A mixture of personal and professional characteristics led Maria Angelica to a career in Civil Hydraulic Engineering: “On the personal side, a strength of character combined with a dose of rebellion and of not accepting the status-quo just because it is what it is. Professionally, something that brings a sense of strength is talent combined with a great technical capacity and professional training. With these characteristics it is less complicated to position yourself as a woman leader because it also allows you to disrupt sexist and discriminatory biases in the water sector.” In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD2020), Maria Angelica shares her career story.
“Over the years, I have learned that the water crisis affects women and girls especially in rural areas with high vulnerability. Where there is no water, women and girls must carry heavy drums of water for kilometres, endure the hardness of the soil, and experience the insecurity to ensure their families the human right of access to drinking water and sanitation.” These are the concerns of Carmen Gonzales, Chair of GWP Nicaragua, as she shares her career story in celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD2020).
“Back in 1991, as a fresh Ph.D. holder in Environmental Biology from the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, India, I never had a dearth of opportunities to work as a scientist. However, I was keen to use my skills and knowledge for practical applications for betterment of community. With this idea, I started my career as a Woman Programme Manager for watershed management with a Non-Government Organization (NGO) at Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India.” Dr Veena Khanduri, Executive Secretary-cum-Country Coordinator of India Water Partnership (GWP India) shares the story of her career journey in celebration of International Women's Day (IWD2020).
International Women’s Day (IWD) is observed on March 8th each year. It is a day dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe.
“Connection leads to protection because when you feel connected to something, you feel a responsibility to care for and protect it,” says Stephanie Woodworth as she reflects on her experiences over the past few years – from winning the 2016-2017 edition of the Great Waters Challenge, to working on a number of water-related youth projects and finding her motivation to reach her goal of connecting people to water, especially the younger generation.
The National Water Partnerships of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan, under the sponsorship of the Embassy of Canada to Turkey and the support of GWP CACENA, are implementing a project (“Strengthening the capacity of women representatives of Turkmen and Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations in the fields of natural resource management & climate change adaptation through training activities and knowledge sharing with Georgian civil society”) aiming to increase women activity in environmental protection.
The International Symposium on “Water and Culture: Learning from Water Heritage to Innovate Regional Development” was held on 3 February in Tokyo, Japan. The aim was to achieve a deeper understanding of relations between people and water by visiting water heritage around the world. About 260 people from 43 countries participated, among those GWP Chair Howard Bamsey and GWP Technical Committee Chair Jerome Delli Priscoli. Dr. Delli Priscoli shared reflections from the U.S. experience on water resources.
