IWRA decided in 2019 to test run an on-line conference on water to facilitate the international sharing and presentation of the latest research for people who are unable to travel to international conferences, due to the cost, ethical reasons, or other travel restrictions.  The plan was to hold this first IWRA Online Conference in 2020.  Little did we realise that in 2020 no one would be able to travel to any conference that year.  The result was an event well beyond our best expectations, proving the model to fulfill both demand and needs.

Following the huge success (+ 1,450 attendees from 130 countries) of the IWRA 2020 Online Conference on “Addressing Groundwater Resilience under Climate Change”, organised with the support of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), and the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the IWRA Executive Board have decided to make the IWRA Online Conference an annual event, and have proposed to hold the 2nd conference from June 7th to June 9th 2021 on the new theme of: “One Water, One Health: Water, Food and Public Health in a Changing World.”

Currently, the whole world has been focused on public health with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also disrupted farming, production, and shipping, highlighting the fragilities of the interconnected systems we all depend upon.  Water is a critical factor in both agriculture and food processing, as well as in nutrition and broader human health issues. This complex nexus of sectors is often treated in silos, from both science and policy perspectives.  Examining the inter-linkages between water, food and public health is now more critical than ever, especially as the world changes in response to the stressors of pandemics, climate change, population growth, and urbanization.  This theme also fits well with on the “Road to Dakar” preparations for the 9th World Water Forum in Senegal in March 2022.