Highlighting the vital links between cryosphere, water and gender equality.
The UNESCO, WMO and the IYGP Community will celebrate the World Day for Glaciers 2026 and the World Water Day at UNESCO's Headquarters in Paris on 18-19 March 2026, closing the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation 2025 and launching the new Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences with dedicated sessions and side events highlighting the vital links between cryosphere, water and gender equality. The cryosphere, including glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost, sea ice and snow, stores around 70% of Earth’s freshwater, yet it is shrinking fast. Glaciers are losing mass every year; Arctic sea ice has declined by about 40% since 1979; and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting at accelerating rates, with long-term implications for sea level rise. Cryosphere loss already affects water security, ecosystems, infrastructure and disaster risk worldwide.
In response, the United Nations designated March 21st as World Day for Glaciers and proclaimed Year 2025 as International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP 2025), led by the UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization. The UN also declared 2025–2034 the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, led by UNESCO, to strengthen research, monitoring, education and policy action on cryospheric change. In addition, 22 March 2026 marks World Water Day, with a focus on water, women and gender equality.
The 2026 celebrations at UNESCO Headquarters will close the IYGP 2025, present its outcomes, and introduce the first governance and action architecture of the Decade, alongside World Water Day high-level sessions and partner-led side events.
High-Level Celebrations of the World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day 2026
Date: 18 March 2026
Location: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris - Room I
08:30 - 09:30
Registration and Welcome Coffee
09:40 - 10:00 "Music Sings for the World’s Glaciers"
Musical opening of the World Day for Glaciers by the laureates of the Gautier Capuçon Foundation.
10:00 - 10:50 High-Level Opening Plenary of the World Day for Glaciers 2026.
Moderator:
Ms Lidia Brito, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences and Social Sciences, UNESCO.
Opening Remarks: Professor Khaled El-Enany, Director-General, UNESCO.
Opening Statements:H.E. Mr Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador, Special Envoy of the President for the Poles and the Ocean, French Republic.
H.E. Mr. Jamshed Homidzoda, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to France.
H.E. Ms Xinyu Yang, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the People's Republic of China to UNESCO.
H.E. Mr Liborio Stellino, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Italy to UNESCO.
H.E. Mr Pierre Faye, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Senegal to UNESCO.
H.E. Mr Benedikt Wechsler, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Swiss Confederation to UNESCO.
H.E. Ms Anna Nsubuga, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to UNESCO.
11:00-12:30 High-Level Panel Session.
Closing of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025 (IYGP).
Opening Remarks: Professor Khaled El-Enany, Director-General, UNESCO.
Opening Statements:H.E. Mr Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador, Special Envoy of the President for the Poles and the Ocean, French Republic.
H.E. Mr. Jamshed Homidzoda, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to France.
H.E. Ms Xinyu Yang, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the People's Republic of China to UNESCO.
H.E. Mr Liborio Stellino, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Italy to UNESCO.
H.E. Mr Pierre Faye, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Senegal to UNESCO.
H.E. Mr Benedikt Wechsler, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Swiss Confederation to UNESCO.
H.E. Ms Anna Nsubuga, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to UNESCO.
11:00-12:30 High-Level Panel Session.
Closing of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025 (IYGP).
Moderators and Keynote: Ms Carolina Adler and Mr John Pomeroy, Co-Chairs of the Advisory Board of the IYGP2025.
Presentations and Roundtable:
Ms Sara Manuelli, Mountain Partnership Secretariat at FAO, lead of the Task Force 1: Global Campaign for IYPG2025.
Ms Neera Shrestha Pradhan, ICIMOD, lead of the Task Force 2: International Conferences, Regional Workshops, and Capacity Building.
Mr James McPhee, University of Chile in Santiago, lead of the Task Force 3: Research and Monitoring Initiative.
Ms Pam Pearson, ICCI, Lead of Task Force 4: Policy Advocacy, Partnerships, and Resources Mobilization.
Mr Koen Verbist, Programme Specialist, UNESCO.
Ms Sulagna Mishra, Scientific Officer, WMO.
Ms Zoë Johnson, PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan.
Q&A Session.
12:30-13:00 Handover Ceremony from the Year to the Decade.
