The World Water Forum is not an everyday conference or symposium, but the result of constant consultation with the water community. This worldwide preparatory process and its multi-stakeholder approach are what make the event so unique.

As such, the meetings held in Mexico City on February 23rd - 25th were of vital importance. These meetings, attended by experts from each of the regions of the world and the beacons for each of the Forum’s framework themes and crosscutting perspectives, clearly defined the different elements of the Forum’s preparatory process, of the Forum itself and the interaction and responsibilities between them. The countdown to the Forum has now truly begun!

This is one of the bookends, the other being in November 2005 in Marseilles, France, on the occasion of the World Water Council’s next General Assembly.

In the meantime, the Preparatory Process will be carried out through important meetings such as Water Week (World Bank) in Washington, Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-13) in New York, World Water Week in Stockholm, as well as a number of regional meetings and local workshops.

At the second workshop, in Marseilles, France, the results of all these preparatory efforts will be brought together into a coherent whole.

For this process to work, we will need to count on the support and cooperation of all those with an interest in solving water problems, all those with a story to tell, to make sure this Forum truly makes a difference.