Youth speak up for water: UNESCO organizes first Water Youth Dialogue
Featured on the UNESCO Blog
June 2025
FLOW Director, Emily Lorra Hines joins the first Water Youth Dialogue at UNESCO HQ in Paris (Emily is in the front row, brown dress)
The future must be shaped with and for young people, especially regarding water. Young people are already driving transformative change in the water sector.
Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs
A platform for change
The event took place in conjunction with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) and the 60 years of UNESCO's dedication to water sciences at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Amid mounting global water challenges – from climate-induced scarcity to poor management, inadequate access and water-related conflicts – young people are emerging as key actors in the water sector. However, structural barriers, such as limited access to decision-making spaces and funding, still hinder their full participation.
UNESCO - Sacha HERON
Celebrating youth-led solutions
Throughout the two-day event, participants presented eight youth-led projects focused on integrated water resource management, community mobilization, and climate resilience. Each project received constructive feedback from leading experts, reinforcing the Dialogue’s commitment to both empowerment and capacity-building.
Sessions also fostered intergenerational exchange, with experts highlighting the importance of the water-peace nexus, international water cooperation and diplomacy, and rights-based approaches to water and sanitation. These discussions enriched the perspectives of both young participants and institutional representatives, reflecting UNESCO’s vision of inclusive governance.
UNESCO - Sacha HERON
Launch of the Water Youth Strategy
The Dialogue’s cornerstone achievement was the co-drafting of the Water Youth Strategy, a forward-looking document that outlines key priorities and recommendations to systematically integrate youth into all areas of water governance, management, and research.
“We have reached a consensus; the Water Youth Strategy is ready to be advocated for together,” said Gabriela Calderón of the UNESCO Groundwater Youth Network.
The Strategy calls for:
Investing in capacity-development, by strengthening interdisciplinary education and training programmes, youth networks, and intergenerational partnerships.
Enhancing equitable professional opportunities and supporting youth-led local projects.
Creating formal mechanisms for youth participation in local, national, and global water governance structures.
UNESCO - Sacha HERON
Towards UN 2026 and beyond
The Water Youth Strategy aligns closely with UNESCO’s broader mandate to empower youth and will inform the ninth phase of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP-IX). It also sets the stage for a united youth voice at upcoming high-level events, including the UN 2026 Water Conference convened in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 2 to 4 December 2026.
The Water Youth Strategy envisions a future where youth are equipped to tackle interconnected water challenges and their transformative potential is harnessed to foster sustainable and equitable water governance and management, helping achieve the 2030 Agenda including SDG6.
Read the Water Youth Strategy
UNESCO Water Youth Strategy
Signed by 60 representatives and 30 water youth organizations around the world.