Ms Neera Shrestha Pradhan, ICIMOD, lead of the Task Force 2: International Conferences, Regional Workshops, and Capacity Building.
Mr James McPhee, University of Chile in Santiago, lead of the Task Force 3: Research and Monitoring Initiative.
Ms Pam Pearson, ICCI, Lead of Task Force 4: Policy Advocacy, Partnerships, and Resources Mobilization.
Mr Koen Verbist, Programme Specialist, UNESCO.
Ms Sulagna Mishra, Scientific Officer, WMO.
Ms Zoë Johnson, PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan.
Q&A Session.
12:30-13:00 Handover Ceremony from the Year to the Decade.
Moderator: Mr Abou Amani, Secretary of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme of UNESCO
Keynote on the Decade: Mr John Pomeroy, Chair of the Ad Hoc Management Committee of the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences 2025-2034.
Intervention on the synergies between the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences and International Polar Year 2032-2033 from Ms Narelle van der Wel, Head, Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services Unit, WMO.
13:00-14:30 Lunch Break
14:30 - 15:30 High-Level Panel Session
The Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences 2025-2034Moderator: Mr Anil Mishra (UNESCO)
Presentation: Towards the Implementation of the Decade
Panelists:Mr Yao Tandong, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Science
Ms Heidi Sevestre, Glaciologist and science communicator, Secretariat of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP).
Mr Qianggong Zhang, Senior Climate Change and Environment Specialist, and Head of the Climate and Environmental Risks Unit at ICIMOD
Ms Maria Grigoratou, Executive Secretary of the European Polar Board
Mr Michael Zemp, Director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service, University of Zurich
Ms Pam Pearson, Director, International Cryosphere Climate Initiative
Mr John Pomeroy, UNESCO Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change
Ms Salomé Mormentyn, Polar Initiative Manager, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
15:30-15:50 Coffee Break
Keynote on the Decade: Mr John Pomeroy, Chair of the Ad Hoc Management Committee of the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences 2025-2034.
Intervention on the synergies between the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences and International Polar Year 2032-2033 from Ms Narelle van der Wel, Head, Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services Unit, WMO.
13:00-14:30 Lunch Break
14:30 - 15:30 High-Level Panel Session
The Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences 2025-2034Moderator: Mr Anil Mishra (UNESCO)
Presentation: Towards the Implementation of the Decade
Panelists:Mr Yao Tandong, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Science
Ms Heidi Sevestre, Glaciologist and science communicator, Secretariat of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP).
Mr Qianggong Zhang, Senior Climate Change and Environment Specialist, and Head of the Climate and Environmental Risks Unit at ICIMOD
Ms Maria Grigoratou, Executive Secretary of the European Polar Board
Mr Michael Zemp, Director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service, University of Zurich
Ms Pam Pearson, Director, International Cryosphere Climate Initiative
Mr John Pomeroy, UNESCO Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change
Ms Salomé Mormentyn, Polar Initiative Manager, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
15:30-15:50 Coffee Break
15:50 - 16:50 Panel Session
Cryosphere loss and its consequences for Water resourcesModerator: Mr Jeremy Ely, University of Sheffield
Panelists:Mr Kaveh Madani, Director, Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University (UNU)
Ms. Helena Thybell, Executive Director, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
Ms Liss M. Andreassen, Immediate Past President of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences
Mr Bapon Fakhruddin, Water Resources Management Senior Specialist, Green Climate Fund (GCF)
Ms. Lynda Brown, Inuit Cultural Educator, Canada
Mr. Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson, Icelandic Meteorological Office
Ms Grace Goodfellow, Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
