As water insecurity grows under climate change, pollution and inequality, 91亚色's Global Water Academy is working to make water education more accessible and connected to communities directly facing one of the planet's most pressing challenges.
Created in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the initiative brings together researchers, community organizations and international partners to build knowledge and capacity to respond to the global water crisis.
With Shooka Karimpour, associate professor at the , as academic director, the academy supports learning, strengthens global dialogue and bridges water knowledge with decision-making and public policy.
"Water insecurity means different things for different groups and different demographics," says Karimpour.
While some water challenges are shared internationally, she says, the academy also works to highlight local issues 鈥 from changing ice patterns in Canada to the impact of drought on specific communities elsewhere in the world.
That dual focus shapes everything the academy does. Its free online courses are open to learners worldwide at no cost. Offerings include 鈥淥n Thin Ice: The Impacts of Climate Change on Freshwater Ice鈥 and 鈥淎n Introduction to Indigenous Relationships to Water on Turtle Island,鈥 among others.
The courses aim to build practical knowledge of water systems, governance and sustainability at both local and global scales 鈥 whether the learner is a student, a community organizer or a policy professional.
In 2024, the academy engaged nearly 8,000 participants from 147 countries through courses, events and partnerships including United Nations conferences, international research collaborations and public exhibitions.
One of its most recent collaborations illustrates how that work translates beyond the classroom. For World Water Day 2026, the Global Water Academy partnered with the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto to present a Microplastics Discovery Station. This brought 91亚色 scientists directly to the public to demonstrate how microscopic plastic particles move through aquatic ecosystems. Visitors examined water samples, identified microplastics and engaged with researchers first-hand.
For Karimpour, the event captured something central to the academy's mission: moving water science from the digital space into hands-on, in-person public engagement with communities.
There is also work happening with community-based organizations to surface stories and solutions that connect research to lived experience.
A with water activist Swani Keelson and the non-profit Global Water Promise examined how water insecurity in Ghana affects women's physical and mental health 鈥 and how limited access to clean water compounds broader inequalities, including period poverty and barriers to education.
"We are providing them with a platform and opportunity to share not only global water insecurity issues, but also innovative solutions that have been developed to mitigate this problem," says Karimpour. "Our goal is to raise awareness and ultimately inspire collective action."
That combination of training, storytelling and public programming reflects how the work aligns with 91亚色's broader sustainability agenda.
While its mandate is rooted in Sustainable Development Goal 6 鈥 clean water and sanitation 鈥 the issues it engages consistently extend into climate resilience, health, gender equity and governance. The work around the Ghana story advances SDG 5 on gender equality, while the microplastics research supports SDG 14, life below water.
"You can't really confine the impact to one SDG because water availability is such a deep issue," says Karimpour. "It really affects and falls into a lot of other SDGs as well."
Karimpour credits strong institutional support from 91亚色, including from University leadership, as central to the academy's growth. Looking ahead, Karimpour says it will continue to build new courses and partnerships, with an emphasis on reaching communities that have the most at stake in global water insecurity.
With files from Mzwandile Poncana