The short film Lágrimas de la Tierra (Tears of the Earth) by the Mexican David Ballesteros won the audience award at the fifth edition of the We Art Water Film Festival. It is a document on the unspeakable human damage caused by toxic discharges into the water. Governments and companies are obliged to control them and citizens must denounce them and claim their rights. The awareness of young people is the great hope, in Mexico and all around the world.  

182 billion tons of Saharan dust cross the Atlantic every year, driven by trade winds. This dust settles on the American rain forest providing nutrients that have been essential in its formation and maintenance. Airborne dust has a decisive impact on the evolution of the Earth’s vegetation cover and is an increasingly important factor in the study of climate change.  

They treat wastewater with solar energy, capture CO₂ and transform pollutants into valuable compounds. Moreover, they reproduce on their own and can collaborate in water disinfection. They are microalgae, plants we still know very little about, which can surely provide many benefits to sustainable sanitation without technological gaps.

Cities must grow with trees. They are essential for people’s health and quality of life and a key element for the attainment of the SDG 11: making cities inclusive, resilient, sustainable and safe.  

The destruction of the Tanjaro River ecosystem shows that all is lost when water is polluted. Its recovery is also becoming an example of the difficulties of governance in a country that has not recovered from several wars. The short film Tanjaro is Dying, finalist of the We Art Water Film Festival 5, shows the disastrous consequences of the uncontrolled growth of a city in a region that has almost no memory of peace.

The Burkinabe province of Sissili has managed to eradicate open defecation. The implementation of the CLTS method, based on the communities’ decision to abandon this practice and build their own latrines, has proven to be effective. The Foundation’s collaboration with UNICEF, started four years ago, has established the guidelines the Burkinabe government will follow in the future to rid the rest of the country of a scourge that hinders human and economic development.  

Tourism is one of the key industries for international economic recovery after the pandemic, especially for developing countries. It is also key for the sustainability of the planet. Reducing the consumption of water is a priority first step.

Myanmar’s northern regions are subject to the climate variability that monsoon Asia is experiencing. Water stress increases, disrupting the supply in places that had never experienced any shortages. The short film Everyday Needs shows the solidarity of two water vendors that donate it to those most in need.