Communicating without Words to Learn about Water and Agriculture

Using artwork to present the messages of the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture

As the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture was nearing the completion of its assessment and writeup phases, it began to embark on a number of communication and outreach activities, including the official launch of the CA publications. In order to appeal to a wide audience and to explore innovative ways of getting its messages across, the CA introduced a global art competition titled: “Communicating without words to learn about water and agriculture - Using artwork to present the messages of the CA” to visually capture its key messages.

The art competition was launched at the 4th World Water Forum held in Mexico in March 2006. Flyers and posters advertising the competition were prepared in English, French and Spanish and distributed widely using many partner networks. Open to anyone, the CA welcomed submissions from any interested adult, young person or child. Each submission was meant to visually represent one of the 18 key messages coming out of the CA.

The winning entries have been used by the CA in a number of ways to communicate its messages. A key highlight of the recently launched book titled Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture is the display of the winning art entries at the beginning of each chapter.