Water Reflections: A 2020 World Water Day Collaboration, On Water, Climate and Humanity

World Water Day took place this year on March 22, 2020. The theme was “Water and Climate Change” - recognizing how the two are inextricably linked, and how adapting to the water effects of climate change will protect health and save lives.

In response to COVID-19, we have united in a common effort to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities and societies. Securing the health of humans and our ecosystems in the long-term starts with water - balancing the water cycle, and ensuring a sustainable supply of clean water to each and every individual.

Now is a critical time to reflect upon the state of the world’s water. Together with several collaborating organizations, we set out to explore the interconnections between the global challenges we face today through the lens of water, climate change and human security.

The magazine we present here is a collective effort of a diverse group of authors, artists, practitioners and water advocates that we hope will encourage you to reflect upon the interconnected nature of our human systems and ecosystems during this unprecedented time.

Thank you to the contributors - Ms. Susan Bell Chiblow, Dr. Dan Macfarlane, Nasreen Husain, Dr. Debby Wilson Danard, Dr. Greg Donaghy, Dr. Jack Cunningham, Laura James, and Symon James-Wilson - for your generous contributions. Thanks also to collaborating organizations - the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Massey College Entrepreneurs, the Trinity College Volunteer Society, the Trinity College Chinese Students Association, and the Contemporary Asian Studies Students Union.

Action follows from understanding, and understanding follows from cross-cutting dialogue. Let’s work together to protect our precious water.

Water Reflections / Published April 8, 2020

Access Water Reflections Individually

Part 1: Collective Water Ceremony at the Waters Edge Nearest You - Ms. Susan Bell Chiblow, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University

Part 2: On Water, Diplomacy and Human Security - Dr. Dan Macfarlane, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Western Michigan University

Part 3: K(no)w Water, K(no)w Life: What Water Means to Me - Nasreen Husain, Indigenous Environmental Justice Project, York University

Part 4: Be the Water - Dr. Debby Wilson Danard, Anishinaabe, Water Protector and Mother Earth Water Walker, artist, lecturer, writer, traditional knowledge practitioner

Part 5: Water and International Relations - Dr. Greg Donaghy and Dr. Jack Cunningham, Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History

Part 6: Yemoja, Goddess of Water - Laura James and Symon James-Wilson