About the exhibition

From 16–19 March 2026, ADB will host the Asia and the Pacific Food Systems Forum in Manila. In a quiet corner of the HQ lobby, the Bank is also staging a small Walk of Water photo exhibition, featuring more than fifty winning images from the 2025 “Identities” contest, all shot by young photographers across South-East Asia with ADB’s regional prize support. The photos recount personal stories of water, gender and culture that echo the Forum’s wider debates on food security and climate resilience.

Delegates passing the display will meet first-time authors such as 22-year-old Abyan Madani, who documents Jakarta’s flood-resilience workers, or Gavin Burnett, portraying India’s Agariya salt farmers who still harvest over 70 per cent of the nation’s salt by hand. Their images serve as a gentle reminder that sustainable food systems begin with the daily realities of water access captured through youthful lenses.

Alongside the showcase, the four-day programme gathers 800+ policymakers, farmers and innovators to advance ADB’s US$40 billion Food Systems Transformation commitment, spotlighting flagship initiatives on sustainable rice, glacier-fed farms and digital tools that cut emissions and water use. Outcomes will feed into regional investment pipelines and the ADB Annual Meeting in May 2026, linking these quiet photo stories to large-scale action on feeding the future while sustaining the planet.