GWOPA Partner-led events at WUF13

May 19, 2026 | 12:00 - 13:30 | ONE UN room C | UNESCAP

This side event will highlight sanitation as a foundational urban system for safe, adequate, and climate-resilient housing, focusing on low-income and informal urban communities in Asia. Convened at the 13th World Urban Forum in Baku and co-organized by ESCAP, UN-Habitat, the World Bank, Habitat for Humanity International, Slum Dwellers International, and CWIS San Nepal, the event addresses the sanitation crisis and its direct implications for housing safety and urban resilience. The session will link sanitation to the WUF13 theme, “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” and demonstrate how inadequate sanitation undermines housing habitability through flooding, structural damage, and public health risks. Three city case presentations will cover sanitation service capacity challenges in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR; practical implementation lessons from Nepal; and transferable approaches from a mentor city in South or South-East Asia. 

To learn more about the session, view the full event details on the WUF13 Programme Page.

May 19, 2026 | 12:00 - 13:30 | Voices from Cities - room A | Swimmable Cities incubated by Regeneration Projects

Bicycle Lanes, Urban Forests and Community Gardens - Now Urban Swimming places are becoming essential parts of urban planning policy and green infrastructure. From Paris to Copenhagen, Cape Town to Sydney, and Rio to Portland; city leaders and urban planners are increasingly adopting 'swimmability' as a mainstream indicator for city liveability, resilience, equity and prosperity. Housing for growing urban populations, increasing heat waves and inequitable access to Nature are challenges facing cities around the world. Urban swimming as a catalytic solution; an innovative way to improve public health, boost climate resilience, address pollution and biodiversity loss, as well as unlock new investments in sustainable waterfront developments and tourism. This session will share insights from world-leading experts and city decision-makers, and include special announcements about the global Swimmable Cities initiative.

To learn more about the session, view the full event details on the WUF13 Programme Page.

May 19, 2026 | 15:00 - 16:00 | Urban Library - room B | Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd

According to UN Water, SDG 6 is drastically off-track with 2.1 billion people lacking access to safe water and 3.5 billion people lacking safely managed sanitation services, and more than a billion people still living in slums and informal settlements. With the UN Water Conference being held in UAE in December 2026, the event will offer a platform to showcase the critical role of water and sanitation utilities in sustainable urban development as SDG front line actors. Equitable access to water and sanitation basic services are crucial to public health, environmental protection, and to eradicating poverty and inequality in human settlements. As urbanization continues to accelerate, cities are under increasing pressure to provide basic public services.
The objectives of the session are to (1) Draw attention to the challenges posed by the nexus of rapid urbanization, the global housing crisis, and emerging water bankruptcy in many cities; (2) highlight the essential role of water and sanitation service providers in achievement of SDG 6 and 11, and (3) Share practical solutions from Asia, Africa and Latin America, spearheaded by utilities and supported by financial institutions, and pathways for scale up. Discussion will cover what local governments can do to plan and respond to the increased demand for water and sanitation services, and the role of capacity development and peer-to-peer learning at the city and utility levels as practical solutions.

To learn more about the session, view the full event details on the WUF13 Programme Page.

May 20, 2026 | 09:30 -11:30 | Multipurpose room 3 | National Institute of Urban Affairs

In this 120-minute WUF Academy training strengthens local government and practitioner capacities for delivering safe, inclusive and rights-based sanitation in informal settlements, directly aligning with Dialogue 2: Transforming Informal Settlements and Slums. The training responds to the fact that SDG 6 is significantly off track globally: around 3.4 billion people lack safely managed sanitation, only 56 per cent of domestic wastewater is safely treated, and water and sanitation systems are under increasing strain from pollution, water stress and weak governance. These challenges are most acute in informal settlements, where inadequate sanitation reinforces housing inadequacy, health risks and social exclusion.
The training positions sanitation as a strategic entry point for informal settlement upgrading, with a focus on the critical role of local governments in planning, regulating and integrating services into citywide systems. It builds practical capacities to address exclusion, improve worker safety, and enhance service quality in dense, resource-constrained contexts. The training is structured into three 30-minute sessions, with short breaks to support reflection and knowledge retention, and combines conceptual inputs with applied learning.

