About the Academic Hub

The UN Water Conference Academic Hub is a collaborative space designed to mobilize knowledge, expertise, and diverse perspectives in support of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference. It provides a clear and accessible entry point for contributors who wish to meaningfully engage with the Conference process and help shape its outcomes through evidence-based insights and inputs.

Co-led by United Nations University, UNESCO, and UNITAR, in close collaboration with UN DESA and other UN-Water Members and Partners, the Hub strengthens the connection between evidence and global policy-making. It serves as a space for knowledge exchange, bringing together diverse voices including academics, youth, women, and contributors from the Global South while complementing existing initiatives.

Our Vision

Contributing to Collaborative Priority Action (PCA) 5 of the UN system-wide strategy on water and sanitation—“Mobilize to elevate the ambition of UN Water Conferences”—the UN Water Conference Academic Hub is envisioned as a strategic platform to harness and align global academic and scientific expertise in support of more ambitious, evidence-based, and action-oriented UN Water Conferences.

Through this contribution to PCA 5, the Academic Hub supports the broader objective of elevating ambition, accelerating implementation of the Water Action Agenda, and reinforcing the science–policy–practice interface under the coordination of the Task Force for Water Action Decade Implementation.

Objectives

Create digestible information for the scientific community on the UN Water Conference Process and opportunities to participate.
Facilitate and guide the engagement of the academic and scientific communities to produce academic outputs relevant to the 2026 UN Water Conference and beyond.
Congregate research from global networks to translate scientific knowledge into actionable, evidence-based policy recommendations for decision-makers contributing to raise the profile of science during the conference and evidence-based decision making in addressing more and more complex interrelated water challenges.

Partners

The initiative is co-led by UNU, UNESCO and UNITAR in collaboration with UN DESA and other members of the Task Force on “Water Action Decade Implementation” as well as other UN-Water Members and Partners.

Leveraging their global water related network of hubs, and affiliated experts on water-related issues, UNU-INWEH, UNESCO division of water sciences, UNITAR Global Water Academy in collaboration with other UN-Water member can support that scientific contributions are inclusive, reflect diverse perspectives, and provide actionable, evidence-based inputs to the 2026 UN Water Conference and the 2028 UN Water Conference.

United Nations University (UNU) is a global research and academic network dedicated to addressing the pressing challenges facing the United Nations, its Peoples, and Member States through collaborative research and education. By working with leading universities and research institutes, UNU serves as a bridge between the international academic community and policymakers.

The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is one of 13 institutes comprising the United Nations University (UNU), the academic arm of the United Nations. UNU-INWEH acts as the "UN’s Think Tank on Water" advancing global policy-relevant water research and represents UNU in UN-Water. Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario and hosted by the Government of Canada the institute bridges the gap between scientific evidence and the practical needs of policymakers and UN member states, through research, capacity development, policy engagement, and knowledge dissemination. By collaborating with a diverse array of partners, including UN agencies, governments, academia, the private sector, and civil society—UNU-INWEH develops solutions that advance human security, resilience, and sustainability worldwide. UNU-INWEH represents represents UNU in UN-Water and leads in this iniative.

UNESCO established the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) in 1975 to advance water science and promote sustainable water management worldwide. As the only UN intergovernmental initiative dedicated exclusively to water, IHP strengthens scientific cooperation to help Member States secure safe drinking water, enhance resilience to floods, droughts, and other climate extremes, develop adaptation strategies for cryosphere‑related impacts such as glacier melt, and improve water quality and ecosystem health. By uniting leading scientists, practitioners, and policymakers, IHP transforms cutting‑edge knowledge, tools and methodologies into actionable guidance, enabling countries to better understand, protect, and manage this vital resource for present and future generations.

Over more than 50 years, UNESCO has built a vast global “water family network,” bringing together 170 National Committees of the IHP, 29 water centres of excellence, 93 university‑based UNESCO Chairs on water, the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) and 17 flagship water initiatives. UNESCO has also led three major water‑related international scientific decades, mobilizing global research communities around the Ocean Science Decade (2021–2030), the Cryosphere Science Decade (2025-2034), and the Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (2024–2033). This extensive ecosystem reflects UNESCO’s longstanding commitment to advancing water science, strengthening knowledge exchange, and driving collective action for sustainable water management worldwide.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), established in 1963, serves as the dedicated training arm of the United Nations system, providing innovative learning solutions to individuals, organizations and institutions to strengthen global decision-making and support country-level action toward sustainable development. Fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNITAR structures its work around the pillars of Peace, People, Planet and Prosperity, with particular attention to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and communities most vulnerable to crises, including water-related challenges. Over six decades, UNITAR has developed a comprehensive global learning ecosystem. UNITAR delivers learning programmes in person and online to support countries in strengthening water governance, investment readiness, and sustainable development outcomes, translating knowledge into practical capacities for action.

Within this framework, the UNITAR Global Water Academy serves as a flagship platform for capacity development on water-related challenges, supporting Member States and stakeholders in strengthening policy, institutional, technical and investment readiness capacities for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). The Academy delivers multidisciplinary training programmes, policy-oriented learning, and knowledge exchange initiatives on water governance, finance, innovation, climate resilience, and integrated water resources management, reaching thousands of practitioners and decision-makers worldwide. Through the Global Water Academy and the CIFAL Global Network of training centres, UNITAR mobilizes partnerships with academic institutions, local authorities, civil society and private sector actors to address interconnected global challenges. The CIFAL Global Network currently comprises 32 International Training Centres worldwide, collectively delivering over 380 annual activities and reaching more than 160,000 beneficiaries per year through localized training and capacity-building initiatives.

UN-Water coordinates the United Nations’ work on water and sanitation. UN-Water is a ‘coordination mechanism’. It is comprised of United Nations entities (Members) and international organizations (Partners) working on water and sanitation issues. Their focus is supporting countries to deliver progress on water and sanitation.

UN-Water’s role is to ensure that Members and Partners ‘deliver as one’ in response to water-related challenges.