16:50 - 17:30 World Water Day 2026 Celebrations
Moderator: Mr Abou Amani, Directo and Secretary of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme of UNESCO
Announcement of the United Nations 2026 World Water Development Report 2026Ms Cristiane Battiston, IHP Chair
Mr Alessandro Garbellini, Head of Office of Space, Multilateral Scientific Cooperation and Intellectual Property, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy
Mr Miguel Doria, Coordinator and Director of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
Announcement of 2026 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate:Ms Anna Hadenius, CEO of Stockholm Water Foundation
Ms Ellen Moons, Permanent Secretary at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Video)
Acceptance message, Laureate
Closing remarks: Ms Lidia Brito, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences and Social Sciences, UNESCO
17h30 - 17h45 Resonances: Music for a changing planet
Pilar Peña Queralt, pianist supported by the Fundación Glaciares Chilenos
Music by Claude Debussy, Yoseline Gonzales and Cristina Catalán
18:15 - 20:15 Upon invitation only; Reception organized by the Permanent Delegation of Canada
At UNESCO Restaurant, 7th Floor
Side-Events on 19 March 2026 (Draft agenda)
World Day for Glaciers & World Water Day 2026 Side-Events
Date: 18 March 2026
Location: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris - Rooms II, VI, VII, IX, XI, Cinema
09:00 - 10:30
Parallel Side-Events n°1
Room IX - Side-Event 01 - Tears of the Glacier
Room VII - Side-Event 02 - Cryosphere in Crisis: Pathways for a Safe and Just Future
Room VI - Side-Event 03 - TPGE: Third Pole Glacier Melt and Earth System Consequences
Room XI - Side-Event 04 -Leveraging the Science Decade: Opportunities for Partnerships and Collective Action
Room II - Side-Event 05 - Towards an international governance for the protection of glaciers and postglacial ecosystems
Cinema - Side-Event 6 - Stories from the Cryosphere: Glaciers on the Edge – Screening of the winning films of the 2026 Short Film Competition
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:30 Parallel Side-Events n°2
Room IX - Side-Event 07 - Beyond Glacier Loss: biodiversity monitoring, hazard assessment, governance, and citizen action for the future of cryospheric landscapes
Room VII - Side-Event 08 - Tara Polaris : studying and protecting the Arctic Ocean, sentinel of the climate
Room VI - Side-Event 09 - The Glaciers Fresk
Room XI - Side-Event 10 - Indigenous and Indigenous Youth-led action for glaciers and mountains
Room II - Side-Event 11 - Inter-Polar dialogue on People, Glaciers, and Climate
Cinema - Side-Event 12 - Documentary screening « After the Glaciers »
12:30 - 13:25 Lunch break
13:25 - 13:45 Global Water Ceremony; Organized by Glacier Nation in UNESCO's garden
14:00 - 15:30 Parallel Side-Events n°3
Room IX - Side-Event 13 - Science to Societies: Ethical and Action-Oriented Adaptation to Cryospheric Loss
Room VII - Side-Events 14 - PolarPod - Understanding to act: PERSEVERANCE in Antarctica
Room VI - Side-Event 15 - Exposition immersive Eau précieuse – Immersive exhibition “Eau précieuse”
Room XI - Side-Event 16 - Glaciers, Water and Mountain Ecosystems in the Andes
Room II - Side-Event 17: Glacier Loss from Climate Change and New Risks to Sustainable Development in Glacier and Downstream Nations
Cinema - Side-Event 18 - ARCTIC GLACIERS, STATE OF PLAY
15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 - 17:30 Parallel Side-Events n°4
Room IX - Side-Event 19 - Ice Memory, a world first: the legacy of mountain glaciers preserved in Antarctica
Room VII - Side-Event 20 - Integrated Observation and Prediction Systems for the Cryosphere
Room VI - Side-Event 21 - Dans la peau d’un jeune : un escape game pour comprendre la cryosphère et le rôle de la médiation scientifique
Room XI - Side-Event 22 - Art for the cryosphere
Room II - Special Event - UN World Water Development Report 2026, Water for All People, Equal rights and opportunities
Cinema - Side-Event 24 - Seeing and hearing glaciers
18:00 - 20:00 Reception organized by the Permanent Delegation of the People's Republic of China to UNESCO and Polar Hub; At UNESCO Restaurant, 7th Floor.
