MEDIA RELEASE
30 January 2025
Communities around the globe are ‘pushing back’ on water theft and water use that is harming their well being and our environments.
The Inaugural Water Justice Day, a world first, brings together community leaders, advocates for justice, researchers, policy makers and Elders from around the world on, Friday 31 January 2025.
This free event is convened by the Water Justice Hub, with support from the Just Water Alliance, and is an in person event at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra. It’s free for anyone online everywhere. It features strength-based stories from Argentina, India, Kenya, Mexico and Australia. A highlight of the day will be the world premiere (in person screening only) of the short film ‘EveryOne, EveryWhere, EveryWhen’.
Prof. Quentin Grafton, Convenor of the Water Justice Hub and Professor at the Crawford School of the Australian National University, said, ‘This day is a global event that ‘tells us how it is’. It’s about all of us, together and in solidarity, ‘pushing back’ on water injustice. It’s about water warriors coming together to achieve a better world.’
‘We are immensely pleased to offer the world premiere screening of ‘EveryOne, EveryWhere, EveryWhen’. It features breathtaking visuals, amazing music, and inspiring interviews and strength-based narratives from Elders and other water experts from three Australian rivers: Baaka (NSW), Roper (NT), and Martuwarra (WA).
Gabriela Sacco, Director, Institute for Global Dialogue and Culture of Encounter, Argentina, and a key contributor to Water Justice Day said,
‘Water justice is fundamentally about solidarity. It calls us to listen to the voices of those most directly affected by water decisions and to recognize the interconnectedness of our world. As an international community, we flourish only when we strive to flourish together, by respecting shared resources, cherishing shared humanity, and empowering the most vulnerable to ensure everyone has a voice in shaping a sustainable future.’
Prof Anne Poelina, Chair Indigenous Knowledges Nulungu Institute Research, University of Notre Dame and Chair Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, and who will lead a key session on Water Justice Day said,
‘The call for water justice must be situated within the wider frame of climate justice, which focuses on local impacts and experiences, and inequitable vulnerabilities. It can’t be ‘business as usual’, water reform is restorative justice, a matter for the greater good of all’.
Water Justice Day will be held on Friday 31 January 2025, 8.00- 17.00 AEDT (UTC/GMT +11 hours), in the Peninsula Room at the National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent Acton Peninsula, Canberra, ACT 2600; or online via Zoom.
Register for virtual sessions HERE.
Register for film tickets (in person screening only) HERE. Please arrive at Visions Theatre by 12:45PM.
Contacts
Professor Quentin Grafton +61 410 680 584, quentin.grafton@anu.edu.au; Professor Anne Poelina + 61 408 922 155, chair@martuwarra.org