Water! The basic necessity of life. Something not one of us can
survive without. This is one resource which we all have taken for
granted for centuries now. Come on have a look at the map of the world
it doesn’t seem like there is any scarcity of it right? But then stop
and think, none of us can survive on that saline resource. The fresh
water that we humans need to survive is the water that is become
scarce day by day.

This is a global crisis which is building on the low. The reason we
don’t realize that we are falling short of it, is because we have
enough running water throughout the day in our taps and then of course
we have the “best tasting” water that is bottled up by huge corporate
companies and sold to us at high costs. We as humans don’t realize the
value of something until we lose it, but till the time we realize the
value of this life force we might not exist.

It is time to come together and make the human race realize that we
need to conserve water for our existence and not privatize it to make
profits. This is not a commodity to make money with, because all that
money will be of no use if we are dead. 

This summit is a step towards building a movement that will create
realization and stop the waste of the most important resource on the
face of this earth. So lets start working.

-Sanya Makhani, DROP Summit Delegate  

 Photos

Thank you delegates, partners, Parsons, and everyone else who was involved in making the DROP Summit a huge success!

A special thanks to DROP delegates for applying to be part of the DROP Summit and coming to the event with an open mind and ready to learn more about the impending water crisis. We had a very productive day. We got to know fellow activists, learn more about the water crisis through the movie "FLOW" and decided which projects to become part of. In the afternoon we devised action plans to make our projects even more successful and attended workshops to expand skills we already have. So far, we have 7 great water projects taking place all across this beautiful blue globe of ours! People just like you are rolling up their sleeves and working hard to make a difference by raising awareness of water availability, access, conservation, and privatization.

Now, we are beginning a new phase of the DROP program. Over the last weekend we got excited about DROP and received the necessary tools to develop projects and start changing people's skewed perception that water will always flow from the tap. In the next phase of the program, we will take what we learned and apply it to make a tangible impact. Keep your eyes pealed for updates on each project from the DROP Summit. Also, we are doing major updates on the DROP website to show you just how amazing the DROP Summit was and what you can do to become part of the next big movement!

After learning more about the water crisis I can truly see how important the DROP Summit is. We are helping raise awareness of an impending water crisis. What could be more urgent?

The workshops were amazing. UNICEF, FWW, Alloy, and many others presented on topics from fundraising and effective partnership building to marketing and public speaking. Valerie and I also did a workshop on web 2.0: how to build a movement using the net. 

I wanna leave you with some images of this day. Remember, the DROP Fundraiser is tonight at the Manhattan Firehouse Museum. The event starts at 8:30pm and we're going to have live performances, art installations, and drinks for those who are 21 and older. 

See you at the DROP Fundraiser!

 

The DROP Summit has finally begun! We have successfully convened youth environmentalists, social entrepreneurs, innovative leaders, and revolutionary thinkers to discuss water issues and develop projects around the problems at hand. After a healthy snack and quick check-in in the morning, we plunged into the summit festivities.

We’re only two hours into the program and I am already feeling inspired to take matters into my own hands as a fellow “water drinker.” I am absolutely against water privatization and after seeing “FLOW” (www.flowthemovie.com), I am angry enough at corporations to pledge that I will invite everyone I know to see the movie with me.

Five groups with already full fledged projects just presented their wonderful work. I was most impressed with JB’s work in Africa. He found a cheap and easy way to filter water and it’s so simple that children can learn it and build their own filters. Who thought that cotton and charcoal could save lives!

There is so much more happening later in the day. Stay tuned for an update!