“We Are Dignity Defenders”—From Jeddah, the World Water Council Reaffirms Its Advocacy for Access to Water as a Prerequisite for Human Dignity, Ahead of the 11th World Water Forum (Riyadh, March 2027)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — June 30, 2026
Meeting in Jeddah on June 28 and 29, 2026, as part of the 2nd Stakeholder Consultation Meeting, the World Water Council confirmed the progress of preparations for the 11th World Water Forum, to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in March 2027, under the theme “Action for a Better Future .” Designed as the premier global platform for the water sector, the Forum will bring together policymakers, technical experts, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations to discuss concrete solutions to the water crisis.
This meeting in Jeddah, organized as part of Saudi Water Week, follows on from the 1st Consultation Meeting held in Riyadh in April 2025, which brought together more than 600 participants from over 60 countries.
In his opening remarks, World Water Council President Loïc Fauchon directly challenged participants to reflect on the meaning of their commitment: for whom are we acting? “First and foremost, for those whose dignity is violated because they are denied access to water and its benefits,” he said, referring to those who walk long distances to reach a water source, who lack toilets, or who cannot afford to pay for water and suffer the humiliation that comes with it.
“Providing access to water means restoring dignity to the most vulnerable,” said World Water Council President Loïc Fauchon at the opening of the Jeddah session, calling on the water community to become“Dignity Defenders.”
Stakeholders gathered in Jeddah approved the framework for the 11th World Water Forum, organized around 6 themes and 30 topics, and made progress on planning the Forum week as well as on how to ensure the continuity of its work after the event. The Riyadh 2027 Forum is expected to bring together more than 20,000 participants from over 150 countries, making this edition one of the largest in the history of the World Water Forum, which has been held every three years since 1997.
The ministerial meeting, facilitated by UNESCO and held in parallel under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadli, laid the groundwork for the Ministerial Declaration to be adopted in Riyadh. In line with the World Water Council’s slogan, “Water is politics,” the ministers and senior representatives in attendance reaffirmed their shared ambition to unite the water policy community around common commitments and concrete, sustainable solutions that can be implemented on a global scale.
To advance this ambition, the World Water Council presented several initiatives designed to shape the global water agenda leading up to Riyadh: a coalition for water in megacities, an international center for unconventional water resources, a laboratory for water conservation, a “New Deal” for sanitation, and a “One Water, One Health” alliance. These initiatives are centered on three priorities: health, food, and nature, all of which are closely linked to unconventional and renewable water and energy resources.
“We look forward to working closely with Saudi Arabia to bring the world together in Riyadh in 2027 and to continue making water a global and political priority,” said the President of the World Water Council at the conclusion of the meeting.
The World Water Council invites all of its 240 member organizations, as well as governments, institutions, and civil society actors engaged in water issues, to take action now to make Riyadh 2027 a gathering that yields concrete results on the ground and a decisive milestone in the defense of human dignity through water.
