Water flows freely in Martinique, but preserving it is not a given. From April 17 to 26, 2026, the Office de l’Eau and its Rés’EAU network are inviting the entire population to change their perspective on this vital resource through some 100 initiatives taking place across the island.
It has become a must-attend event on Martinique’s environmental calendar. For the seventh consecutive year, the Martinique Water Authority (ODE) and its network of associations, Rés’EAU, are once again organizing «A Week for Water.» The 2026 edition, postponed to April due to the election schedule, will take place from Friday, April 17, through Sunday, April 26, in line with the theme chosen this year by the United Nations for World Water Day: «Gender and Water.».
The initiative brings together more than 40 local stakeholders—including nonprofit organizations, local governments, schools, businesses, and institutions—to carry out nearly 100 activities covering the entire region. Exhibitions, educational field trips to rivers, the ocean, or mangrove forests, discovery workshops, scientific lectures, and tours of drinking water treatment plants or wastewater treatment facilities: the program is organized around four pillars—understanding, protecting, restoring, and promoting—and is aimed at all generations, from schoolchildren to seniors.
«Big change starts with small steps.»
Among the highlights of the public program is the «Women and Water» Conference» on Tuesday, April 21, organized in partnership with the aArchip’Elles Association and hosted by Myriam Moïse, a lecturer at the University of the Antilles, will explore the connections between Caribbean women and water resources through memory, cultural practices, and historical female figures associated with «care»—such as washerwomen, midwives, and healers. The following day, a seminar dedicated to hydrodiplomacy and water governance will bring together students and researchers at the University of the Antilles.
The cultural highlight of the week will be Aqua Live, on Saturday, April 25, starting at 4 p.m. at the Pierre Samot Community Aquatic Center in Le Lamentin. This concert on the water will bring together Ti Kréol, Suzie Trébeau, Demwazel Dys, Jean-Luc Guanel, and Paille in an intergenerational atmosphere, preceded by a special edition of the Matinik Quizz hosted by Lionel Nidaud and Sabine Andrivon-Milton. The event is open to everyone.
On this occasion, the ODE highlights the global context: 2.2 billion people worldwide still lack access to safe drinking water, and governments will need to significantly accelerate their efforts to achieve the’United Nations SDG 6: Universal access to water and sanitation, by 2030.
In Martinique, climate change is already taking a toll on natural resources, making citizen engagement all the more necessary.
The complete schedule for Water Week 2026, including the times and contact information for each event, is available for download below by clicking on the image
