Water begins in Provence with the week of sustainable development
The 6th World Water Forum announced today that students in the Aix-Marseille Academy will have an opportunity to visit the structural sites and facilities of the area’s water and energy networks. These visits will be organized by the Academy and supported by local public services providers throughout Sustainable Development Week, April 1 to 7.
Between April 1st and 7th students of the Aix-Marseille Academy will have opportunities to visit sites related to water security, supply and planning for Marseille-Provence, including the Bimont Dam, the water treatment plant in Ste Marthe, the waste water treatment facility in Vitrolles, the underground generating station and Energy Interpretive Center at Serre Ponçon Dam as well as the hydroelectric generating facilities at St.-Cassien, Sainte-Tulle and Saint Chamas.
The national theme for the 2011 Sustainable Development Week is “changing our behaviors”. Young people in the Aix-Marseille Academy, will explore the theme “water routes”, discovering the many paths followed by water as it passes through a territory, passing from “river to sea”. The chosen themes will thus raise public consciousness about the importance of water to a territory’s inhabitability.
The partnership between the Academy and the principal actors for the provision of public services in the Marseille-Provence area will also allow students to better apprehend their geographical space in terms of basic water services, including the transformation of the Pays d’Aix territory through universal water access beginning in the 1950s, the political organization for the management of water by “catchment basin”, the trades mobilized for the provision of water service and hydropower, as well as the economics of water within a territory.
Sustainable Development Week
Sustainable Development Week is an annual event organized the first week of April by the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea. The Ministry annually invites businesses, associations, public utilities, communities and schools to spend a week on and promote the principles of sustainable development. The aim of the promotion is to sensitize French men and women to the challenges of sustainable development while encouraging citizens to adopt more responsible behaviors.
The 6th World Water Forum Local Support Work Group
The Steering Committee of the 6th World Water Forum created a standing committee composed of key local players in the world of water and essential services, including water management and sanitation and energy generation.
The 6th World Water Forum
Jointly organized by France, the World Water Council and the City of Marseille, the 6th World Water Forum will take place between March 12 and 17, 2012. The theme selected for the event is “A Time for Solutions”. Four worldwide consultation processes have been launched in preparation of the 6th world forum: political, regional, thematic and local. These processes are coordinated through the Organizing Committee of the 6th World Water Forum to produce concrete proposals to address stakeholder priorities.
Contact
Claudine Chilinski: +33 (0)6 38 13 1651
c.chilinski@worldwaterforum6.org
Bulle En
