THE WWQA AUDIO-VISUAL CENTRE
The importance of image and sound
Image and sound are powerful elements in the world of environmental policy. Images can stir up strong emotions, and sound can create a tone and atmosphere. Both elements can profoundly impact how an environmental message is received and understood, making them essential tools to affect socio-political behaviour.
It is essential for the water sector to reach as wide an audience as possible. People from different backgrounds and experiences can all connect with compelling visuals and audio clips. Using both can help an organization bridge the cultural divide and promote their message across diverse demographics. It is also a valuable tool for connecting with audiences online, as attention-grabbing audio and video content will often be shared more widely than text-only content.
The WWQA Audio-Visual Centre contains material produced by the Alliance and other content which the Alliance believes is of interest to anyone concerned with the global issue of water quality.
THE WWQA
An introduction to the World Water Quality Alliance which employs science, technology and innovation to assess the quality of freshwater across the world.
THE CLUJ LOCAL WATER FORUM
The Cluj Local Water Forum was created under the auspices of the WWQA Social Engagement Platform in 2021. Cluj-Napoca is a city in Romania located in the Transylvania region and lies on the river Somes which is the focus of the Local water Forum’s work. It is the fourth most populous city in the country and the capital of Cluj County. It is a cultural, educational, and economic hub and a major transportation hub in Central Europe
THE KIBERA LOCAL WATER FORUM
The Kibera Local Water Forum was created by Brandon Okoth in 2022. Kibera is an unplanned and densely populated slum in Nairobi, Kenya. With a population of hundreds of thousands of people, Kibera is the largest urban slum in Africa. Residents of Kibera live in extreme poverty and face many challenges, including inadequate access to clean water, health services, and educational resources. Kibera is also the home of many organizations and social enterprises that work to improve the lives of residents by providing access to education, healthcare, sanitation, and other essential services. The WWQA is working to find water quality solutions in the district whilst ensuring that such actions are co-created and implemented by the residents themselves. This model will be replicated by the Alliance in other major slums around the World.
THE GEMS OF WATER PROGRAMME
The GEMS OF WATER PROGRAMME aims to be an innovative capacity building initiative for water monitoring linking citizens to advanced measurement technology. This is done in collaboration between the WWQA and the European Commission (Joint Research Centre). The project focuses on the need to close the knowledge gap that exists with regards to unknown effects on human health arising from intensified contamination of water bodies as the result of industrial and agricultural runoff and chemicals. This can be achieved by capturing the water fingerprint (surface, groundwater, drinking water, wastewater and sea water), identifying pollution sources and assessing the related health risks to provide scientific support to drive local policy makers to promote change. ‘Gems of Water’ therefore aims to make citizens the protagonists of water quality knowledge and action by taking part in water sampling campaigns, virtually accessing laboratory facilities and by participating in the detection of organic compounds with an advanced measurement technology. The data obtained will be shared with platforms such as GEMSTAT and the Social Engagement Platform of the WWQA and will be communicated through culture and art. Local communities, NGOs and research centres that participate in the project become science embassies. This is a move which constitutes part of the RENAISSANCE approach to Science Diplomacy advocated by the WWQA and the European Commission (Joint Research Centre). The ultimate goal is to move from data to information, information to knowledge and from knowledge to action.
