WRRC Webinar Celebrates World Water Day
March 22 is designated by UN Water as annual World Water Day, with the 2026 theme being “Water and Gender.” World Water Day is coupled each year with the release of the World Water Development Report, this year titled Water for all people: Equal rights and opportunities. To explore these important themes, MDPI Water and the WRRC collaborated to deliver the March 23, 2026, webinar, “Water for All People – Governance, Security, and Access.”
Chaired by WRRC Director Sharon B. Megdal, the webinar featured information and perspectives from four experienced experts: Dr. Laura Imburgia, Programme Specialist for UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme; Dr. Róisín Burke, Assistant Professor of International Law with the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht University; Dr. Corinne Schuster-Wallace, Executive Director of the Global Institute for Water Security and faculty member in the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; and Attorney Heather Tanana (Diné (Navajo Nation)), law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, USA.
After Dr. Imburgia’s comprehensive overview of the 2026 World Water Assessment Report, the panelists engaged in a lively and penetrating discussion of issues surrounding lack of equity in access to and governing of water resources, along with pathways to addressing them. Issues and challenges associated with networking and engagement, working in transboundary settings and with Indigenous Nations, and personal experiences as women working in water were explored.
The session pointed to the need, going forward, for intensive focus on ensuring water for all people and improving equity in water access, governance, and security. In addition to extending profound thanks to the speakers, the WRRC would like to thank all webinar participants and the Women in Water Diplomacy Network for their co-sponsorship.