Tech company tries a day without water

Digital water technology company InfoTiles is taking on a two-day endurance challenge to raise awareness for World Water Day 2023 and acknowledge the importance of the United Nations Water Conference. 

Participants of the Thirst Quencher Challenge will attempt to go without any water or drinks for two 12-hour periods on 22nd & 23rd March. All money raised in support of the challenge will go directly to WaterAid. 

The human right to safe drinking water was first recognised by the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council as part of binding international law in 2010. While two billion more people have gained access to safe drinking water in the past two decades a recent report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and the World Bank reveals that the same number are still without access, and an increasingly volatile climate will only heighten water insecurity, disrupt supplies, and devastate communities.   

Accelerating change is the overarching theme of this year’s World Water Day and the coinciding UN Water Conference and digital water technologies have a key role to play in achieving the shared goal of realising the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 of ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.  

The report says governments should work “towards ensuring digital water technologies are supported and prioritised to realise their full potential” and as a technology company operating in the water sector, InfoTiles is committed to SGD6 in the work undertaken with water utility clients. 

By undertaking this endurance fundraising challenge, participants from InfoTiles want to deepen understanding of the value of water and its essential role in everyday life. The challenge also presents an opportunity for InfoTiles to break the divide between its traditional business-to-business audience and gain a voice in the public sphere.  

To bring the challenge to life, InfoTiles is collaborating with public-facing positive news platform Make Water Famous to help share the experiences of InfoTiles’ participants and facts about water with its audience as they complete the endurance challenge.  

Johnny Alexander Gunneng, chief executive of InfoTiles says, “At InfoTiles we’re dedicated to understanding our place in the wider global narrative of achieving clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. But it’s time to show our commitment and deepen our understanding of how precious and finite water is while also raising money for international charity WaterAid.  

“They say you don’t know what you have until it is gone and through this fundraising challenge, InfoTiles wants to foster a culture of appreciation for clean, safe drinking water which carries into our day-to-day operations wherever we are in the world.” 

Natasha Wiseman, founder of Make Water Famous says, “We are delighted to be working with InfoTiles on the Thirst Quencher Challenge and see it as a way of reaching new audiences inside the water sector and beyond. Make Water Famous was launched just over a year ago with a mission to spread the word on the value of water and the technologies and initiatives being brought to bear on our many challenges. 

“We’ve already reached nearly half-a-million people in over 90 countries   and through campaigns and collaborations with purposeful companies like InfoTiles, we can grow our platform and tell even more stories to more people.” 

The JustGiving page for the Thirst Quencher Challenge is now live and anyone who wishes to donate and follow progress can do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/infotiles-thirst-quencher-challenge  

All donations are welcome and there is no upper limit with a suggested donation of €1/£1 for each hour (€24/£24) of the challenge as a starting point. To put donations into context, WaterAid says €9 can buy a bag of cement for construction of a toilet, €40 can buy a new handwashing station, and €140 can install a new well. 

Taxonomy

• Water