Water and Sanitation Advocacy: How Can We Convince You?

Sub-theme: Human Behaviour and Communication for Desired and Necessary Changes

Wednesday 20 August
Morning Seminar

Convenors : Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and WaterAid

In order to get water supply and sanitation issues higher on the agenda, many people, ranging from politicians and decision-makers, to communities, media, business people and households, need to be persuaded along the way. Success in the water and sanitation sector depends not only on technological know-how, but involves as well dealing with a complex process of social and political dynamics. Top-down investment programmes often score badly in terms of sustainability. To achieve successful water, sanitation and hygiene interventions, households and communities need to change customised behaviours and adapt a different mindset while governments need to change their approaches and models.

Information and communication have become a crucial part of the sector and ever more organisations turn to advocacy as a means to encourage behaviour change and to support demand-driven programmes to accelerate progress in water supply and sanitation coverage. Examples of large-scale advocacy campaigns are WSSCC's WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) campaign and WaterAid's End Water Poverty Now campaign.

This seminar will bring together stories of the campaigners as well as of the audiences that were targeted: Did we manage to convey the message? What were the tangible achievements? In addition to the campaign-experiences, a panel discussion will focus on advocacy in the water and sanitation sector in a broader perspective. Sanitation is a hard issue to sell but not impossible: How can we improve our communications? What can we learn from other sectors?

Seminar Programme            09:00-12:00, Room K11