Stakeholder Engagement
General
UNDESA, as the UN 2023 Water Conference Secretariat, published a Summary Report of Key Engagement Activities in lead up to and during the UN 2023 Water Conference, held from 22-24 March 2023 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The stakeholder engagement activities were organized to both raise awareness and share information with all stakeholders about the UN 2023 Water Conference and its preparatory process through multiple channels, as well as to create space and provide opportunities for stakeholders to meaningfully engage in and contribute to both the preparatory process and the Conference itself.
READ THE REPORT HERE.
This page included updates on opportunities for stakeholder engagement in the preparatory process for the UN 2023 Water Conference.
According to A/RES/75/212, 4 (f) the Conference should “involve all relevant stakeholders, bringing together Governments, the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, other interested international bodies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and other actors to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as support further action to implement, the objectives of the Decade and the water-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
Paragraphs 22 invites “other relevant stakeholders, including organizations and bodies of the United Nations, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, other interested international bodies and non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector and philanthropic organizations, whose work is relevant to the Conference, accredited in accordance with the provisions set forth in annex II to the present resolution, to participate as observers in the Conference and its preparatory meeting.”
Paragraph 24 “Stresses the importance of the participation and full involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including women, children, young people, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and local communities, in the implementation of the Decade at all levels.”
SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN INPUTS
Non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector and philanthropic organizations, whose work is relevant to the Conference and who have been accredited in accordance with General Assembly resolution A/RES/75/212, can submit written statements/inputs to the Conference via a dedicated form by 24 March.
The process to submit written inputs is now closed.
All eligible statements/inputs received through this open call are now published under the "Documents" tab of the Stakeholder Engagement Page.
Please note, only the statements/inputs that complied with the submission requirements, including one submission per accredited organization, are published to the webpage.
Participation
How can I participate in the UN 2023 Water Conference and its preparatory processes?
There were two online consultations with stakeholders ahead of the Conference as well as one hosted in New York with both in-person and online participation:
Summary of First Online consultation
Summary of Second Online Consultation
Summary of Stakeholder engagement meeting (24-25 Oct, New York)
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ONLY eligible organizations could register representatives to participate in the UN 2023 Water Conference and its preparatory meetings.
Organizations that fall under the following categories were able to request registration to attend the UN 2023 Water Conference and its preparatory meetings*:
- Non-governmental organizations, in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (Special, General or Roster consultative status).
- Organizations that have received special accreditation by the General Assembly to the following past Summits (please click on the link for details):
- Organizations that received special accreditation by the General Assembly to attend the UN 2023 Water Conference:
*Please note: Organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC whose statuses have been suspended by the UN NGO Committee will not be allowed to request registration to the UN 2023 Water Conference, irrespective of previous accreditation to past UN Conferences.
Registration for stakeholders closed on 10 February 2023. Please note that there will be no on-site registration. The Secretariat will not be able to address ad-hoc requests or substitutions.
For registered participants, more information will be shared closer to the Conference. Please, also refer to the Information Note.
For more detailed information related to the participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector and philanthropic organizations in the UN 2023 Water Conference, please read the dedicated page on Frequently Asked Questions.
SPECIAL ACCREDITATION
Relevant non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector and philanthropic organizations whose work is relevant to the Conference that are not in consultative status with ECOSOC, or that have not been accredited to the Summit listed above must have applied for special accreditation.
Outcomes of the first round of special accreditation to the UN 2023 Water Conference (August 2022) can be found here.
[NOW CLOSED] The Second (Final) Round of Special Accreditation closed on 02 December 2022. The outcomes can be found here.
PLEASE NOTE
- All applications for special accreditation were reviewed by the Secretariat before they are presented to the General Assembly membership.
- Special accreditation is granted to organizations or entities by the UN General Assembly on a non-objection basis.
- Following the Assembly’s approval, the Secretariat will notify all organizations that have received special accreditation.
- Once an organization or entity has received special accreditation, it will need to register to attend the UN 2023 Water Conference and its preparatory meetings.
- Non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the ECOSOC or other entities listed above do not need to apply for special accreditation.
Webinars
Multi-Stakeholder Thematic Webinars: Preparing for the Water Conference and the Water Action Agenda
The Multi-Stakeholder Thematic Webinars were held virtually on 17 and 18 January 2023 from 9:00 – 11:00 AM (EDT) as an additional opportunity for stakeholders to prepare for the UN 2023 Water Conference, including to encourage their contributions to the Water Action Agenda.
More information on the webinars can be found on the dedicated webpage here.
Informative Multi-stakeholder Webinar on the UN 2023 Water Conference
On 12 October 2022, from 9:30-11:00 AM (EDT), the UN DESA Division for Sustainable Development Goals, as the Secretariat of the UN 2023 Water Conference, organized a multi-stakeholder informative webinar to share updated information about the UN 2023 Water Conference with all stakeholders, including on the preparatory meeting, to be held on 25 October, and the stakeholder consultation on 24 October 2022. More information about the webinar, including the PowerPoint and recording, can be found here: https://bit.ly/WaterInformativeWebinar.
First Online Stakeholder Briefing
On 15 June 2022, from 10:00 - 11:00 AM (EDT), the UN DESA Division for Sustainable Development Goals, as the Secretariat of the UN 2023 Water Conference, together with the Conference Co-Hosts (the Netherlands and Tajikistan), has organized an online stakeholder briefing to share information about the Conference, including opportunities for engagement and expected outcomes.
The online briefing was open to all stakeholders. The recording and summary can be accessed on the event page here.
Online Consultation
Second Global Online Consultation: Inputs on the draft Themes for Interactive Dialogues (closed)
To ensure meaningful and substantive engagement of stakeholders in preparation for the UN 2023 Water Conference, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and other stakeholders were invited to contribute their views, comments and inputs on the themes proposed by the co-hosts for the interactive dialogues through a second global online consultation.
- A summary report is now available here.
- For more information about the global online consultation and all public responses, please visit the dedicated webpage.
First Global Online Consultation: Themes for Interactive Dialogues (closed)
Non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and other stakeholders were invited to contribute proposals for the themes of the interactive dialogues through a global online consultation. The consultation closed on 10 March 2022.
- A summary report is now available here.
- For more information about the global online consultation, please visit: bit.ly/WaterEConsultation2022info.
- All responses are published here: https://bit.ly/WaterEConsultation2022Response.
Frequently Asked Questions
For more detailed information related to the participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector and philanthropic organizations in the UN 2023 Water Conference, please read the dedicated page on Frequently Asked Questions.
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