WEF, IWA Name First World Water Day Winners
In celebration of World Water Day 2010, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA) announced the winners of the first annual World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) Awards.
March 22 marks the start of the program’s 2010 monitoring period that will run through Dec. 31.
New in 2009-2010, the WWMD Awards Program recognizes program participants for outstanding achievement in boosting awareness of water quality issues. Featuring two types of awards—Water Champion: Making a Difference and WWMD Superlatives— the winners of the first type were chosen by a subcommittee of the WWMD regional panel of judges, which is composed of water industry professionals from around the world.
Water Champion awards recognize superior levels of relevance, educational effort, support, and innovation in the promotion of water quality through the WWMD program. This year’s winners include:
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Africa – Community Centered Conservation – C3 (Group, Madagascar and Comoros) and Neakoh Mengyi (Individual, Cameroon);
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Asia – National Environmental Education and Research Foundation (Group, India) and Kalaimani Supramaniam (Individual, Malaysia);
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Australia/Oceania – Wollondilly Anglican College (Group, Australia);
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Europe –
Apa Canal 2000 (Group, Romania) and Stepanavan Youth Center (Group, Armenia);
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North America –
Jewish National Fund (Group, United States) and Meg Tabacsko (Individual, United States); and
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South America – Escuela de Enseñanza Media N° 3007 "FIGHIERA" (Group, Argentina) and Veronica Toledo (Individual, Chile).
Award recipients will receive a commemorative plaque and WWMD materials of their choosing up to a value of US $1,000 for groups and US $750 for individuals. Items selected may include any combination of water monitoring equipment, relevant resources, or promotional materials. Winners of the WWMD Superlatives may be viewed on the program’s Web site.
Sponsored by WEF and IWA, WWMD is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world. The annual program connects citizens with their local water bodies through a series of simple, hands-on monitoring tests. Officially observed each year on September 18, a total of 122,599 people in six continents participated in last year’s program.
For more details, visit www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org or www.WorldWaterDay.org.