On 19 March, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Yaounde organised an educational outreach event to mark World Water Day 2008. 122 students from five secondary and primary schools attended the event.

The main objective of the event was to share vital information about the International Year of Sanitation which coincided with this year's World Water Day and theme.

A video entitled "Water: A Drop of Life" was shown to the students to underscore the importance of World Water Day and its objectives and to raise awareness on the issue of water conservation and the Millennium Development Goal for sanitation.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Water and Energy Resources explained importance of sanitation and water and stressed the need to stop harmful practices such as washing of clothes on the roadside, building wells besides latrines or throwing dirt into rivers which are sources of water supplies.

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) New Delhi celebrated World Water Day with a citizens campaign.  UNIC New Delhi collaborated with FORCE, an non-governmental organization (NGO) working on water issues, in organizing a Water Festival called Jal Tarang at Dilli Haat, a popular arts and crafts bazaar in New Delhi.
 
The five day campaign, 17-21 March 2008, aimed to re-establish citizens' emotional connection with water and to motivate people to "Save Water, Share Water."  Envisaged as a people and culture-oriented programme on the theme of water, Jal Tarang offered people various creative platforms to express their feelings on water.

The water festival was opened by the Chief Minister of Delhi.  Through the symbolic act of pouring pots of water into a well, UNIC Director Shalini Dewan joined other partners in raising awareness of water conservation.
 
Jal Tarang participants included children and artists who expressed their thoughts on water through dances, plays, songs and other group performances.  College students too expressed their feelings about water through music and songs.  The campaign also showcased traditional dance and folk arts to express the reverence and care with which water was treated by our forefathers.
 
Jal Tarang brought together members of Resident Welfare Associations from nearly 200 localities of Delhi.  They were joined by government officials, community groups and corporate representatives, among them the CEO of Coca Cola.

One of the events that the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Dhaka participated in to mark International Women's Day was the Women's Day Fair at Bangladesh Shishu Academy.  The eight day event opened on 8 March and ran through 15 March.  UNIC Dhaka operated a stand that provided information materials published by UN agencies to visitors.  A large number of people from all walks of life attended the fair, including the Secretary for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and many attendees visited the UN stand.

The United Nations System in Eritrea participated in the 7th National Book Fair of Eritrea which was held on 14-23 March at the Expo compound. The event was organized by the Eritrean Publishers Association in cooperation with United Nations information office (UNO) Asmara.

The main objective of the book fair was to develop and strengthen the reading habits of people in Eritrea as well as to motivate and encourage students to enhance their knowledge and academic performance.

Unlike previous years, this year's book fair attracted not only students from the capital city of Asmara, but students from different regions of the country.

Eight of the UN agencies in Eritrea, coordinated by UNO Asmara, took part in the book fair.  Various publications about the UN, such as Basic Facts about the United Nations, the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report 2007 and Africa Renewal were distributed to visitors. UNO Asmara also prepared more than 2 000 copies of a flyer describing the mandates and mission statements of UN agencies in Eritrea. More than 30 000 people attended the book fair.