Efforts to strengthen the operational capacity of Country Water Partnerships (CWPs) in Southern Africa continued at a virtual workshop convened by GWPSA with support by GWP Organisation on 12 November.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) Steering Committee announced the appointment of Mr Darío Soto-Abril (pictured) as GWP Executive Secretary, effective March 1, 2021. Soto-Abril joins GWP after serving as Global CEO at Fairtrade International since February 2017.
The first phase of the project TonFuturTonClimat funded by the Quebec Government implemented in three West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo) by ISW, GWP-WA, CWPs and Eau Vive Togo is coming to an end. Launched at regional level in March 2017 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the project is aiming at developing the climate resilience capacities of rural and peri-urban youth to become agricultural entrepreneurs that contribute to improve the livelihood of their communities in the three countries.
The Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank is an initiative of the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) and was first launched in 2019. The competition provides a unique opportunity for young persons from the Caribbean between the ages of 18 to 34 years, to pitch innovative and impactful water project ideas.
In March 2020, CWP-Benin, and Speak Up Africa (SUA) signed a partnership agreement for a grant of approximately Three million (3,000,000) CFA francs over a period from March to August 2020. This fund is intended to carry out a plea for a better management of the sanitation issue in Benin.
The third Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC2020) will take place 3–5 June under the theme “Circular Economy in a Sustainable Society”. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be held online.
In 2021, GWP and Wuhan International Water Law Academy are co-organising a series of events under the topic "transboundary freshwater security governance train." The first session took place on 19 January focusing on “Transboundary Water Agreements”. Over 80 people worldwide participated, and over 120 questions were submitted ahead of the event – even more during the live session, showing a strong interest in the topic.
GWP and Wuhan International Water Law Academy are collaborating on a series of events called the “Transboundary freshwater security governance train”. In six online sessions, key topics on transboundary water cooperation are highlighted, with examples from different locations around the globe. The third session took place on 16 March on the topic, “River Basin Organisations (RBOs) and the Implementation of Treaty Commitments”, with about 140 participants. Experts agree that RBOs play a key role in international water law implementation – this session explained why.
An online Learning workshop on Gender Equality (GE) and Sustainable Development in the Drin basin took place on 21 December 2020 with the participation of more than 55 representatives from gender related institutions, academia, civil society, youth activists and media from Albania, Kosovo* , Montenegro and North Macedonia.
