This event was initiated by Cape Town, Jakarta, and Amsterdam and is a follow up of the VU Amsterdam-symposium 'Water in Times of Climate Change: a Values-Driven Dialogue'.
In light of the successful engagement held during the 2019 Symposium, we continued these critical water conversations. However, instead of inviting all the usual stakeholders to lead the discussion, the focus of this event was on the contributions (actual and potential) of religious communities and leaders to the water challenges faced by communities across the globe. It remains essential that even though politics, science, and economics will not be leading the discussion, that they will be participating and listening.
Again using the cities of Amsterdam, Jakarta and Cape Town as case studies (but with an open invitation to other cities to engage on the issue), we hosted a workshop exploring the following questions:
- How are religious leaders and communities currently contributing to managing water in times of climate change?
- What religious principles and values could contribute to our approach to tackling water challenges around the world?
- What additional potential contributions could religious leaders and communities make to managing water crises?
- How do we get the right people around the decision-making table?
Read more: The Role of Religion in Tackling Water Challenges Around the World (factsheet)