On October 23 and 24, 2025, the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Amazon Water Culture Group (GCA) was held in Brasilia. The GCA was created by decision of the Amazon Basin Project Steering Committee and is composed of representatives from the eight ACTO member countries, with the general objective of supporting the definition and celebration of Amazon Basin Day and strengthening cooperation among countries in promoting cultural, artistic, and educational activities related to water and climate. In fulfillment of this mandate, the Group moved forward by proposing July 3—the date of the signing of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT)—as the official day to celebrate Amazon Basin Day, coinciding with a historic milestone that symbolizes the common will of Amazonian countries for the protection and sustainable development of the region.

The proposal for July 3 emerged after a participatory process of reflection and exchange among representatives of the eight Amazonian countries, according to which this date constitutes a symbol of regional unity and cooperation, reaffirming the spirit of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (1978) and the shared responsibility for water protection. In addition, it strengthens the common Amazonian identity and contributes to the international dissemination of regional cooperation. Similarly, the Group concluded that the date of Amazon Basin Day should be shared with indigenous peoples through the ACTO Amazon Indigenous Peoples Mechanism.

During the meeting, the Cultural Group also agreed on a roadmap that defines the next steps for institutionalizing Amazon Basin Day, as well as the implementation of regional cultural, artistic, and educational activities aimed at strengthening cooperation and cultural participation in sustainable water management.

 

 

A political and technical mandate to celebrate water culture

The proposal is part of the mandate of the Belém Declaration (2023), which recognizes Amazonian cultures as a fundamental axis of regional cooperation and promotes the preservation and revitalization of the region’s cultural expressions. In this context, ACTO Member Countries agreed to promote the preservation, revitalization, and recognition of Amazonian cultural expressions, as well as to support meetings of cultural promoters and managers to strengthen dialogue between agents and institutions, consolidate a collective understanding of Amazonian cultures, and generate opportunities for joint cultural activities.

In line with this political mandate, Resolution RES/EXT-III MFA-ACTO/14, approved by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member Countries, instructs the ACTO Permanent Secretariat to coordinate the necessary measures for the institutionalization of Amazon Basin Day as a date of regional relevance and a symbol of Amazonian cooperation and sustainability.

This initiative is linked to the Strategic Action Program (SAP), a regional instrument that guides the integrated and sustainable management of water resources in the Amazon Basin and which includes, among its priority lines, Strategic Action 18, aimed at developing a regional agenda of cultural events and activities whose objective is: “Establish and promote a regional agenda of cultural, artistic, and educational events related to the protection and sustainable use of water resources and climate change, to be held simultaneously in the Amazon Basin.” (ACTO-PAE, 2018).

A regional celebration of water and life

The proposal for Amazon Basin Day, supported by the Amazon Basin Project Steering Committee in April 2025, seeks to establish itself as a regional celebration of water, culture, and Amazonian cooperation. The proposed agenda complements existing national celebrations, coordinating the efforts of the eight Member Countries around a common date. Its establishment responds to the purpose of uniting regional efforts to raise awareness among local populations about the importance of valuing and preserving this vital ecosystem, in line with the actions of the Strategic Action Program (SAP) to strengthen water culture and promote sustainable water resource management. In addition, the initiative seeks to promote the sociocultural and environmental diversity of the Amazon, encourage citizen participation, and highlight cooperation among Member Countries in the management of Amazonian ecosystems, strengthening regional cohesion and projecting the region’s cultural and natural wealth internationally.

 

In this perspective, Amazon Basin Day will celebrate the world’s largest river basin through simultaneous events in the eight Amazonian countries, articulating the ecological, cultural, and social dimensions that make it a unique patrimony, essential for the balance of the planet and the well-being of the communities that depend on its waters. The planned activities seek to reflect the region’s wealth and diversity: educational workshops on biodiversity and sustainable practices; cultural fairs with art exhibitions, gastronomy, and traditional knowledge; games and artistic performances by Amazonian indigenous peoples, dissemination of their traditional and ancestral knowledge; riverbank clean-up days, educational excursions, among others.

The establishment of days dedicated to aquatic ecosystems is an international best practice. An emblematic example is Danube Day, celebrated on June 29 by more than 14 European countries, which promotes educational campaigns and community mobilization in defense of the basin. Inspired by experiences such as this, Amazon Basin Day could play an equally important role in the region, valuing rivers as axes of integration, strengthening the shared Andean-Amazonian identity, and recognizing the leading role of riverside communities, indigenous peoples, and local and traditional communities, giving visibility to regional cooperation and promoting coordinated actions in education, communication, art, and culture in all countries of the basin.

Towards a regional compendium of cultural, artistic, and educational expressions

In addition to the progress made in establishing Amazon Basin Day, ACTO is promoting, through the Amazon Basin Project, another complementary initiative that celebrates the relationship between culture and water in the region. During the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Amazon Water Cultural Group, member countries presented the first advances in collecting information on cultural, artistic, and educational events and activities related to water, climate, and sustainability in the Amazon Basin. This ongoing work forms the basis of the Compendium of Cultural, Artistic, and Educational Expressions of the Amazon Region, a regional publication that will bring together significant examples of how Amazonian communities live, celebrate, and transmit their relationship with water.

The Compendium will include information on the origin, history, actors, organization, and cultural relevance of each event, as well as photographic and audiovisual records and media references. By documenting these expressions, the aim is to highlight Amazonian cultural diversity and strengthen the dialogue between traditional knowledge and contemporary practices related to water and climate management.

The ACTO Permanent Secretariat and the Amazon Basin Project Regional Coordination Unit will consolidate the information submitted by the countries and coordinate the publication of the Compendium, which will be presented and disseminated at the regional level. This action represents another step in the collective construction of a shared Amazonian identity, where the culture of water is affirmed as an integrating axis for regional cohesion, cooperation, and sustainability.