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Kaveh Madani | کاوه مدنی

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رئیس مؤسسه آب، محیط زیست و سلامت دانشگاه سازمان ملل متحد
Director of the United Nations Institute for Water, Environment and Health 🇺🇳 @unuinweh

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با خاطراتی شیرین و فراموش‌ناشدنی سوئد را ترک می‌کنم و خوشحالم که این افتخار را داشتم تا نام ایران عزیز را با خود به صحنه‌ای جهانی ببرم. ❤️💧

Leaving Sweden after an extraordinary week, feeling deeply grateful, humbled, loved, and more determined than ever.

Receiving the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize is an honour I will cherish for the rest of my life. But more than anything, this week has strengthened my determination to do whatever I can to elevate water’s place on the public policy agenda.

My deepest thanks to the Stockholm Water Foundation, the Prize Jury, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the City of Stockholm, the Romeo & Julia Choir, Grand Hôtel Stockholm, and everyone who made this week feel like a dream. To my colleagues, collaborators, students, mentors, friends, and family who have been part of this journey, thank you. And to my larger family, the wonderful people of Iran who shared this moment with me from near and far, this moment belongs to you too.

I leave Stockholm with a full heart and an even greater sense of responsibility.

Sverige har alltid haft en särskild plats i mitt hjärta. Efter denna oförglömliga vecka har den platsen blivit ännu mer speciell. ❤️🇸🇪💧

#StockholmWaterPrize #kavehmadani #کاوه_مدنی by @kmadanil

متشکرم از شما هم‌وطنان عزیز و شریف
برای محبت و حمایت بی‌دریغتان ❤️

فرزند کوچک خانواده بزرگ ایران
کاوه مدنی

#StockholmWaterPrize by @kmadanil

Honoured and humbled. Thank you! 💧🏆

Receiving the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize is an extraordinary honour, but no journey like this belongs to one person.

My deepest gratitude to the Stockholm Water Foundation, the Stockholm Water Prize Jury, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the City of Stockholm, and Sweden for this incredible recognition and an unforgettable celebration.

This prize also belongs to the many people who have shaped my journey and made my work possible: my students and post-docs, my teachers and mentors, and my collaborators and colleagues across the world—in academia, the United Nations, governments, civil society, and beyond. I have learned from you, worked alongside you, and been inspired by you.

I am deeply grateful to those who nominated me for this honour and believed that my work was worthy of it. And I am reminded once again how incredibly lucky I am to have so many wonderful friends in so many corners of the world. Your messages, presence, encouragement, and love have meant more than I can say.

To my parents, my family, and my friends who have stood by me throughout this journey: thank you.

And above all, to my mom. Without her, I would have been nobody in this world. She made sacrifice after sacrifice so that I could learn, grow, dream, and succeed. Whatever I have achieved carries her love, strength, and sacrifices within it. ❤️

To Canada, my new home: thank you for welcoming me and for the extraordinary support you have given our work at UNU-INWEH, enabling us to continue working on some of the most pressing water challenges facing our world.

And finally, to my bigger family: the people of Iran.

Your love and support have followed me throughout my journey. Even when I have been far from home, you have never allowed me to feel that I was walking alone. I carry you, our struggles, our hopes, and our beautiful country with me wherever I go.

This may be a prize with one name on it, but there are countless names, faces, sacrifices, friendships, and acts of kindness behind it.

From the bottom of my heart: thank you.

Tack, Stockholm. Tack, Sverige. ❤️🇸🇪💧

#StockholmWaterPrize #KavehMadani #کاوه_مدنی by @kmadanil

A celebration of shared humanity as we mark 30 years of UNU-INWEH. 🌍

At the entrance of the UNU-INWEH office and as part of our 30th anniversary celebrations, we unveiled a poem by Persian poet Saadi—a tribute to the power of poetry to connect people across cultures and generations.

As we reflect on three decades of research, partnerships and international cooperation, this addition to our shared space serves as a reminder of the compassion and collective responsibility that guide our work toward a more sustainable world.

#UNUINWEH30 #UNU #Saadi #PersianPoem #UNAnniversary by @kmadanil

Water is essential to life, but is it receiving the attention it deserves? 🌍💧

For decades, water has largely been treated as a downstream issue, with discussions focusing on how climate change, development and desertification impact water resources.

UNU-INWEH Director Prof. Kaveh Madani highlights the need to rethink water’s role in global environmental policymaking, recognizing that water is not only affected by environmental change but is also central to addressing interconnected global challenges.

This perspective is central to UNU-INWEH’s Global Water Bankruptcy report, which calls for a fundamental shift in how the world understands and manages water resources. It highlights the interconnected relationship between water and the three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and land degradation.

