2009-2008

News Release

REF NO.: 0

SUBJECT: Grenfell: National and international flavour added to water presentation

DATE: January 15, 2009

         Learn about Canadian and international water and sanitation issues during a public presentation at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College on Jan. 22.
         Within the framework of the Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA) public engagement program and in collaboration with the Government of Quebec and the Fonds d’action québécois pour le développement durable (FAQDD), the International Secretariat for Water (ISW) has organized an awareness-raising conference tour on water and sanitation issues both in developing countries and in Canada. 
         This tour, entitled “Water a source of solidarity among citizens: from local to global”, is stopping in schools throughout Canada, mainly targeting college students. The objectives are to raise young Canadians’ awareness of water and sanitation problems at home and abroad and to motivate them to get involved in water related actions in their region or in international cooperation projects.
         The Division of Social Science at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College is hosting one of two stops the tour is making in Corner Brook. The presentation will be held on Thursday, Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m., in AS328 (Arts and Science Building). The main presentation will be by Marianne Strauss, program co-ordinator at the ISW. Issues will be illustrated using videos made by young adults from throughout the planet, filmed interviews with young people actively involved in their communities, and extracts of documentaries presenting different aspects of water-related problems and their solutions in Canada and other countries.

National Essay Competition for university students

          University students between the ages of 17 and 30 who attend the conference are eligible to submit a 500-word essay on their ideas, opinions and proposals about water. Grenfell College will select five essays to send to the ISW for the national contest. The Canadian winner will receive a week’s trip to Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in the activities of the ISW during the 5th World Water Forum in March 2009.
        The International Secretariat for Water (ISW) is an international non-governmental organization created in 1990 during the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. Since 2006, ISW has been working with young people in Quebec, Canada and around the world in the context of the “A Celebration of Lakes and Rivers” program. This program engages the young by offering them the opportunity for direct citizen involvement in actions favouring water development issues in both domestic and international cooperation projects. The ISW will share results of its projects from the past three years during the presentation.

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