Citizen Village now open, 30 thousand visitors expected during World Water Forum

The Citizen Village—the big novelty at the 8th World Water Forum (WWF)—was inaugurated Saturday morning (Mar. 17) by Federal District Governor Rodrigo Rollemberg and representatives from a number of institutions involved in the event’s organization. Ricardo Andrade, management director at the National Water Agency (ANA) noted that this is the first time the forum is held in the Southern Hemisphere, and talked about he first dreamed of bringing it to Brasília, six years ago, during the sixth edition of the event, in Marseilles, France.

“One of the great challenges we listed back then was bringing the citizen to the 8th World Water Forum. And here we are. We’re holding an event for over 10 thousand participants. This And this is the first edition with the Citizen Village, the Citizen Forum, for the citizen, and we’re having more than 30 thousand people throughout this week,” he said.

In the view of Professor Benedito Braga, chair of the World Water Council, in this edition, “Brazil is showing that the participation of the citizen in water-related topics is key to take the water agenda to the highest positions of political leadership. Only by mobilizing citizens can we have the opportunity to make politicians aware of just how important a topic water is,” declared Braga, who is also São Paulo state secretary for sanitation and water resources.

In his speech, Federal District Governor Rodrigo Rollemberg expressed his gratitude for the support given to Brasília as host city of the 8th World Water Forum, and talked about people’s expectations ahead of the event. “Sharing water—this is the theme of the forum, and there couldn’t be a better start than this, with the inauguration of the Citizen Village. For the first time, we have a totally open forum to welcome children, young people, Brazilians of every state, and foreigners from across the globe sharing their experiences with water. Now we can make further strides regarding the awareness of this good that blends with life itself,” he stated.

Erected in an area of 10 thousand square meters, the Citizen Village will offer the public attractions of all sorts, directed at people of all ages. The Village is open until March 23, from 9 am to 9 pm.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira