World Water Week Redux

Quick question: What do Hillary Rodham Clinton, Kenna, Guy Laliberté, Matt Damon, the President of Liberia, and Bono have in common?

Answer: They all used 2010 World Water Week (March 22–26) to express their passion for providing access to safe, clean water for those in need.

On World Water Day– Monday, March 22– the Secretary of State gave a speech at the National Geographic Society reinforcing the current administration’s commitment to working with the public and private sectors to make access to clean water an integral part of U.S. foreign aid efforts. She was joined by a host of other key figures in the water sector, including Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the President of Liberia and the first African female elected as a head of state, who also expressed her country’s commitment to ensuring that all people have access to safe water.

Kenna, the musician and mastermind behind the Summit on the Summit – a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about the clean water crisis in Africa – also lent his voice to the event, sponsored by National Geographic and Water Advocates.

Summit on the Summit is just one of many cool ways that people are working to bring attention to the need for more funding and stronger support for clean water programs around the world. Guy Laliberté and ONE Drop took these efforts beyond our planet with his Poetic Social Mission last fall– a trip to the International Space Station that led to a worldwide water advocacy event with Shakira, Al Gore and U2.

Water.org, co-founded by Matt Damon, and ONE, co-founded by Bono, honored World Water Week 2010 through “One Week For Water”. People donated their voices– and their Facebook statuses and Twitter accounts– to spread the word about the water crisis and to celebrate the progress that has been made in ending it.

So what cool thing did you do to help bring water to those in need last week? Instead of waiting until World Water Day 2011, here are some ways that you can continue to show your support right now:

• Until April 2, 2010, National Geographic is offering free downloads of its April issue on Water. Besides the amazing pictures and articles about water around the world, there are also a host of interactive features to change the way you think, and act, about water.
• Or you can support Live Earth’s Run for Water on April 18, 2010 and join Carl Lewis, Jessica Biel, and Pete Wentz in a day of events to show solidarity with the millions of women and children around the world that must walk miles every day to obtain clean water.