World Water Day 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation
On the morning of March 22, in order to celebrate the twenty-first World Water Day, the launching ceremony of the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation was held at Beijing Jintai Art Museum. The event was co-hosted by UNESCO Beijing Office, UNESCO IHP Chinese National Committee, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) and Beijing Jintai Art Museum. The event was co-organized by the Beijing Jintai Art Museum-Champion of Water Alliance, Shangri-la Institute, Through Waters, Supporting organizations including Peking University Water Center, Veolia Environmental Services, THIRST and Golden State Environment Group Corporation.
The event started with the poetry “Water” presented by students from Fangcaodi International Century Elementary school. Representatives from different international organizations, corporates, schools joined the force to sign on the signing board, including representatives from China Soong Ching Ling Foundation and All-China Youth Federation.
During “Water Footprint Puzzle” installation, we created a big integrated picture of Jeans, T-Shirt and burger. The big picture consists of 35 small drawing boards, we distribute small boards to 60 students, and put them together after students finish. After the assembling, people could see how much water we consume through the manufacturing and production process. This ‘learning by doing’ experience will inspire and motivate students to be creative and learn the knowledge about water.
During “Wash a with a bucket of water” activity, Dr. Jayakumar, Dr. Liu Heng and Mr.Henry Yuan wash cars with 5 family groups from different schools. This event is also advocates parental engagement to water protection.
During the event, water-related videos presented by different organizations are shown along with the water photography exhibit from Through Waters. Videos cover different forms of water and are produced by UNESCO, Champion of Water Alliance, Through Waters, China Business News, Wild Aid and Thirst.
This event aims to enhance public awareness of the importance of water while strengthening collaboration among organizations, corporates, designers/innovators, NGOs and schools. We believe World Water Day is a good beginning for more following-up activities and projects in each sector.
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation, this event focused on the theme of "Water Cooperation" through cross-industry (inter-disciplinary) approach to highlight the integration of technology.
“世界水源日”2013联合国国际水源合作年”
3月22日上午，为纪念第二十一个世界水日，“世界水源日”2013联合国国际水源合作年启动仪式”在北京金台艺术馆举行。本次活动由联合国教科文组织驻华代表处、联合国教科文组织国际水文计划中国国家委员会、联合国环境规划署、世界自然保护联盟、北京金台艺术馆共同主办，北京金台艺术馆· 水卫士行动、香格里拉可持续社区学会、意大利“罗马· 世界水都”非盈利公益协会-THROUGHWATERS承办，北京大学水资源研究中心、法国威立雅水务集团、“Thirst渴望宣言”节水公益组织协办。联合国教科文组织科技及环境项目专家Jayakumar Ramasamy、联合国教科文组织国际水文计划中国国家委员会秘书长朱晓原、世界自然保护联盟代表朱春全、中国儿童少年基金会副会长冯淬、法国威立雅水务集团中国区公共关系总监蒋影华、北京金台艺术馆·水卫士行动秘书长袁宏安等来自北京市中小学的130名师生等参加了本次活动。活动在北京市朝阳区芳草地国际学校世纪小学学生诗歌《水》的朗诵声中拉开序幕。来自各国际组织、企业、学校的代表也分别在“世界水源日”2013联合国国际水源合作年的展板上签字以示对“2013联合国国际水源合作年”这一项目的支持。在互动体验活动中，来自北京市朝阳区白家庄小学、北京市朝阳区芳草地国际学校世纪小学、华中师范大学第一附属中学朝阳学校、北京朝阳区弘善学校、北京海淀区上地实验小学的60名学生代表共同绘画并搭建“水足迹”拼图。“水足迹”拼图由35块画板组成，上面绘制有人们生活中涉及到的物品及生产这些物品所消耗的水量，这种具有知识趣味性的体验活动让学生在动手实践过程中加深了对“水足迹”知识的认识，并教导公众关注隐性水的保护。活动中，5个家庭代表队中，父母与孩子共同动手洗车，共同践行由联合国首任环保艺术大师、水卫士行动发起人袁熙坤倡导的“一桶水洗一辆车”活动。既锻炼了身体又节约了宝贵的水资源。此外，作为此次亮眼活动的一部分，在金台艺术馆国际友谊厅内进行了有关水源的视频播放和“水之技艺”的节水设计展览。其中包括来自联合国教科文组织、意大利“罗马· 世界水都”非盈利公益协会-THROUGHWATERS、第一财经和渴望宣言等组织提供的有关水的视频；威立雅水务集团、北京大学水资源研究中心及征集于各中小学的节水小设计、绘画和摄影。这次活动不仅加强了国际组织、企业与学校间的合作对话，更在培养孩子想象力、创新力、实践力的同时传递了爱水的理念。2010年12月，联合国大会宣布2013年为联合国“国际水源合作年”并由联合国教科文组织领导该项目。为响应这一决定， 本次活动围绕“水合作”这一主题，通过科技与文化的结合，以跨领域合作的形式向公众和青少年传递“爱水理念”及“节水方式”，以此来增进公众对保护水资源的参与意识，加强国际组织、企业及学校间的互动与合作。
