SINGAPORE: With a globally connected world, many countries have taken the opportunity of the World Water Day 2012 as a way to create awareness among its citizens. In the North American region, Pennsylvania and Texas are spearheading the movement. As an acknowledgement of World Water Day, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Task Force on Haiti, sponsored a 5K walk on campus to raise funds toward purchasing a water filtration system and access to clean water for a School of Nursing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Residents of drought-stricken West Texas are already aware, water sanitation and scarcity issues have a way of trickling into every nook and cranny in the world. Supporting the movement against global water crisis, once again, local groups - the Upper Colorado River Authority, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts and city of San Angelo are partnering this year to offer an expanded lineup of World Water Day activities and educational opportunities.
In the same region - One Drop, NGO, based in Montreal, Canada is teaming up with the Maison Mondiale de la Radio Communautaire to raise awareness and mobilize people on different continents regarding the issues surrounding access to safe water for all. For this, the team will produce 22 radio clips on water issues in 22 countries. In the UK, Scotland area, the World Water Forum is held every three years by the World Water Council to raise the profile of international water issues and attract government leaders, engineers, academics and representatives of the global water industry.
Scotland is in a three way contest to host the forum, competing against South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Hosting the event in Glasgow could attract 20,000 visitors from around the world and generate £20 million for the Scottish economy. Considering the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region, in Muscat, Oman, the Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University is organising a two day workshop on ‘Sustainable Water User for Food Security’. Singapore’s celebration this year will see a record 25,000 people gathering at 15 locations islandwide in support of water.
10,000 of these participants will walk, cycle and paddle across waterways, reservoirs and between ABC Waters (Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters) sites with small blue pails. In India, the locals and Ganga activists will send online petitions to UP chief minister asking him to take necessary steps for ‘clean Ganga’. On the occasion of World Water Day 2012 , the Sankat Mochan Foundation, an organisation working for the cause of Ganga, will launch a new online campaign ‘Stop the Sewage: Clean Ganga Now’.
© WOC News