The World Water Week focuses on new thinking and positive action, and has since the beginning been much aware of the importance of involving the younger generations. In 1997, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition started, and the Young Water Professionals Seminar is a set feature of the World Water Week. This year we took one step further, developing a Young Professionals’ Vision. With the aim of capturing the perspective of the younger generation, a group of young professionals was engaged at the 2012 World Water Week and developed a vision on how to achieve water and food security by 2050.
Through interviews with young professionals attending the World Water Week, and via input though social media from those following the conference remotely, the team responsible for the Young Professionals’ Vision collected views, suggestions and opinions on how to move forward on the water and food security issues. Together with the ideas that came up during the more than 100 sessions that was organised this year at the World Water Week in Stockholm, these interviews formed the basis for the Youth Vision that was presented at the Closing Plenary Session. During the week, people were able to engage with the Young Professionals’ Vision team at the Social Media Hub in the exhibition area. and to follow the discussions online on the twitter hashtag #YPL, and on the World Water Week Social Media Hub: www.watermedia.org.