The 60th World Water Council Board meeting, held on 25-26 November 2016, in Marseille, France. M-embers of the Board of Governors elected the capital city of Dakar and the country of Senegal to host the 9th World Water Forum in 2021. The selection followed a rigorous evaluation process. The candidature of Dakar was unanimously approved by vote conducted during the 60th meeting of the Board of Governors held on Saturday morning in Marseille.

The 9th World Water Forum theme will be “Water Security for Peace and Development.”

The World Water Forum is the world’s largest water event, gathering every three years more than 20,000 participants: international organizations, political leaders, parliamentarians and mayors, representatives of civil society, water professionals and scientists.

“I am glad to see the World Water Forum coming back to Africa after the very first Forum in Marrakesh in 1997. The 2021 edition will be a first in the sub-Saharan region, where collective and innovative solutions to water and sanitation challenges are greatly needed,” stated the President of the World Water Council, Benedito Braga.

The vote remains “conditional” upon the signature of an agreement between the World Water Council and the hosts of the 9th Forum so as to specify their terms of agreement.

In the meantime, the next World Water Forum, being held for the first time in the southern hemisphere, is planned for spring 2018 in Brasilia, Brazil, under its central theme “Sharing Water.”