World Water Day 2026 Online Colloquium

Wednesday, 22th April, 10:00 – 13:00 online

The Graduate Academy Water-People-Agriculture at the University of Hohenheim invites you to an online colloquium in celebration of UN World Water Day 2026.

This event will bring together leading experts from diverse disciplines, offering insights into the links between water access and gender equality and the broader social implications of water insecurity. Through a series of presentations, speakers will explore how unequal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene affects education, health, livelihoods, and safety, particularly for women and girls. Discussions will further examine the importance of inclusive water governance and the role of gender-responsive policies in strengthening communities and advancing sustainable development.

Each presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, allowing for discussion and scientific exchange.

Participants can join the colloquium online via Zoom

Zoom Meeting: https://uni-hohenheim.zoom-x.de/j/61190661964?pwd=wWp1LZiGMho6cCbDhqaDfq7L5eZpvL.1
Meeting ID: 611 9066 1964
Passcode: HN737v

Water is essential for daily life, health, and economic development, yet access to it remains unequal across many parts of the world. In numerous communities, women and girls are primarily responsible for collecting water, often traveling long distances and spending significant time on this task. This responsibility can limit educational opportunities, income generation, and overall well-being. Inadequate access to safe sanitation and hygiene facilities also poses health risks and threatens dignity and personal safety. Climate change and water scarcity further intensify these gendered challenges, particularly in vulnerable regions. If these inequalities persist, they will continue to hinder social progress and sustainable development. This year’s World Water Day 2026 focuses on the theme “Water and Gender,” drawing attention to the critical links between equitable water access and gender equality, and the urgent need for inclusive and sustainable solutions.

With contributions from:

Ruchika Shiva

  • Director, South Asia Regional Program IRC WASH

  • The Hague, Netherlands (based in New Delhi, India)

  • Title: “Rooted in Equity: Strengthening and Transforming Systems Through a Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Lens”

Dr. rer. nat. Yolanda López-Maldonado

  • Founder and CEO, Indigenous Science
  • Vienna, Austria
  • Title: “Guarding the Flow". Elevating Indigenous Women’s Leadership in Global Water Governance”

Prof. Dr. Martina Aruna Padmanabhan

  • Professor for Critical Development Studies
  • University of Passau, Germany
  • Title: "A Feminist Political Ecology of riverine landscapes - Use, access and knowledge at Asian river benches”

Program:

Time

Person / Institution

Title

10:00

Prof. Dr. Folkard Asch

Scientific Director

Research Training Group

“Water – People – Agriculture”

 

Opening

World Water Day Colloquium 2026

10:10

Ruchika Shiva
Director, South Asia Regional Program IRC WASH, The Hague, Netherlands (based in New Delhi, India)

Focus: Inclusive WASH systems, urban and rural water and sanitation program, South Asia

 

 

“Rooted in Equity: Strengthening and Transforming Systems Through a Gender Equity

and Social Inclusion Lens”

10:50

Dr. rer. nat. Yolanda López-Maldonado

Founder & CEO, Indigenous Science

Vienna, Austria

Focus: Indigenous knowledge systems, water governance, gender, climate change

 

"Guarding the Flow". Elevating Indigenous Women’s Leadership in Global Water Governance."

11:30

Break

 

11:40

Prof. Dr. Martina Aruna Padmanabhan Professor for Critical Development Studies (Southeast Asia), Woman´s Representative and Liaison Lecturer

University of Passau, Passau Germany

Focus: Comparative development studies, gender studies, institutional analysis, socio-ecological systems

 

"A Feminist Political Ecology of riverine landscapes -

Use, access and knowledge at Asian river benches.”

12:20

PhD Projects “Water – People – Agriculture” Research Training Group

Gabriella Vives

WPA Scholar

(Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology)

 

 

 

 "The role of aquatic macrophytes in wetlands ecosystems management in the Amazon”

12:40

Melissa Morcote

WPA Scholar

(Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics)

"Insights into innovation channels and long-term research as climate resilience strategies for cacao farming in Alto Beni, Bolivia”

13:00

Prof. Dr. Folkard Asch, Dr. Van Nguyen

Closing of the Colloquium

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