Behind the scenes and right in the middle – being a Junior Rapporteur at the World Water Week 2014

Now I should mention that the World Water Week is a fairly enormous conference. In 2014, 3 400 participants came from more than 140 countries to attend this conference in Stockholm. Businessmen meet high-level politicians, meet civil society, meet researchers. Everyone is there and everyone’s voice is heard.

That’s why covering the debate around global change at this conference may feel a bit like trying to catch a snowflake in a full size Siberian blizzard. In addition, it is highly complex and interconnected with a whole range of other water aspects, just like most topics in the water field.

It’s a challenge. And it’s what we came for. We wanted to follow the latest discussions, ideas, and results in the water sector. Being a Junior Rapporteur allows us to be right in the middle as well as behind the scenes. Guided by two Lead Rapporteurs, our group dives right into the pool of knowledge, experiences, and opinions that lies open in front of us at the World Water Week. We collect information, take notes, get inspired, and draw conclusions.

This is rewarding. I have gotten to know so much more about water issues and their potential solutions in this one week. Working in a group with five other curious water people and being able to exchange and share perspectives was particularly gratifying.

The results of our reporting were published in the Overarching Conclusions “Energy and Water” soon after the conference. Like this, we reach out to a large audience and may give guidance and inspiration to future debates. The World Water Week 2015 will surely pick up on our reports and I hope to be following it as a Junior Rapporteur again.

Read the reports from all the Junior Rapporteurs in the Overarching Conclusions from the 2014 World Water Week – Energy and Water.

*Swedish Water House is part of Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the organiser of World Water Week. Swedish Water House is responsible for recruiting and financing the Junior Rapporteurs for the World Water Week.