Transforming dialogue into shared commitments for water stewardship
The Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Water Summit was a two-day event held in Thunder Bay in February 2025.
As the first-of-its-kind collaborative forum, the Summit created space for NAN communities to come together, share knowledge with each other and experts, and co- create solutions for the future of water. Many NAN communities have been affected by some of the longest-standing boil water advisories in Canada, reflecting long-term, systemic inequities in access to clean and safe drinking water.
The Summit focused on addressing these inequalities and protecting the water that sustains us and future generations, reinforcing NAN communities hold the inherent rights and authority to set their own water standards.
Tidal collaborated with NAN and NAN leadership to co-develop an agenda that would ensure an interactive and community-led approach, focusing on the issues that are important to Nations. During the Summit, Tidal facilitated engagement sessions—guiding discussions, fostering interactivity, and supporting collaboration between participants from different Nations.
Throughout the Summit, Tidal provided graphical scribing, capturing in real-time the key discussions and themes said by the Nations in the room. This highly interactive and participatory gathering of NAN communities resulted in commitments to creating a Water Declaration—strengthening NAN’s advocacy with government on protecting water for current and future generations.
“It was the most interactive event I’ve ever been to!”
