 17 to 19, 2024 in Ouagadougou. The Burkinabe National Youth Parliament for Water (PNJBE) is particularly involved in the preparation of this session, which will be held on the theme of “Managing the transboundary basins of West African countries in a context of insecurity and climate crisis to promote shared prosperity”. This event will mobilize not only young people, but also decision-makers and various stakeholders from West African countries that are members of the Volta, Niger, Mono, OMVS and OMVG basins. It will make it possible to

• provide a framework for dialogue and monitoring of cross-border cooperation between West African countries
• monitor cross-border cooperation policies and strategies to understand the level of youth involvement
• Challenge political leaders to take into account the concerns of young people, with a view to making water a genuine lever for inclusive and sustainable cross-border cooperation to achieve shared prosperity.

• Youth Dialogue and Call to Action for Water in Latin America

The Central American Youth Parliament for Water, in collaboration with the Latin American Youth Coalition for Water, is currently working on preparations for a dialogue scheduled for February and March 2024. The event is designed in three phases. The first phase includes a series of virtual workshops offering training on key topics such as water resources in Latin America, political advocacy, youth participation, advocacy tools, the Escazú agreement and communication strategies. Next, the initiative moves on to a phase of intergenerational dialogues, aimed at facilitating a regional discussion between water sector decision-makers and young leaders to align efforts for the 10th World Water Forum and effectively contribute to the regional water agenda. Finally, the final phase consists of a meeting between young leaders, with an in-person event in Costa Rica and a regional online event for Latin America. These exchanges aim to highlight key concerns and establish a youth-led action agenda, presenting an exemplary model of collaboration.

Each of these dialogues will issue a series of recommendations to local, national and international decision-makers, which will be brought to the World Water Forum and the 6th WYPW General Assembly by a representative of each dialogue, in order to connect these regional processes to discussions on the global stage.

These dialogues are made possible thanks to the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Agence de l’eau Artois-Picardie.