Read more via link in bio.

#UNUINWEH30 #WaterBankruptcy #ClimateChange #GlobalWaterBankruptcy #KavehMadani by @kmadanil

Water can unite a fragmented world. 💧🇺🇳

From the Global North to the Global South, across political divides, water is one of our few common denominators.

It connects human rights, justice, gender equality, food security, health, climate action and biodiversity.

Water is more than an environmental issue. It is a powerful opportunity to bring people, priorities and nations together.

#WaterSecurity #WaterCooperation #WaterDiplomacy #WaterBankruptcy #KavehMadani by @kmadanil

Kaveh Madani, environmental scientist and Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, during the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York City.
Photojournalist | Street Portrait Photographer
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#KavehMadani #UNGA81 #UnitedNations #NewYork #EnvironmentalLeadership ClimateChange by @kmadanil

Kaveh Madani, environmental scientist and Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, during the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York City.
Photojournalist | Street Portrait Photographer
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#KavehMadani #UNGA81 #UnitedNations #NewYork #EnvironmentalLeadership ClimateChange by @kmadanil

A new chapter in advancing urban sustainability across the Americas!

UNU-INWEH and The City College of New York (CCNY) celebrated the launch of Urban Sustainability in the Americas, a new education programme developed through the UNU Hub at CCNY (R-SIRUS).

The programme offers students the opportunity to earn an Master’s in the Study of the Americas from CCNY alongside a diploma in Urban Sustainability Studies Across the Americas from UNU-INWEH.

Combining humanities, social sciences, policy and geospatial methods, the programme aims to equip students with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to address pressing urban and environmental challenges across the region.

UNU-INWEH Director Prof. Kaveh Madani joined faculty, students and institutional partners to mark this milestone, strengthening collaboration in education, research and sustainable urban development.

#UNUINWEH #UrbanSustainability #HigherEducation #SustainableDevelopment #Partnerships by @kmadanil

How do we adapt to the realities of water bankruptcy?

At McGill University’s BRACE Water Day 2026, UNU-INWEH Director and 2026 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate Prof. Kaveh Madani delivered a keynote address examining the challenges facing global water systems and the importance of facing the realities of the era of water bankruptcy.

As water availability changes and environmental damage becomes increasingly irreversible, Prof. Madani emphasized the need to move beyond traditional approaches to water management, recognize the realities of depleted resources and adapt to a changing world.

Watch the full video linked in bio.

#UNUINWEH30 #GlobalWaterBankruptcy #waterbankruptcy #McGillUniversity #Sustainability by @kmadanil

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کاوه مدنی، پژوهشگر ارشد و مدیر موسسه آب، محیط‌زیست و سلامت دانشگاه سازمان ملل در کانادا، در یادداشتی در نشریه فوربز توضیح می‌دهد که بحران آب صرفا ناظر به کمبود منابع نیست؛ بلکه سویه‌های اجتماعی و اقتصادی پررنگی دارد و با نابرابری، توزیع ناعادلانه هزینه‌ها و منافع و محرومیت ساختاری جوامع آسیب‌پذیر پیوند خورده است.

🔸پیامدها و هزینه‌های سنگین «ورشکستگی آبی» به‌طور برابر توزیع نمی‌شوند. خانوارهای کم‌درآمد، کشاورزان خرد، زنان، کودکان و جوامع به‌حاشیه‌رانده‌شده اغلب آسیب‌پذیری بیشتری در برابر پیامدهای ویران‌گر زیست‌محیطی دارند؛ درحالی‌که گروه‌های برخوردار و طبقات بهره‌مند جامعه، منابع جایگزین و امکانات بیشتری برای سازگاری با شرایط در اختیار دارند.

🔸«گذار عادلانه» به معنای حفظ الگوهای پیشین مصرف آب نیست؛ بلکه مستلزم آن است که مقابله با بحران آب با تضمین حق مردم بر آب، حفاظت از محیط‌زیست سالم و پاسخ‌گو کردن مسئولان و عاملان بحران همراه باشد.

#یک کلمه
#حق_بر_محیط‌زیست سالم
#حق_بر_آب by @kmadanil

Nature is sounding the alarm. Are political leaders listening?

From devastating floods and melting glaciers to extreme heat and water scarcity, the warning signs of climate change are everywhere.

Yet, at a time when the world needs greater cooperation and collective action, political fragmentation and environmental denial are growing.

Are we facing not only a climate crisis, but also a crisis of political leadership?

#ClimateAction #WaterSecurity #WaterBankruptcy #KavehMadani #NYClimateWeek by @kmadanil