Istanbul (Turkey) 18-20 March 2007

The Government of Turkey and the World Water Council organized the 5th World Water Forum Kick-off Meeting, held in Istanbul on 19 and 20 March 2007, aiming to set down the bases along which the 5th World Water Forum (WWF5), to be held in March 2009, will be developed over the coming two years.

UN-Water took part in the various sessions of the Kick-off meeting in order to contribute to the formulation of the preparatory process regarding thematic, regional and political dimensions.

The Kick-off Meeting represented a vital opportunity to contribute to the plan of action for the Forum and to discuss the various commitments and actions presented and discussed during the 4th Forum in 2006, to ensure continuity in the discussions and activities towards the 5th Forum. In short, the Kick-off meeting is the official launch of 5th World Water Forum.

The purpose of the Kick-off meeting was to shape the 5th Forum and its two-year preparatory processes (thematic, regional and political), which will revolve around the overarching theme of “Bridging Divides for Water.”

The Kick-off meeting also enabled the identification of milestones in the processes and linkages to other main water events, e.g. Stockholm World Water Week; UNCSD meetings, the Zaragoza International Exhibition and many others