During the first meeting of the OECD Water Governance Initiative – held this week in Paris, France – the Vice-President of the Council, Dogan Altinbilek congratulated the organizers. “It is through initiatives like this one that we will be able to convince decision makers at the highest level of the importance of taking action to improve water-related governance,” he said in his opening speech. The Council has a long history in working on water governance – especially around the right to water and sanitation and advocating for the harmonization of governance between sectors and showing how public participation is key to social and effective governance systems. The initiative builds on the OECD-led Good Governance Core Group of the 6th World Water Forum held in Marseille in March last year and seeks to bridge the gap between two World Water Forums. More information: