How can we sustainably establish reliable access to clean drinking water and sanitation worldwide? What can we contribute at the municipal level to meet the sixth UN Sustainable Development Goal "Clean Water and Sanitation"?

"Water is Life" is the focal topic of Dresden's festive event on the occasion of the United Nations Day, which will take place on Thursday, November 9, 2023, 6 pm, in Dresden’s City Hall. The event is already sold out, but if you are interested, you can follow the presentations and discussions in a live stream on the YouTube channel of the City of Dresden.

The event is organized by the Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources of the United Nations University Dresden (UNU-FLORES), TUD Dresden University of Technology, and the State capital of Dresden.

Festive event and award ceremony

This year's festive event will be opened by Eva Jähnigen, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Climate, Law and Order of the City of Dresden. Following a welcome address by Minister of the Environment Wolfram Günther, Dr. Valentin Aich, a water and climate expert, (Global Water Partnership and World Meteorological Organization) will give a keynote speech. In addition, the participants can look forward to a video message from professional footballer Neven Subotić, whose foundation is committed to the issue of water. The subsequent panel discussion with Dr. Valentin Aich, UNU-FLORES Director Prof. Edeltraud Günther, Eva Jähnigen and Prof. Jürgen Stamm, Chair of Hydraulic Engineering at TU Dresden, will focus on concrete pathways for the future.

The Local Agenda Dresden has been honoring exemplary projects and commitment to sustainable development with the "Local Agenda Award" for the last 24 years. The 2023 awards will be presented during the second part of the festive event on UN Day on November 9. Moreover, the "Weiterdenken - Heinrich Böll Foundation Saxony" will present its exhibition „Alles im Fluss!? – Wasser in der Krise“ ("Everything in Flux!? Water in Crisis"), which comprehensively explores the implementation and challenges of SDG 6. The festive event will be accompanied by music from the Dresden State Operetta, who as an "Orchestra of Change" support sustainable projects and promote climate and environmental protection.

The United Nations in Dresden

78 years ago, on October 24, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations (UN) came into force. UN sites around the world commemorate this event, as well as the decades of commitment to world peace and more sustainable development. Dresden is also a UN site, as researchers from all over the world have been working here at the Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources of the United Nations University (UNU-FLORES) in the World Trade Center since 2012.

In addition to UNU-FLORES, the organizers of the United Nations Day in Dresden include the Local Agenda 21 for Dresden e. V., the City of Dresden, TUD Dresden University of Technology and its Center for International Studies, the UNICEF Working Group Dresden, the United Nations Association of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt & Thuringia and the Lions Club Dresden Agenda 21.

Festive event on November 9, 2023, 6 pm
Location: Plenary Hall of Dresden’s City Hall, Rathausplatz 1 (Golden Gate entrance).

Find out more: www.dresden.de/un-tag

Contact

Claudia Seiler
TU Dresden