The World Water Council and the 5th World Water Forum Secretariat jointly organized a side event at the Stockholm World Water Week 2009. Titled as “The 5th World Water Forum and Beyond”, the side event aimed at sharing the main outcomes and key consensus areas of the Forum, as well as officially presenting its outcome documents, namely the Final Report, the Evaluation Report, the Global Water Framework and the Glimpses from the Synthesis Report, which is currently in progress and is due for publication before the end of the year.

The panel session was moderated by Dr. Jerome Delli-Priscoli of the World Water Council. Mr. Ger Bergkamp, Director General of the World Water Council, and Prof. Ahmet Mete Saatçi, Vice Secretary General of the 5th World Water Forum shared the achievements of the 5th Forum as well as the challenges to be overcome regarding cooperation and information sharing among institutions. Prof. Saatci said: ‘We are happy to have kept our commitment to “Before and After Istanbul”’, and expressed that the 5th Forum has been a milestone in the history of World Water Fora in terms of participation level, stakeholder-inclusiveness, greater political support and other firsts. He also stated that all efforts will be made to make the recordings of all thematic and regional sessions available online on the Forum website. Ms. Ayşen Nergiz and Mr. Özgür Bozçağa, members of the 5th World Water Forum Secretariat, introduced the Final Report, the Evaluation Report and the upcoming Synthesis Report. Dr. András Szöllösi-Nagy of UNESCO-IHP, and Ms. Simla Özkaya of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented the political process of the Forum and the Global Water Framework Report. Mr. Haydar Koçaker, General Director of the State Hydraulic Works of Turkey, gave a speech about the regional process of the Forum and announced that efforts are underway for the establishment of the Turkish Water Forum and the organization of Istanbul Water Forum 2011, which will be a periodic water event organized every two years in Istanbul. The thematic process of the Forum was evaluated by Dr. İpek Erzi of the 5th World Water Forum Secretariat. In her speech, Dr. Erzi also noted that the recordings of the thematic and regional sessions of the Forum were all listened to and analysed by the Forum Secretariat members in the months following the Forum Week. She added that this analysis has helped to see the big picture of the Forum and revealed a whole different perspective on the discussions, which will soon be possible to follow in the upcoming Synthesis Report. Finally, Ms. Martine Vassal, Deputy Mayor of the City of Marseille, congratulated Turkey for the success of the 5th World Water Forum and expressed their excitement to host the next World Water Forum in Marseille in 2012. 

The well-attended side event ended with a discussion session during which the panellists received questions and constructive criticism from the floor.