World Water Week, the world’s leading annual conference on global water issues, will be held from 23 to 27 August 2026 in Stockholm, Sweden and online. Organised every year in the last week of August by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) since 1991, it brings together governments, scientists, businesses and communities to find solutions for water security. The 2026 edition will centre on the theme Water for People and Progress.
What Is World Water Week?
World Water Week is an annual global conference focused on water, development and sustainability. It is organised and led by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), an independent policy institute headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. SIWI was founded in 1991 and works worldwide on improving water governance through research, policy support and partnerships.
The conference is co-created with leading organisations and is held as an independent and impartial non-profit event. Each year it gathers a diverse mix of participants including government officials, researchers, civil society, private sector leaders, financial institutions, Indigenous Peoples and youth from across the world. Sessions range from specialist scientific discussions to broad public policy debates and practical solution showcases.
The Stockholm International Water Institute also maintains a long standing partnership with the City of Stockholm and the Stockholm Water Foundation. The Foundation administers two prestigious awards that are central features of the Week, the Stockholm Water Prize established in 1991 and presented under the patronage of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize established in 1997 under the patronage of H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
History: From Stockholm Water Symposium to Global Conference
World Water Week began in 1991 as the Stockholm Water Symposium, a scientific symposium organised alongside the Stockholm Water Festival. The festival celebrated the restoration of Stockholm’s waterways and invited the public to engage with water issues, while the symposium brought together about 100 scientists to discuss global water challenges.
That same year, the Stockholm Water Foundation (SWF) was established by the City of Stockholm and partners to promote water research and to award the Stockholm Water Prize, first given in 1991. The Stockholm Water Initiative, a series of research activities to turn symposium insights into collaborative projects, was also launched. Management of these initiatives was later placed within Stockholm Vatten, the city’s municipal water utility, under the unit that evolved into SIWI.
In 2001, the Stockholm Water Symposium was officially rebranded as World Water Week in Stockholm, a name that reflected its growing global reach. Over time the “in Stockholm” tag was dropped and the event became simply World Water Week. What started as a two day seminar has grown into the world’s leading annual water event, typically bringing together around 2,500 in-person participants and, with online access, more than 13,000 participants from over 180 countries as seen in the 2025 edition.
Since 2008, each edition has had a distinct annual theme chosen to both reflect and shape the global water agenda. Earlier, a single theme was used for four to five years. Themes are now aligned with UN World Water Day and the priorities of the global water community.
World Water Week 2026: Dates, Venue and Theme
World Water Week 2026 will be held from 23 to 27 August 2026, online and in Stockholm. The dates fall in the last week of August, the traditional window for the conference, which is usually held in late August or early September.
The theme for 2026 is Water for People and Progress. The programme will be published on 3 June 2026 and will include hundreds of sessions. The opening ceremony will introduce the theme and explore how water supports healthier communities, resilient societies and sustainable development. The closing ceremony will review lessons from the Week and announce the theme for World Water Week 2027, which has already been revealed as Water for Human and Planetary Health.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 to 27 August 2026 |
| Venue | Stockholm, Sweden and online |
| Organiser | Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) |
| Held since | 1991 |
| Theme 2026 | Water for People and Progress |
| Theme 2027 (announced) | Water for Human and Planetary Health |
| Previous theme (2025) | Water for Climate Action |
Why the Theme Water for People and Progress Matters
The 2026 thematic scope focuses on building a more just and equitable water secure future for people and the planet in a rapidly changing climate. It centres on water security and safely managed drinking water and sanitation as foundations for human development, health and resilience.
Organisers note that despite progress, billions of people, especially those from marginalised groups, still lack access to these vital services. The Week will therefore give special attention to persistent inequalities and the compounding effects of climate change on vulnerable populations. It will examine how effective water governance, cooperation across sectors and practical, locally grounded solutions can drive transformation.
The scope also draws from the six interactive dialogue themes of the 2026 UN Water Conference, which are Water for people, Water for prosperity, Water for planet, Water for cooperation, Water in multilateral processes, and Investments for water. Alignment with World Water Day 2026 and the United Nations World Water Development Report is also planned, with water and gender expected to be a prominent topic.
How World Water Week Is Organised
World Water Week is not a single lecture series but a collaborative platform shaped by many partners. SIWI provides the overall framework and direction, while the programme itself is built together with scientific advisors, co-conveners and more than 300 collaborating organisations each year. SIWI describes itself as a convenor that brings science, policy and practice together to strengthen capacity for inclusive and resilient water governance.
Each edition centres on a theme selected to raise awareness, advance debate and build shared understanding across sectors. The Week includes scientific seminars where individuals present findings, high level policy dialogues, business and finance labs, youth and Indigenous Peoples focused sessions, and networking spaces.
A long standing partnership with the City of Stockholm anchors the event in Sweden’s tradition of environmental leadership. Since 2019, the main venue has been Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, chosen to accommodate growing demand and to create a more inclusive Water Week village with greater flexibility for meetings and exhibitions. The event was held online in a hybrid format from 2020 onwards, greatly expanding global access.
