In March 2019, International Rivers and its partners convened the inaugural Women and Rivers Congress. The event brought together close to 100 women from more than 30 countries to celebrate the fundamental role women play in defending and stewarding freshwater resources, as well as to spur collective action to challenge the deep-rooted, gender inequities that women face in safeguarding rivers and river ecosystems.

Congress participants jointly developed a Celebratory Statement, and a roadmap for collective action. Each participant represented an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and has committed to pursuing early-stage actions. However, to be effective, women leaders continue to need spaces to connect within and across regions for training, strategy building, and networking.

Building off of the 2019 global Congress, Oxfam and International Rivers co-organized a second Women and Rivers Congress with an in-depth regional focus on Asia in 2024. Women from grassroots groups, riverine communities, civil society, academia, and policy makers came together to discuss transboundary river basin issues that span from South to Southeast Asia, shared experiences and knowledge, and jointly planned collaborative strategies for women-led river protection campaigns.

Congress participants continue building their collaborative support networks with women water leaders and sharing resources through an internal listserve, as well as this website. The site will serve as an open-access information hub, collecting resources and content from participants and making it freely available to all.