Each day more than a billion people cannot just go to the tap and get a drink of water. They can’t toss a load of dirty clothes into the washer and walk away. Two billion people don’t even have access to a toilet. According to the United Nations, water scarcity is a daily nightmare for one in five people on the planet.
The crazy thing is, that this is a problem the world can solve. While there are no shortage of organizations working to bring safe drinking water and sanitation to everyone, we have a very long way to go. Even now, in 2010, every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease.
A group we’d like you to know about is the British non-governmental organization (NGO) WaterAid. They are working on raising awareness of the upcoming world-wide summit reviewing the progress of the Millennium Development Goals. WaterAid want to keep the pressure on international leaders to make real and significant improvements for water quality and sanitation. So, they launched a contest for young filmmakers in association with Cannes Lions and YouTube. Entrants had 48 hours to create a one minute ad to show people why it is important for the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved. The films had to be specifically about water and sanitation.
Here's our pick of the bunch. Which is your favorite?
Robin Bertelsen
said on June 10, 2010