New space for global water workers

Stockholm (22 May 2014) - It demands repetition: water is a precondition for all life. No person, business, organisation or country can afford to disregard water’s centrality and importance in our lives.

Stockholm Junior Water Prize

When business leaders evaluated the probability and consequences of various risks ahead of the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos, water scarcity was ranked among the top three risks.

When the organisers of the prestigious Longitude Prize, a challenge to scientists worldwide to solve the most pressing problems of our time, listed the top problems of the world, the lack of clean drinking water was included. Safe drinking water and sanitation feature prominently in the discussions about a new global development agenda.

These are a few not so subtle reminders that the work of Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) work is absolutely vital for encouraging the sustainable management of our planet’s limited water resources.

SIWI has assumed a leading role in mitigating the looming global water crisis. With World Water Week in Stockholm, the world’s foremost meeting place for water and water-related issues, we provide a platform for a wide range of stakeholders to come together, discuss, and hammer out solutions to some of the contemporary world’s most pressing water challenges. We reach out to world leaders, policy-makers, academia, civil society, business leaders and entrepreneurs. Together, we examine the water challenges linked to sanitation, urbanisation, transboundary waters, climate change and good governance, to mention just a few of the areas we specialise in.

“With the growing awareness of the need for wise water management, SIWI’s knowledge and services are in demand like never before and as a result, we have grown greatly in the past few years. This, along with the benefits of creating a water knowledge cluster in Stockholm, prompted a decision to move offices,” comments SIWI’s Executive Director Mr. Torgny Holmgren.

After the move from central Stockholm to the historical Garnisonen office block at Östermalm (a converted military garrison only a few kilometres away) SIWI’s neighbours include both Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Global Water Partnership (GWP).

“SIWI is a central actor in the global work for smart water management. We are proud that Stockholm, the city on water, is the Institute’s base, and look forward to following SIWI’s crucial efforts in the years to come”, says Mr. Sten Nordin, Mayor of Stockholm. Together with SIWI’s Executive Director Torgny Holmgren and its chairman Mr. Peter Forssman, he welcomes friends and partners to the new offices today 22nd May 2014.