Media Advisory - Council of Canadians to Protest World Water Forum in Istanbul
Ottawa, Canada (ots/PRNewswire)
The Council of Canadians, Canada's largest citizen's advocacy organization, along with representatives of the Latin American network Red VIDA, US-based Food & Water Watch, and the Asian organization Focus on the Global South, will be available to speak to the media by telephone on Wednesday, March 11 about their plans to protest the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul. The Council of Canadians, Red VIDA, Food & Water Watch, and Focus on the Global South are members of an international coalition that has come together to defend the human right to water.
The World Water Forum, which is organized and controlled by the World Water Council, will be held in Istanbul on March 16-22. The Council of Canadians will join a coalition of activists and hold counter events in Istanbul to protest the World Water Forum's stance on water privatization and to advocate water as a human right. While the World Water Forum has long touted the privatization of municipal water systems as a means of improving the welfare of communities in need, the reality is that water is being used to generate profit rather than to slake the world's growing thirst. The privatization of municipal water systems has caused conflicts around the world, and communities that have sold their water rights have faced limited access to water, higher tariffs, and poor water quality.
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Event: Global Media Conference Calls Regarding the
World Water Forum in Istanbul
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Time: 8 a.m. EST (global media conference call for reporters
in Europe, Africa and Asia) and 1 p.m. EST (global
media conference call for reporters in Canada, North
America and Western Hemisphere)
Call-In Details: International access number: 302-709-8424; U.S. toll-
free access number: 1-800-377-8846; Participant code:
48712145(number sign)
Participants:
Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, founder
of the Blue Planet Project, and senior advisor on water to the president
of the United Nations General Assembly;
Wenonah Hauter, executive director, Food & Water Watch;
Claudia Campero Arena, Red VIDA network;
Mary Ann Manahan, Focus on the Global South.
>>For further information: Dylan Penner, Council of Canadians, +1-(613)-795-8685, http://www.canadians.org/
Contact:
For further information: Dylan Penner, Council of Canadians,
+1-(613)-795-8685