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Volvamos a la fuente

Agua, saneamiento y residuos solidos

The IDB at the UN 2023 Water Conference

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Written by Ariel Yépez-G

International conferences help move environmental agendas forward, as they allow leaders and specialists to meet and discuss strategies. This year, the IDB will take an active part of the United Nation’s 2023 Water Conference, the most important water event in a generation as well as the New York Water Week, which will begin on Saturday, March 18th and build momentum for the UN Water Conference.

The United Nations General Assembly, with support from the Governments of the Netherlands and Tajikistan, will convene the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York from March 22 to 24, 2023. Starting on World Water Day, this conference aims to raise awareness of the global water crisis and decide on concerted action to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including the SDGs. It will launch the Water Action Agenda, which represents the voluntary commitments by governments, institutions, and local communities. The agenda will help mobilize action by governments, sectors and stakeholders to meet the global water-related goals.

The IDB has taken an active part in the preparation of the UN 2023 Water Conference in collaboration with its partners. We hope you can join us in the following sessions:

Be the Drop that Shapes the Wave

This session —led by the FEMSA Foundation, in partnership with the IDB, One Drop Foundation, Orbia, and SIWI— will take place on Thursday, March 23rd from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (ET) at Le Skyroom at the FIAF and online. It will focus on the power of social art to ignite innovative thinking, share experiences and create a space where everyone can become an agent of change. This session will reveal the final piece of art, created by diverse communities in Latin America and New York, under the guidance of famous artist, Imma Barrero.

This session is part of Lazos de Agua program, an initiative that seeks to enable safe access to water, sanitation and hygiene in Latin America, social art empowers communities to take ownership of local projects and contribute to their sustainability. Behind every play, song, mural, music video, puppet show and radio drama, there is a community coming together and building engagement through the power of water and art. After witnessing the success of the first phase of the program, we are now looking to push this engagement even further through a more ambitious second phase.

Moreover, during the showcase, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the IDB and the World Meteorological Organization to promote programs and projects that foster cooperation, and to support investments and resource planning for water security in emerging markets and developing economies across the region by improving access to quality data, information and technical capacity.

More information about Be the Drop that Shapes the Wave.

Source of Innovation: Accelerating SDG 6

This event—led by the IDB, in partnership with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Government of Switzerland, the Government of Israel, the Ministry of Environment of the Government of South Korea, the FEMSA Foundation, and SIWI— will take place on Friday, March 24th from 8:00 to 9:15 am (ET) at the UN Headquarters and online.

This session will explore how cross-sectoral partnerships can use innovation to ensure universal, accessible, quality, and affordable water. It will also present Source of Innovation, an alliance that aims to foster and support innovation in water, sanitation, and waste management in Latin America and the Caribbean.  This event will also officially launch the 2023 edition of the IDB-FEMSA awards.

Also, the event Celebrating Source of Innovation will take place on Friday, March 24 from 6:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (ET) at FIAF’s Le Skyroom and online, where conclusions and findings of the morning session will be shared and we will hear testimonies and success stories of several women entrepreneurs in the area of Innovation and Water.

More information about Source of Innovation: Accelerating SDG 6.

Speakers from the IDB’s Water and Sanitation Division will also present in other sessions in the program. Explore the official sessions of the UN Water Conference program here.

This conference embodies the IDB’s commitment to improving lives and accelerating action towards the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Join us in New York and online!


Ariel Yepez

Ariel Yépez-García is the manager of the Infrastructure and Energy sector at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Previously, Mr. Yépez-García was the Energy Division Chief at the IDB. In this position, he led the implementation of energy projects to promote energy transition, decarbonization, and sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining the Bank, Mr. Yépez-García served as Senior Energy Economist at the World Bank and as Director of Economic Planning at Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). He also held various positions in the Ministry of Finance in Mexico, including the General Director of Revenue, Royalties, Prices, and Tariffs. Ariel has also taught at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico. He has also published articles and books about energy, infrastructure, regulation, public finance, and industrial organization. His most recent book is ¿How do households consume energy? Evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean, which has been published in English, Spanish and Portuguese. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in economics from the Colegio de México. He also received the National Economics Award from the Banco Nacional de México.

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