During the annual UN Water Week conference in March 2023, an opportunity arose for Water as Leverage to showcase its transformative urban water management plan, an issue that is becoming more and more pressing as the effects of climate change accelerate. The challenge at hand was to develop content that not only captures the attention of our audience during the conference, but also keeps them engaged well beyond its conclusion.
Having already produced a film for WaL (which was shown at COP26 in Glasgow) that gave an overview of its initiatives in the cities of Chennai (India), Semarang (Indonesia) and Khulna (Bangladesh), we wanted to use Water Week to focus attendees’ minds on how smart water solutions can be implemented. For this, we created the "City of 1000 Tanks" project video, showcasing in detail an initiative in Chennai that is already transforming the city’s relationship with water. And, to make the most of the occasion and the presence of senior political figures from around the world, we created content whilst at the conference that could be used afterwards to reach an even bigger audience.
In our communication strategy, we focused on highlighting Water as Leverage's important role in the global water ecosystem. The content helped people understand their vision and approach, fostering support and enthusiasm among high-level stakeholders. Through a dynamic 'rolling conversation' format on WaL’s social channels, we let people hear directly from influential figures at the conference, reaching a wider audience and highlighting the work being done to transform water in a new and interesting way.
