A powerful conversation at Trinity Business School in Dublin with Mary Robinson, Paul O’Callaghan and Nessa O’Connor on water, justice, climate and our connection to nature.

A deep, candid discussion on the future of water, featuring Li An Phoa (Drinkable Rivers), Henk Ovink (Executive Director, Global Commission on the Economics of Water, and former UN Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands) and Frodo van Oostveen (CEO, World Waternet) at Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam.

Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey is screening across China in November 2025, hosted by the Embassy and Consulates of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Featuring Kongjian Yu (Turenscape), Li An Phoa (Drinkable Rivers), with partners City University of Hong Kong, Peking University, and Brave Blue World Foundation.

Professor Kongjian Yu, renowned as the father of the Sponge City Movement and a protagonist in Our Blue World, has tragically passed away. A visionary landscape architect and professor at Peking University, Yu transformed global thinking on urban water management with his philosophy of “making friends with water.” His pioneering work on sponge cities has been adopted in over 200 Chinese cities and inspired sustainable urban design worldwide. In Our Blue World, Yu’s story embodies courage, perseverance, and ecological wisdom, offering hope for resilient cities in the face of climate change. His passing is a profound loss to the global water and design communities, but his legacy will live on through the thriving landscapes and ideas he leaves behind.

The Environmental Photographer of the Year 2025 competition is now open for submissions. Powered by CIWEM and supported by Arup, and with Brave Blue World Foundation as Impact Partner, the contest invites photographers worldwide to capture urgent environmental challenges and solutions. Winning images will tour globally with Our Blue World, amplifying stories of resilience, innovation, and hope.

This is a conversation with the creator of "Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey" at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival. The discussion explores the film's philosophy, aiming to inspire a deeper personal connection with water and promote proactive solutions to water-related challenges. Executive Producer Paul O'Callaghan aimed to evoke empathy and a sense of valuing water, hoping to inspire local engagement. They discuss the film's multi-year production, its structure which weaves together global stories, and challenges in crafting an interconnected narrative. The conversation also highlights the film's positive, action-oriented message. Sophia Donskoi details the film's impact campaign, focused on education, community engagement, and fostering "constructive hope", while Paul O'Callaghan shares advice for aspiring environmental filmmakers.

When documentary meets reality: Two water sustainability champions featured in "Our Blue World" have moved from sharing screen time to sharing ideas in Beijing. Li An Phoa of Drinkable Rivers and Professor Kongjian Yu of Turenscape recently united to explore collaborative approaches to water conservation, proving that environmental filmmaking can spark real-world change. Their groundbreaking meeting bridges Eastern and Western perspectives on water management, while demonstrating how "Our Blue World" is not just documenting the movement for water conservation—it's actively shaping it.

Actor Liam Neeson voices the narration for Our Blue World, and the stories are told from the perspective of people who have had transformational journeys around water. The movie also looks back to engineering marvels that sustained civilizations for thousands of years, and explores the many ways modern countries are managing water and what they can learn from their ancestors.  

Imagine a world where a city runs out of water. This wasn't science fiction for Cape Town, South Africa in 2018. Due to overextraction of groundwater, millions faced "Day Zero," where taps would run dry.

Inspired by Cape Town's struggle, Franz Beznik founded the 50 Litre Home Coalition. This collaboration aims to create water-saving designs and products for our homes. The average person uses 250 liters daily, but the coalition envisions a future where we thrive on just 50 liters per person.