Water is Life Youth Forum set to launch for National Water Week

Engaging youth in key water challenges is crucial for boosting water literacy across communities and one leading water utility is putting everything they’ve got behind ensuring the next generation are informed on crucial water issues.

Launched for National Water Week (21-25 October), Sydney Water is set to kick off a new youth forum, Water is Life, with the inaugural event to be held on 17 October at the utility’s Parramatta head office and hosted by Sydney Water ambassador, Shane Jacobson. 
 
Sydney Water is also leaning heavily into facilitating school tours and educational visits to its Purified Recycled Water Demonstration Plant, which was opened one year ago for National Water Week – a facility dedicated to educating the community on PRW.  
 
And, just last week, Sydney Water hosted the annual Youth Eco Summit, one of the biggest youth sustainability events in NSW for primary school students, bringing together leading sustainability experts to run hands on workshops, interactive displays and stage shows. 
 
Feeling dizzy? Sydney Water Manager Community Education and Corporate Social Responsibility Tracey Willingham said the utility’s youth engagement portfolio is certainly very busy, but for good reason. 
 
“Our youth are excellent water ambassadors that make a real difference to water literacy within their communities. In Sydney, our communities are extraordinarily diverse. It can be difficult communicating with adults when there are language barriers,” she said.  
 
"But many of our youngsters are bilingual and love to relay messaging at home. Generational change is a major contributor to building water literacy and, to speed up that process, we are encouraging children to step up.  

“We need them to support sustainable water management. The aim isn’t to put the onus on children, but to ask those youth who are interested and passionate to join us in this future planning.”

Meaningful connections 

Willingham said the Water is Life Youth Forum is all about reaching the secondary school audience in a meaningful way.  
 
“What we've learned is that certain young people are very passionate about the environment and about water. They want to know more, they're interested in our industry,” she said.   
 
“But sometimes going into a secondary school and delivering an incursion, for example, doesn't necessarily lay the breadcrumb trail that you'd like. Often the connection we are aiming for is lost when we present to large school audiences.” 
 
With Water is Life, Sydney Water is asking schools to send 30 students who are highly interested in contributing to these discussions - the students who are highly engaged in issues around the environment, water and sustainability.  
 
“We know kids love learning from their peers, so if we can adequately engage and educate the most passionate kids, we think we’ll have more success in getting them to spread the message within their schools and communities,” Willingham said. 
 
“The event design has been very deliberate. Smaller groups allows for a much deeper learning experience and effective questioning. It allows for students to bring forth their thoughts and opinions that might otherwise be lost in a larger context.”

Encouraging deep thought

Students will participate in small format workshops and large group presentations to explore concepts such as: 
 
How can young people be inspired to use Earth’s natural resources sustainably? What can we learn from First Nations people and their strong connection with water? Is our current water supply climate resilient?  
 
What is Purified Recycled Water (PRW) and how can I explain it to others? What are the 3 P’s and why are they costing Sydney Water $25 million a year? What career opportunities are available to help me make a difference in the future? 
 
As students strengthen their water literacy and examine how water can be managed more sustainably, the importance of securing a resilient and reliable water supply for generations to come will become evident, Willingham said.  

“Students are going to be working their way through a series of workshops that have been considered in terms of syllabus and content, but also considered in terms of what actions students can take away.,” she said.  
 
“Importantly, the content will build the narrative around how lucky we are to have utilities able to provide this water for us. 
 
“Everybody should have access to this resource. And so it's about supporting the understanding that water is a human right, but not everyone has access to it in the way we do.”

Setting the stage

Willingham said Sydney Water is pleased to have Shane Jacobson – the face of Sydney Water’s water literacy campaigns in recent years – on board to host the Water is Life Youth Forum.  
 
“Shane has an energy about him, people just want to be around him. He's also committed to water education. Shane is very keen to see this event grow year after year,” she said.  
 
“He would like to see some pretty powerful people in the room in years to come, in order to connect students with decision makers. When you connect with young people that are engaged and passionate, all they need is a stage. 
 
“They just need an opportunity and Sydney Water can provide that for them. I'm really confident that it's going to be an excellent learning experience. We are starting small to test it out, but I can see the event growing year after year.” 
 
Learn more about National Water Week here.