Access is free of charge and open to the public. Online registration is now closed. If you haven't registered yet, please register on-site at the following address: 125 Avenue de Suffren, 75007 Paris
Announcement of the United Nations 2026 World Water Development Report 2026Ms Cristiane Battiston, IHP Chair
Mr Alessandro Garbellini, Head of Office of Space, Multilateral Scientific Cooperation and Intellectual Property, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy
Mr Miguel Doria, Coordinator and Director of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
Announcement of 2026 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate:Ms Anna Hadenius, CEO of Stockholm Water Foundation
Ms Ellen Moons, Permanent Secretary at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Video)
Acceptance message, Laureate
Closing remarks: Ms Lidia Brito, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences and Social Sciences, UNESCO
17h30 - 17h45 Resonances: Music for a changing planet
Pilar Peña Queralt, pianist supported by the Fundación Glaciares Chilenos
Music by Claude Debussy, Yoseline Gonzales and Cristina Catalán
18:15 - 20:15 Upon invitation only; Reception organized by the Permanent Delegation of Canada
At UNESCO Restaurant, 7th Floor
Side-Events on 19 March 2026 (Draft agenda)
World Day for Glaciers & World Water Day 2026 Side-Events
Date: 18 March 2026
Location: UNESCO Headquarters, Paris - Rooms II, VI, VII, IX, XI, Cinema
09:00 - 10:30
Parallel Side-Events n°1
Room IX - Side-Event 01 - Tears of the Glacier
Room VII - Side-Event 02 - Cryosphere in Crisis: Pathways for a Safe and Just Future
Room VI - Side-Event 03 - TPGE: Third Pole Glacier Melt and Earth System Consequences
Room XI - Side-Event 04 -Leveraging the Science Decade: Opportunities for Partnerships and Collective Action
Room II - Side-Event 05 - Towards an international governance for the protection of glaciers and postglacial ecosystems
Cinema - Side-Event 6 - Stories from the Cryosphere: Glaciers on the Edge – Screening of the winning films of the 2026 Short Film Competition
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 - 12:30 Parallel Side-Events n°2
Room IX - Side-Event 07 - Beyond Glacier Loss: biodiversity monitoring, hazard assessment, governance, and citizen action for the future of cryospheric landscapes
Room VII - Side-Event 08 - Tara Polaris : studying and protecting the Arctic Ocean, sentinel of the climate
Room VI - Side-Event 09 - The Glaciers Fresk
Room XI - Side-Event 10 - Indigenous and Indigenous Youth-led action for glaciers and mountains
Room II - Side-Event 11 - Inter-Polar dialogue on People, Glaciers, and Climate
Cinema - Side-Event 12 - Documentary screening « After the Glaciers »
12:30 - 13:25 Lunch break
13:25 - 13:45 Global Water Ceremony; Organized by Glacier Nation in UNESCO's garden
14:00 - 15:30 Parallel Side-Events n°3
Room IX - Side-Event 13 - Science to Societies: Ethical and Action-Oriented Adaptation to Cryospheric Loss
Room VII - Side-Events 14 - PolarPod - Understanding to act: PERSEVERANCE in Antarctica
Room VI - Side-Event 15 - Exposition immersive Eau précieuse – Immersive exhibition “Eau précieuse”
Room XI - Side-Event 16 - Glaciers, Water and Mountain Ecosystems in the Andes
Room II - Side-Event 17: Glacier Loss from Climate Change and New Risks to Sustainable Development in Glacier and Downstream Nations
Cinema - Side-Event 18 - ARCTIC GLACIERS, STATE OF PLAY
15:30 - 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 - 17:30 Parallel Side-Events n°4
Room IX - Side-Event 19 - Ice Memory, a world first: the legacy of mountain glaciers preserved in Antarctica
Room VII - Side-Event 20 - Integrated Observation and Prediction Systems for the Cryosphere
Room VI - Side-Event 21 - Dans la peau d’un jeune : un escape game pour comprendre la cryosphère et le rôle de la médiation scientifique
Room XI - Side-Event 22 - Art for the cryosphere
Room II - Special Event - UN World Water Development Report 2026, Water for All People, Equal rights and opportunities
Cinema - Side-Event 24 - Seeing and hearing glaciers
18:00 - 20:00 Reception organized by the Permanent Delegation of the People's Republic of China to UNESCO and Polar Hub; At UNESCO Restaurant, 7th Floor.
Access is free of charge and open to the public. Online registration is now closed. If you haven't registered yet, please register on-site at the following address: 125 Avenue de Suffren, 75007 Paris
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