World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. In 2013, in reflection of the International Year of Water Cooperation, World Water Day is also dedicated to the theme of cooperation around water.


Celebrated World Water Day 2012 in Dhaka.
The challenge lasted for three days and two nights, and was sponsored by Coca-Cola Bangladesh and Robi Axiata Limited. One participating team was selected from 11 districts across Bangladesh, namely Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Feni, Gazipur, Jhalukathi, Khulna, Narayanganj, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet. The volunteer teams will be required to take on a number of competitive challenges designed to test their survival skills in the wilderness as well as in real life. Starting from cooking their own breakfast to cleaning up the lake, the volunteers will be engaged in numerous games and challenges. They will be given the chance to show off their survival instincts and tenacity for improvising. The project has been designed to give the volunteers a view into the lives of the Karail slum-dwellers and their daily problems.

On the first and second day, participants undertook numerous challenges, including a Treasure Hunt, the Shower Challenge and the biggest task, the Lake Cleaning Challenge. All of these challenges were designed to help increase understanding between the slum-dwellers and the volunteers. Volunteers made roadside tea, sold fish at a dock market and completed the Treasure Hunt with the help of the local people. On the second day of the challenge, March 23rd, the volunteers faced the most challenging task of all – the Lake Cleaning Challenge. Clad in life jackets and gloves, the volunteers fished around the lake, attempting to remove the debris found in the water. With their respective teams, the volunteers spent hours attempting to beat each other. They collected a total of 1,592 1/2 kilograms of waste materials from the lake, on the second day.

World Water Day 2013 website:  http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/events/world-water-day/en/