Each year at the World Water Week, we honour achievements and reward those that have made a real difference to the world’s water situation.
The 2012 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), with headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has served to improve agriculture water management, enhance food security, protect environmental health and alleviate poverty in developing countries around the globe. Their work has led to new policies and investments in agriculture that have not only enabled more productive use of water, but have enhanced food security, economic development and environmental health.
During the Opening Plenary, IWMI’s Director General Dr Colin Charter gave the Laureate lecture. Three days later, IWMI received the Stockholm Water Prize from the hands of H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden during a ceremony in Stockholm’s City Hall.
Youth from 28 countries around the globe travelled to the World Water Week to compete in the international finals of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. They are all winners in their own rights, having won their national competitions, and were available at the conference venue during the Sunday and Monday to showcase their projects. The 2012 Stockholm Junior Water Prize was awarded to the Singaporean delegation, for their research on how clay can be used to remove and recover pollutants from wastewater.
Also present at the 2012 World Water Week was PepsiCo, 2012′s recipient of the Stockholm Industry Water Award. PepsiCo has conserved nearly 16 billion litres of water in 2011, from a 2006 baseline, through the application of water saving equipment and technologies, creative recycling and re-use, and by deploying a water management system throughout its manufacturing facilities. But the company has also taken its commitment beyond their own operations, to help solve water challenges on a broad scale.
The seven winners of the WASH Media Award have shown how increased communication on water and sanitation can make a real difference. The winners were present at a side event and at the award ceremony at the Closing Plenary, and entailed how they’ve helped increase awareness on water and sanitation issues.