Movement Building

"On the whole, we will continue to work with progressive governments,

the UN and especially civil-society organizations and social

movements to put forth sustainable solutions. We will continue to

agitate when that is needed and overall, we will not let down the truly

brave water warriors who struggle in communities where death

and disappearance are rampant."

Project Organizer Anil Naidoo comments on the

Blue Planet Project’s directions for 2008

The Need for an International Water Movement

Around the world, 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water.
Every year, over 2 million people, mostly young children, die from preventable diarrhea contracted from drinking unsafe water.
Every day, people suffer and die because they cannot access clean, safe water.

We must not allow this to continue.

The danger: is that an abhorrent situation will get worse as water is

increasingly mined for profit.

Our goal: is to stop this dangerous trend so that everyone has

access to water.

The challenge: is to deliver safe water to everyone, and we must do

everything we can to meet that challenge.

The Blue Planet Project strives to support the energy of social movements and civil society organizations from around the world and is proud to work with partners such as Bread for the World (Germany), Third World Network (Malaysia), Women’s Environment and Development Organization (U.S.A.), and the Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations, among others, to promote this initiative internationally.

The World Social Forum:

Birth of an African Water Network

(Nairobi, Kenya, Jan 20-25, 2007)

For the first time in its seven-year history, the World Social Forum took place in Africa. From January 20-25, 2007, activists and international civil society organizations came together in Nairobi, Kenya to reflect on democracy, anti-globalization, and the civilian opposition to neoliberalism and the domination of capitalist interests.

The Blue Planet Project, along with a coalition of international organizations that share a concern for water justice, were at this year's WSF and helped bring together African activists and organizations currently battling water privatization. These groups have formed an African Water Network that will allow international activists and civil society organizations from Europe, Asia and the Americas to gain a better understanding of how to engage with African partners and where to focus their energy.

The new African Water Network will provide the African water movement with an opportunity to grow beyond the WSF, enabling African and global water activists to sustain and strengthen the global water justice movement. To read more about the launch of the African Water Network, click here.

Movement building downloads (PDF format):

“As Indigenous Peoples, we recognize, honour and respect Water as a sacred and powerful gift from the Creator. Water, the first living spirit on this earth, gives life to all creation. Water, powerful and pristine, is the lifeblood that sustains life for all peoples, lands and creation. We know that by listening to the songs of the Water, all creation will continue to breathe.”

Indigenous Declaration on Water