Post
Published on July 12, 2023
The UN Global Water Academy was announced in March 2023 at the UN Water Conference in New York City. It is a multi-stakeholder collaboration between the United Nations, academic institutions, private sector partners, and with York University as the Academic Lead. The Global Water Academy will tackle diverse aspects of the water sustainability crisis: training, research, and knowledge mobilization, ultimately used to inform decision-making and public policy.
During this year's annual High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (July 10-July 19), the York University has prepared a special event titled "Humanitarian Responses to Emerging Water Crises as a Result of Extreme Climatic Event". On Friday, July 14, a team of expert panellists will discuss extreme climatic events and their impact on freshwater. Climatic events have been associated with changes in freshwater availability and degradation of water quality, including elevated concentrations of nutrients, contaminants of emerging concern, and potential for algal blooms, some of which may be toxic. Any alterations to the freshwater supply can be detrimental to humans and wildlife that rely on freshwater for life, especially during humanitarian crises.

This virtual event will be moderated by faculty fellow Sapna Sharma and feature special guests Dr. Rhonda Lenton, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University, and Mr. Nikhil Seth, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Director of UNITAR. It will also bring together four renowned experts in the fields of technology, engineering, global governance, and advocacy, including Dahdaleh research fellow Syed Imran Ali. Together, they will be exploring humanitarian responses, challenges, and solutions to alleviating the freshwater crises in a climate crises.
Learn more and register for the special virtual event
Themes | Global Health & Humanitarianism, Planetary Health |
Status | Active |
Related Work |
N/A
|
Updates |
N/A
|
People |
Syed Imran Ali, Research Fellow, Global Health and Humanitarianism - Active
Sapna Sharma, Faculty Fellow, Faculty of Science - Active |
You may also be interested in...
Hot Off the Press – Youth, Education and Wellbeing in the Americas
Dahdaleh Institute faculty fellow Kate Tilleczek and Deborah MacDonald has recently published the book, Youth, Education and Wellbeing in the Americas. This book explores ways in which education supports or negates the wellbeing and rights of young ...Read more about this Post
Recap — A Global Analysis of Health Worker Protests, Unions, and Policy Challenges, with Veena Sriram
On March 5, 2025, Veena Sriram, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, delivered a seminar examining how health worker protests evolved during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. She explored global protest trends, their ...Read more about this Post
Don't Miss Our November Lineup of Events
Join us for a November packed with insightful seminars, inspiring guests, and the launch of SWOT v2. Start off the month with a public seminar by visionary designer and Dahdaleh Institute community fellow Bruce Mau. ...Read more about this Post