“Do you have access to drinking water in Ireland?”
Every living thing on Earth, from microscopic bacteria to the great blue whale, needs water. Where there is water, there is life. But we don’t all have equal access to water.
Since COVID, One World Week (OWW) has evolved and is now delivered as a hybrid event. This has allowed our Youth 2030 team to invite the direct participation of young people from the Global South. Events held as part of OWW 2023 used a global youth work (GYW) approach to emphasise key global justice topics. These included the right to access clean drinking water, critical discussions on poverty, and empowering young people and youth workers.
Testing the Water: Sharing Stories of Water was an online event focused on the human right to access clean drinking water. The event included a panel discussion with participants from Ireland and across Africa.
“Do you have access to drinking water in Ireland?” was a question asked by a young person in Malawi in conversation with a team from Trócaire. This was used as an anchor question to invite reflection during the session.
“… using participatory approaches to give space to traditional knowledge and citizen science makes a greater impact.”
This quote from Hadi Toure, a community development worker in Mali, underscored the importance of sessions like this one, where everyone’s participation matters.
Throughout the event, we reflected on water as an issue personal to everyone, which supported us to understand our relationship with water. Practically, this unfolded as
participants asking questions and engaging in dialogue. We used the PLiNGs (personal, local, national, and global) model to enable curiosity. During the session, we explored the structures and systems that affect water at different levels in the context of globalisation.
“I’ve spent years working with young Travellers who have no access to water.”
The first question posed during the event was “How do you access your drinking water?” Key themes emerged from this conversation, like the commodification of water and pollution of our natural waterways. We explored issues around access to water in Ireland as well as in the Global South.
Here in Ireland, access can be impeded by things like boil water notices around the country, as well as inequality. Rachel Coffey, an Irish Traveller who works with the NYCI Intercultural and Equality Programme, addressed this directly. “Creating awareness on the structural discrimination and issues of racism that prevent access to water for young people in Ireland is really important,” she said. “This is a key injustice that is part of a local and a global story.” In the Global South context, shared water sources used by animals and humans, which can lead to contamination, is another access issue.
“Access to safe and clean drinking water is a fundamental human rights issue.”
Building on the initial conversation, the idea of weaponising access to water sparked a conversation on human rights. Panellist Eimear Manning put forward that governments must put more resources into community-based solutions. Another panellist, Alhassan Kallon, drew on the joint responsibility of civil society and government to overcome these challenges. “What is missing,” he said, “is making youth development a political matter.”
With the support of Concern Worldwide, Dorothy Kazombo Mwale from Malawi and Charles Eris from Kenya shared their stories through pre-recorded videos. Dorothy focused on the environment, climate change, disaster risk management, and water treatment. Charles drew attention to the serious health consequences of denying people access to clean, safe water.
“What actions can we think about, individually, and collectively to address issues raised today?”
As the event progressed, it was clear that everyone taking part recognised the need for change long term. We need sustainable development and lifestyle solutions that engage with ‘global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development’
“A lot of us can take it for granted, just turning on our tap.”
Mary Cunningham, NYCI CEO, left us with her final thoughts. Access to clean water, a human right, is fundamental to people’s life, health, and education. The denial of access to something many of us take for granted, affects women and children globally in particular.
Testing the Water: Sharing Stories of Water was a thought-provoking experience. Those who took part told us that revisiting this topic, among all the challenges we face, is critically important.