Mayor Dörner opened the conference together with the new Deputy Executive Director of UN Habitat, Michal Mlynár, and other high-level guests on Biodiversity Day, Monday, May 22. "For cities, reflection on water and resilience is a high priority," emphasized Mayor Katja Dörner. "Together with actors like GWOPA and networks like the Bonn Water Network and the Bonn Network for International Civil Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction, we will intensify our work towards resilience in the future - as a Resilience Hub of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative launched by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)."
The initiative aims to support cities in resilience building and encourages municipalities that have already successfully established resilience projects and programs to accompany other cities on this journey. Bonn has applied to be one such "resilience hub." The special feature of Bonn's application is above all its intensive cooperation with local networks, such as the Bonn Network International Disaster Management and Risk Management, the Bonn Water Network and the international city network for sustainability ICLEI.
Reception at the Old Town Hall and excursions for participants
Dörner did not only speak at the opening of the congress on May 22, but will also exchange views with Michal Mlynar (UN-Habitat) on the occasion of the Congress. The City of Bonn and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development have also invited the conference participants to a reception on the evening of May 22 at the Old Town Hall. On the evening of May 23, the City of Bonn is partnering with IDOS Research for a Bonn Water Network panel event. And on May 25, the city's civil engineering department will offer two excursions for congress participants on the topic of protecting people and infrastructures during heavy rains and stream flooding, as well as to the Bad Godesberg sewage treatment plant, which will enable Bonn practitioners and their guests to exchange experiences.
Congress ties in with UN Water Conference in New York
GWOPA, under the auspices of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), is an international network for the mutual support of water operators through partnerships (Water Operators’ Partnerships). The Congress in Bonn aims to bring together knowledge and approaches to better meet current challenges collectively. It offers discussion spaces on partnership design, sanitation, climate crisis, nature-based solutions, social justice and innovation.
The Congress builds on the 2023 UN Water Conference in New York in March. The concern is to leverage partnerships among water operators for faster and better implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also aims to strengthen the global solidarity network between water and sanitation operators. This is because the Water Action Agenda adopted in New York, which includes voluntary commitments by nations and stakeholders to achieve the SDGs, also includes commitments to expand the work of water operators, including a water campaign submitted by GWOPA.
The three-day program, held with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Foreign Office, is geared toward on-site participants, but is also available online.
For up-to-date information, the full program and the registration form, interested parties can visit the website: https://gwopa.org/wop-congress/ (opens in a new tab)