It’s yet to be decided who stole the show the hardest when Products of Change and Wastebuster brought the entertainment, educational, and water industries together to celebrate the launch of the UN-backed UK Water Week in London this week.

Was it the eight-year-old Youth Ambassador, Moshka Roy and her awe-inspiring call to action for industry and government? Was it Cartoon Network’s Monika Oomen and her deeply moving and passionate pledge on behalf of Warner Bros. Discovery? Or was it the impromptu, ad-libbed addition from the United Nations’ Caroline Petit to calls of ‘merci beaucoup’ from audience members?

Or could it have been any one of the other nine individuals who took to the podium at the Royal Geographical Society to pledge their allegiance to the stewardship of water, each of them inspiring and impressive to the last?

(Spoiler alert – it was the eight-year-old. It’s always the eight-year-old.)

Not that it even matters. Because most impressive of all the evening’s proceedings was that this was a gathering that took place at all. 

Launched under the endless steam of Katy Newnham, founder of the not-for-profit environmental education programme, Wastebuster and in partnership with Products of Change, the concept for UK Water Week was first unveiled at a Houses of Parliament reception late last year. Here, Katy and Products of Change made the first official proposal to bring together actors from across the brand and entertainment business; the educational sector; and the UK’s water conservation and services sector.

Within the scope of the Wastebuster and Products of Change vision, this eclectic mix of media, entertainment brands, educators, and water industries became a gathering that “equals more than the sum of its parts”, a powerful and moving moment that spoke straight to the heart of the power of collaboration, to unify the brightest minds across business sectors to take strong, affirmative action in the conservation, preservation, and stewardship of the one thing that binds all walks of life: water. 

“Over two billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, which leads to infectious disease and contributes 24.1 million avoidable deaths per year and half of malnutrition worldwide,” said Caroline Petit, deputy director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre, as she set the scene with a startling opening keynote on the severity of the planet’s water crisis. 

“Water is a human right. We all have a right to clean water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. But we can’t fulfil the demand for water globally. Demand has risen faster than population growth. Water security is critical for poverty reduction, health, the economy, and education. But today, our water cycle is out of balance.”

Recognising the water crisis, the UN General Assembly first launched its Water Action Decade in 2018 to accelerate how we transform and manage water to achieve universal access to this right by 2030. 

Since its launch, progress has been made, with governments around the world now taking action. Yet, there is – as Caroline pointed out – more that needs to be done. A realisation that has led for the formation of UK Water Week – powered by Wastebuster in partnership with Products of Change, the Wombles Charity Programme, and others – to spark greater action here on home soil, as well as around the world.

“More must be done, which is why I am encouraged to see so many of you here – active members of the media and entertainment media industry who give a voice to many voices,” said Caroline.

Among those in attendance were the LEGO Group, Warner Bros. Discovery, Open Planet, the Wombles, and Brave Blue World, each invited into the initiative for their ability to use storytelling as a tool of empowerment for young people in the establishment of a generation of young water stewards and conservationists.

“The UN believes in the power of storytelling to capture people’s imaginations and spark change to become more sustainable,” said Caroline. “Katy has demonstrated one thing, that one individual action has the power to grow into a multi-stakeholder coalition of partners looking to move forwards and make a difference.

“We hope that this UK initiative, starting here, will grow even further and inspire other cities in Europe. Your aim is to inspire, empower, and inform a generation of water conservationists and young people who care about water. We need to collaborate and move quickly to do things better, to safeguard the health of water, and tackle one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time.”

The reception’s roll call of speakers included industry experts from the likes of WaterWise and BritishWater; the documentary film maker and media expert, Lesley Henderson from Strathclyde University; a Youth Keynote from Water Ambassador from the UK Youth Parliament, Akhila Potluru; Emily Renshaw-Smith from Open Planet; and Peter Barden from Brave Blue World.

The show was ultimately stolen, however, by eight-year-old Youth Ambassador, Moshka Roy who delivered a five-minute speech on the impact of the water crisis and the level to which it is, too often, taken for granted here in the UK.

 “I don’t think that any child in this country wakes up thinking where they’ll get their next cup of fresh water from. But they may start doing so if we are not able to combat water pollution,” she told her audience. 

“The average water usage in the UK per person per day is 150 litres. That’s a lot of water for just one person in just one day. I would like to reach out to every single person in the UK so they can learn the ways they can combat water wastages.”

Addressing the biggest subject of the evening, Moshka made a direct appeal to those working across water-intensive industries – such as agriculture and fashion – when she called on us all to remember today’s children are those set to inherit the world after them.

“They need to evolve their technologies and processes to transition faster, eventually becoming non-polluters altogether,” she said. “The impact and damage they are causing now is impacting their loved ones and families as much as it is impacting me and you.”

Putting the youth generation directly in the picture was the overarching aim of the evening, with a call upon those across the media and entertainment business to use their collective powers to ‘inspire, empower, and fund’ an action plan of events and initiatives now mapped out by Katy and the team at Wastebuster. 

Already signed up to support the initiative is Warner Bros. Discovery’s Cartoon Network Climate Champions who earlier this week detailed its partnership with Wastebuster and the UK Water Week campaign by bringing the campaign itself into to its online and app gaming platform.

In partnership with both Wastebuster and the UN’s Water Action Decade, Cartoon Network Climate Champions will now deliver a series of curated water-themed challenges, trivia, quizzes, and climate content on the campaign website and app. 

The team will also be sharing this with Wastebuster for its own website and educational resource packs with the goal to create a global STEAM educational programme in schools.

“When I told my daughter I would be given a talk about water tonight, her response to me was that ‘but we don’t talk about water, mum…’ And we don’t. Just like we don’t talk about air. It is something we all take for granted,” said Monika Oomen, vp of brand, communications, and digital content strategy, Kids EMEA at Warner Bros. Discovery.

“But it’s something that impacts us all and impacts every child on this planet. And what we do is talk to kids every day. It is therefore our responsibility to convey this message and have this conversation about the critical importance of water. The challenges we have created through Cartoon Network Climate Champions’ partnership with UK Water Week tackle those conversations head on. 

“We at Warner Bros Discovery are very committed to this. We are very committed to Climate Champions, very committed to UK Water Week, because we understand just how important it is to show our love and preservation of this thing that we take so much for granted from a very early age.

“We at Cartoon Network believe we will be a vocal and very powerful vehicle for this campaign. Last quarter, we reached 25 million children. And we know that’s a reach we cannot sit on. We have to talk to them and I am very, very proud to be in the same room as Katy, as Caroline from the UN, and all of you in this room. And I want to say, Moshka – we can give you a voice. 

“This is a drop in the ocean, we know, but together with you all we want to ensure that this becomes not just a Water Week, but a complete Water Life.”