Welcome the 6th World Water Forum to your country: Initial expressions of interest requested by June 1st, 2008.

The World Water Council, an international organization based in Marseilles (France) is currently seeking expressions of interest from the Governments of countries willing to host and organize the 6th World Water Forum in March 2012.

The Council aims to promote awareness of critical water issues at all levels, building political commitment and triggering action.  It focuses in particular on the efficient and sustainable conservation and management of freshwater resources and the delivery of water services in all their dimensions for the benefit of all life on earth. To this end, the Council organizes, every three years, in close collaboration with a host country and a host city, a World Water Forum. The Forum is the largest international awareness-raising event focused on water and development. It provides a platform where multi-stakeholder dialogues take place on critical water issues.

The Forum is not just an international conference. It is a three-year process involving a great deal of preparatory work on specific subjects taking into account the perspectives of multiple stakeholders from different regions. The thematic and regional preparatory processes help to propose concrete solutions to the main water-related challenges that face the world today. The Fora are usually composed of three interlinked components, namely a thematic Forum, a World Water Expo and Fair, and a Political Component including a Ministerial Conference and an engagement with Local Elected Officials and Parliamentarians.

The 1st Forum, held in Marrakech (Morocco) in 1997, attracted 500 participants. The 2nd in The Hague (The Netherlands) in 2000 was attended by 6,000 delegates. The 3rd in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka (Japan) in 2003 and the 4th in Mexico City (Mexico) in 2006 each had over 20,000 participants drawn from all sectors and all continents. The 5th is currently being organised and will take place in Istanbul (Turkey) in March 2009.

The Council’s Board of Governors has determined that the bidding process for the 6th Forum will be open to the Government of any country that, together with the host city, can demonstrate its capacity to organise such an important event. In order to be considered for the next steps in the bidding procedure, a preliminary expression of interest should be received by the WWC Headquarters in Marseille by 1 June 2008.  It must be presented or endorsed by a representative of the central Government of the country concerned, at the highest possible level.