To learn more about the session, view the full event details on the WUF13 Programme Page.

May 20, 2026 | 11:45 - 12:30 | Urban Cinema | Public Service International

This Urban Cinema session features two short documentaries, Dangerous Gutters: South Asia’s Despised Sanitation Workers and Weight of the Waste: Story of Sanitation Workers, spotlighting the lived realities of sanitation workers in Bangladesh and Nepal. Through raw first-hand testimonies, the films reveal the dangerous working conditions, social exclusion and caste-based discrimination faced by workers who sustain urban sanitation systems under extreme risk and with little recognition.

To learn more about the session, view the full event details on the WUF13 Programme Page.

May 21, 2026 | 12:00 -13:00 | UN-Habitat Arena | UN-Habitat

WUF13 is a strategic milestone on the road to the 2026 UN Water Conference to be held in Abu Dhabi in December 2026. Building on the UN Water Action Agenda launched in 2023, the event responds to the persistent global shortfall in access to safely managed water and sanitation, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas and informal settlements, by positioning housing, land governance, and WASH as inseparable pillars of sustainable urban development.  The session highlights the stark reality that billions of people still lack basic water and sanitation services, with urban poor communities disproportionately affected due to insecure tenure, climate vulnerability, and limited institutional capacity. It underscores water and sanitation as fundamental human rights and essential prerequisites for adequate housing and dignified living conditions. The event emphasizes inclusive approaches that recognize the full continuum of tenure rights, integrate WASH into slum upgrading and urban planning, and avoid displacement while improving living standards.  Key highlights include the presentation and refinement of an integrated housing and urban services roadmap from Baku to Abu Dhabi, linking WUF13 outcomes directly to global preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference. High-level political leaders, UN agencies, development banks, utilities, and frontline practitioners will examine pathways for climate‑resilient, citywide WASH systems, sustainable financing, and empowered local institutions. By elevating practical experiences from utilities and local actors, the event aims to strengthen partnerships, mobilize political momentum, and advance coherent, action‑oriented solutions toward SDG 6 and resilient, inclusive cities.

To learn more about the session, view the full event details on the WUF13 Programme Page.

May 22, 2026 | 12:00 -13:30 | Voices from Cities - room C | World Waternet

This session, led by World Waternet, demonstrates how cities can become safer, more resilient, and sustainable by integrating the full water cycle into housing and urban planning. Using the Water Cycle Approach and Landscape-Based Design, participants explore cities as interconnected water systems—covering drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, blue infrastructure, and water storage—visualized as the “veins” of urban life. The session introduces a landscape-based, regional design methodology, illustrated through practical projects in Jordan, including urban green infrastructure initiatives developed with UN-Habitat and the Greater Amman Municipality to mitigate flooding and enhance climate resilience.   Participants will actively apply these concepts in small group exercises, collaboratively designing their own cities as integrated water systems. Roles such as storyteller, resource manager, architect, and questioners promote collaboration, critical thinking, and hands-on learning. The session concludes with reflection and knowledge-sharing, enabling participants to translate water cycle thinking into planning, policy, and design solutions in their own contexts.   By shifting from fragmented, sector-based approaches to an integrated view of water in urban development, this training strengthens capacities to design inclusive, climate-adapted housing and communities. Participants gain practical tools to enhance public health, reduce flood risks, support ecosystem protection, and ensure long-term water security, directly contributing to the WUF13 theme “Housing the World: Safe and Sustainable Cities and Communities.”   World Waternet brings decades of expertise in water utility strengthening, capacity building, and international collaboration across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, implementing programs such as WaterWorX and Blue Deal. This session combines expert knowledge, applied examples, and interactive learning to offer a highly practical, solution-oriented approach that participants can implement immediately in diverse urban contexts.

To learn more about the session, view the full event details on the WUF13 Programme Page.