Making water everyone's business
In January this year, we, Isabell and Lisa, started developing Wasser im Advent (Water in Advent), a water themed Advent calendar designed to address two challenges we see in the water sector:
Firstly, public awareness of water-related issues and developments is limited, especially among young people. Discussions that are commonplace among water professionals rarely reach wider audiences. As a result, important developments, persistent challenges, and potential solutions often remain confined to the sector.
Secondly, although water is inherently cross-sectoral, it is too often treated as a standalone issue. Water security is closely connected to topics such as health, climate change, gender equality, and economic development. Yet, collaboration and knowledge exchange frequently take place within established professional networks, with too few opportunities to engage actors and audiences beyond them.
Our different professional perspectives have helped shape this initiative. While Isabell approaches water from a global health perspective as well as WASH and gender lens, Lisa focuses on international cooperation and youth engagement.
Credit: Onewater, František Ficek
An Advent Calendar with a Purpose
In Germany and in various parts of the world, Advent calendars are a long-standing tradition. From the 1st of December up until the 24th or 25th of December, each calendar door offers a moment of anticipation and marks the countdown to Christmas. From religious traditions, over counting down the days by wiping away chalk lines on bedroom doors, to chocolate-filled calendars sweetening our days, winter is hard to imagine without advent calendars.
We saw an opportunity to use this familiar format for something beyond chocolate: sparking curiosity about water and showing a different facete of it, one day at a time.
Wasser im Advent uses the calendar as an entry point to explore the many dimensions of water. By presenting water-related topics in small, accessible, and engaging formats, we hope to make complex issues easier to discover and discuss. The daily format encourages people to pause, learn something new, and consider how water connects to their own lives
and to wider social and environmental challenges. Rather than assuming people will engage with water because it is important, we want to meet them where they are, with a format they recognise and content that invites them to look at water from a new perspective. The educational campaign is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
While only a limited number of physical calendars will be distributed in Germany, mainly through the amazing partner organizations we are working with, everyone is able to sign up for the digital version via email and follow us on social media (Instagram and LinkedIn) to see what’s behind each door. The digital calendar is available in English and German!
A Little Door to a Bigger Conversation
Ultimately, bursting the water bubble is not just about raising awareness of water-related challenges. It is about recognising water as a shared resource that connects sectors, countries, and generations. By bringing water into everyday conversations, we aim to build bridges between the water community and the wider public. We want to encourage more
people, especially young generations, to engage with the issues that shape our collective future.
For us in the water bubble, this also means looking beyond our established networks and finding new ways to communicate, collaborate, and engage. Technical expertise and sector-specific knowledge remain essential, but so does our ability to make these issues relevant and accessible to people outside our professional circles.
Sometimes, all it takes is one conversation to get started. And sometimes, that conversation begins with opening a little door on an Advent calendar.
Wasser im Advent was made possible through the European Youth Parliament for Water and the International Secretariat for Water-Solidarity Water Europe.
