World Water Week 2026 will take place from 23-27 August in Stockholm and is a key event for the Netherlands to engage on water issues, bring innovative solutions, and learn from others. The Government of the Netherlands will host and co-host a variety of sessions and activities as outlined below - some of which will be accessible online. Important network opportunities include the Netherlands Booth, a vibrant space for knowledge exchange with Dutch and international water experts, and the annual reception at the Embassy of the Netherlands.
Stockholm
This year’s conference theme is water for people and progress, with a focus on how to build a more just and equitable water-secure future for people and the planet in a rapidly changing climate.
Securing water for the future requires collective action across sectors and at all levels -from local to global. This is essential to stabilize the hydrological cycle and maintain the Earth’s system for humanity. We call for aligning food systems, ecosystems, trade and governance around shared responsibility, equity and justice.
The Netherlands works on water security, water safety and climate adaptation. We focus our substantive efforts on creating resilience through a system-wide, long-term oriented, and inclusive approach within water management and climate adaptation; and on the other hand, on facilitating good governance.
For the Netherlands strengthening water security means ensuring that, in water stressed sourcing regions, food production remains within sustainable local water limits and that water is allocated in an equitable manner as a shared resource.
In our flagship session 'Water for Tomorrow: Shaping Future Agricultural Food and Trade Systems', we emphasise the importance of landscape-based water governance, recognising that technical solutions and farm-level efficiency alone are insufficient in water-stressed regions. Through our Water in Business series, we will promote more strategic public–private collaboration for system-level change. We will also participate in sessions advancing climate resilience, integrated water resources management, evidence-based decision-making, and will call for sustaining the global water momentum to secure water on all multilateral agendas through to 2028 and beyond.
Through these initiatives and themes, we aim to help translate global water ambitions into practical actions that secure water for people, food systems, and ecosystems alike.
We look forward to seeing you online or in Stockholm at various sessions, events and at the Dutch Booth!
Join us in building a water-secure and sustainable future for all.
Events convened by the Government of the Netherlands and partners
Water for Tomorrow: Shaping Future Agricultural Food and Trade Systems
Tuesday 25 August Time: 16:00 - 17:30 Location: On-site (C3, Level 2) and online
Fresh fruits and vegetables are traded globally. In the off-season, retailers often source from regions where water use exceeds availability. Climate change intensifies these pressures, creating economic, social, and environmental challenges. This session explores strategies to tackle unsustainable practices through an integrated approach, balancing trade-offs in agriculture, water and nature.
Conveners: Government of the Netherlands, FAO, WASAG
High Level Panel: Financing Water Resilience and Prosperity: Translating Commitments into Implementation and Sustainable Impact ahead of the UN 2026 Water Conference
Tuesday 25 August Time: 9:00-10:30 Location: On-site (Centre Stage, A1, Level 4) and online
This session convenes high-level voices from governments, multilateral development banks, climate finance institutions, and programme countries to ensure financing water access, resilience and prosperity remains at the forefront of global dialogue. It examines how the commitments made globally can be translated into concrete actions and investments that can ensure technology, capacity, data, and governance where they are needed most. Ahead of the UN 2026 Water Conference, the panel will encourage a focus on closing the water finance gap, mobilising blended finance, and linking water resilience to broader prosperity and climate outcomes
Conveners: Government of the Netherlands, SIWI
A cooperation between employees checking their planting with ICT-technology
Water in Business Programme
Tuesday 25 August, Wednesday 26 August, Thursday 27 August Time: 14:00-14:30 Location: On-site (Centre Stage, A1, Level 4) and online
The World Water Week Water in Business programme, a joint initiative of SIWI and the Government of the Netherlands, hosts a series of conversations that unpack how water is becoming a strategic issue in an increasingly unstable and resource-constrained world. The programme explores the links between water security, food systems, economic resilience, trade, and long-term stability, highlighting why businesses, governments, and financial actors must move beyond individual commitments towards collective action and investment in water resilience. Through discussions on stewardship, governance, finance, and international cooperation, the programme aims to identify practical pathways for scaling coordinated action and securing water for resilient economies and societies.
Conveners: Government of the Netherlands, SIWI
Water in Business I
Water in Business II
Water in Business III
Water
Other key moments to engage with the Government of the Netherlands and partners
HYBRID SESSIONS
Catalysing action: Strengthening monitoring of SDG 6 Means of Implementation
When: Sunday, 23 August, 11:00-12:30, C2, Level 2
Conveners: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UK, Government of the Netherlands, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, UN Environment Programme, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, World Health Organization
Locally-led adaptation approach pays off
When: Sunday, August 23, 11:00–12:30, C1, Level 2
Conveners: Friendship Bangladesh, Government of the Netherlands, IMPACT-Kenya, MetaMeta, Uttaran
Monitoring Water Productivity through Remote Sensing - sustainability and scalability
When: Tuesday, August 25, 14:00–15:30, C4, Level 2
Conveners: Copernicus, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Government of the Netherlands, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, International Water Management Institute, Wageningen University & Research
WORKSHOPS
Putting People at the Center of Water Infrastructure Sustainability
When: Sunday, August 23, 14:00–15:30, Room 24/25, Level 2
Conveners: Dutch Water Authorities, Government of the Netherlands, Partners for Water, WaterWorX
Sponge City Nakuru: Building Climate Resilience in Kenya
When: Monday, August 24, 09:00–10:30, Room 27, Level 2
Conveners: Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, Government of the Netherlands
Strengthening Data and Governance for Just and Equitable Water Allocation
When: Monday, August 24, 11:00–12:30, Room 24/25, Level 2
Conveners: Dutch Water Authorities, Government of the Netherlands, Netherlands Food Partnership
Advancing Water–Climate Action Through Technical Assistance and Partnerships
When: Wednesday, August 26, 09:00–10:30, Room 24/25, Level 2
Conveners: Government of the Netherlands, NDC Partnership
Laundry Transformation: Unlocking Laundry as a System
When: Wednesday, August 26, 16:00–17:30, Room 26, Level 2
Conveners: Asian Development Bank, Gopa MetaMeta, Government of the Netherlands, Practica, UNICEF Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub
WASAG - farmers centered response to water scarcity in Agriculture
When: Wednesday, August 26, 16:00–17:30, C4, Level 2
Conveners: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, Government of Cabo Verde, Government of the Netherlands, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, Netherlands Food Partnership, Netherlands Water Partnership, Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Zimbabwe Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement
Failing forward? Uncomfortable lessons for water, people and progress
When: Thursday, August 27, 14:00–15:30, Room 27, Level 2
Conveners: Deltares, Government of the Netherlands, UNICEF Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub
Polder landscape
Don't miss out on engaging with the Netherlands at World Water Week sessions and the Netherlands Booth. Keep an eye on the World Water Week website for more information.