The platform for sharing experiences and working to extend solidarity financing mechanisms was set up on 24 March 2005 at the UNESCO. Its members meet at all major international water events.

This platform is open to all organisations working for a fairer world based on solidarity among users and a participatory approach to service provision.

Platform members undertake to:

•  Disseminate information on existing mechanisms to highlight the importance of this form of cooperation and the need to support it through sharing information on the social, technical and financial benefits that have already been obtained,

•  Share experiences to demonstrate the effectiveness of solidarity financing mechanisms, their pertinence and the essential role of human resources in the success of actions,

•  Mobilise their networks to develop the complementarity between official development assistance and decentralised cooperation,

•  Convince governments to make the legal and fiscal provisions required to encourage forms of decentralised cooperation in the field of water and sanitation in order to strengthen existing financial instruments and foster the creation of new ones,

•  Give priority to local project and service management,

•  Participate in increasing local reliability in order to secure the investment needed in this sector.

Members of the platform will elect a steering committee and will guarantee the transparency and good governance of this mechanism.