Stockholm Water Prize and Stockholm Junior Water Prize
Two awards are presented during World Water Week under royal patronage.
The Stockholm Water Prize, often called the most prestigious water award in the world, has been awarded annually since 1991 by the Stockholm Water Foundation in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The laureate is usually announced in March around World Water Day on 22 March and the prize is presented by H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf during World Water Week in Stockholm City Hall. Laureates include individuals, organisations and pioneers from diverse fields who have made exceptional contributions to the sustainable use and protection of water resources. In 2015, the prize adopted a new design inspired by water.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize is an international competition for students aged 15 to 20 who develop water related research projects. It began as a national competition in Sweden in 1995 and became international in 1997. Finalists are national winners from around 40 countries, selected from more than 10,000 entries worldwide. The international final is held during World Water Week, with a royal award ceremony at Stockholm City Hall led by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria. The winner receives a $15,000 scholarship and a blue crystal sculpture designed by Swedish designers. Over the years, many projects have led to practical innovations and many winners have gone on to careers in water science and policy.
World Water Week 2025 in Retrospect and Link to Global Processes
The 2025 edition, held from 24 to 28 August 2025 under the theme Water for Climate Action, marked the 35th edition of the conference. Organised by SIWI, it gathered more than 13,000 participants from 188 countries and territories, with nearly 40 percent under age 35 and balanced participation of women and men. Indigenous leaders had a larger presence than before, including a main stage high level session, and corporate voices on water stewardship featured more prominently.
The theme highlighted water’s dual role as both victim and solution in the climate crisis, with sessions on droughts, floods, glacier melt, resilient infrastructure, climate smart irrigation and wetlands as natural carbon stores. The UN World Water Development Report 2025, titled Mountains and Glaciers: Water Towers, warned of accelerating risks to global supplies as the cryosphere melts, a concern echoed during the Week.
The discussions also served as a springboard to two major upcoming milestones. The first is the 30th UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Brazil, whose Action Agenda includes six axes such as stewarding forests and biodiversity, reshaping agriculture and food systems, and building resilience in cities and water systems. The second is the 2026 UN Water Conference, to be held from 8 to 10 December 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Senegal. This conference aims to accelerate implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) on Clean Water and Sanitation and to strengthen global water governance as the world enters the final five years of the 2030 Agenda.
SIWI’s High Level Panel at World Water Week, titled Water’s Pathway in Global Processes, explicitly linked water to these global agendas. Speakers noted that the goals of the Global Stocktake in 2028 include fully integrating water into national adaptation plans and nationally determined contributions. World Water Week 2026 is expected to inform preparations for the December 2026 conference and to carry forward commitments made at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York.
Why World Water Week Matters for India and the World
Water security is central to health, food, energy, biodiversity and economic stability. The Week brings this interconnectedness to the forefront, showing how water cuts across climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and equity.
For India, the themes are directly relevant. India houses about 18 percent of the world’s population with only about 4 percent of global freshwater resources. Urban water stress, groundwater depletion, interstate river disputes and seasonal floods and droughts are recurring challenges. National programmes align closely with World Water Week’s agenda. The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) to all rural households. By early 2026, about 81 percent or 15.8 crore of 19.36 crore rural households had been covered. The Cabinet extended the Mission to December 2028 under JJM 2.0, with a total outlay of ₹8.69 lakh crore and a shift from infrastructure creation to service delivery, source sustainability and the digital framework Sujalam Bharat. Other efforts such as Atal Bhujal Yojana, Namami Gange, and the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign also focus on groundwater management, river rejuvenation and rainwater harvesting.
Globally, progress on SDG 6 remains off track. The UN notes that billions still lack safely managed drinking water and sanitation, and financing gaps remain large. World Water Week provides a space where donors and implementers, including agencies such as UN Water, UNICEF, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), discuss models to close these gaps. Sessions on nature based solutions, AI driven modelling for water resilience, and financing for sanitation reflect this breadth.
The equity lens of the 2026 theme is also important. Studies presented at the Week highlight that marginalised communities, women and low income households face the greatest burden from water scarcity. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that reliable water access can save millions of hours spent collecting water and reduce diarrheal deaths, while school attendance, especially for girls, improves when safe water is available at home and in schools.
In short, World Water Week connects local realities, such as a village needing a stable pipeline supply, to global policy, such as decisions taken in New York, Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It helps turn knowledge and ambition into results that can improve lives.
Key Takeaways
- World Water Week is observed in the last week of August every year and in 2026 will be held from 23 to 27 August in Stockholm and online.
- The conference has been organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, since 1991, when it began as the Stockholm Water Symposium.
- The theme for World Water Week 2026 is Water for People and Progress, while the 2025 theme was Water for Climate Action and the announced 2027 theme is Water for Human and Planetary Health.
- The Stockholm Water Prize, established in 1991 and presented by H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, international since 1997 under H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria, are awarded during the Week.
- The Week informs major global processes including the 2026 UN Water Conference to be held 8 to 10 December 2026 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal, to accelerate SDG 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation.
