“My journey in the water and development sector began through a simple internship for a small China-based NGO named Thirst”, says Alex Whitebrook, Fundraising Team Manager of Geneva-based NGO Water Inception and Focal Point Oceania for the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW). Whilst studying international relations in Shanghai, Alex took on a role with Thirst to teach high-school students about China’s water challenges. One thing led to another, and now, as part of the GWP-WYPW youth storytelling initiative, Alex looks back and shares the story of his first on-the-ground experience, which took place in a tiny village in Mexico.
August 12 marks International Youth Day, and the 2021 edition has the theme, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health.” We spoke with youth in West and Southern Africa about their involvement in GWP activities around water and food. What are the challenges and how can youth contribute to securing the water-food chain?
Part of a four-year USD $13,079,540 project financed by the Adaptation Fund, the Global Water Partnership Eastern Africa (GWPEA) is the regional executing entity for the Strengthening Drought Resilience for Smallholder Farmers and Pastoralists in the IGAD Region Project (DRESS-EA).
To effectively and efficiently implement WACDEP-G and support its contribution to the broader AIP agenda, GWP-CAf is recruiting a young professional to provide technical and program management support to the regional secretariat in Yaounde, Cameroon. The Young Professional will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Executive Secretary, and in close collaboration with the incoming Programme Manager for WACDEP-G. Duties will include international travel and representation.
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.
The Benin WACDEP-G team together with the CWP hold on 7 December 2021 a workshop to validate the report on the development of a shared vision on gender transformative approach in Benin. The event took place in Grand Popo with main partners including the Directorate general of environment and climate (DGEC), the FNEC, the NDA, focal points of various ministries, CSOs in gender promotion and consultants.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Data Conference is held as a virtual event on 16-19 November. It aims to develop a common understanding among entities from all sectors of society of the roles, requirements and arrangements for international exchange of observations and other data for monitoring and prediction of the Earth System environment, including weather, climate and water.
Global Water Partnership had its online ‘Follow the Sun’ consultation on 25-26 June for all regions. Each region had two hours starting with GWP Southern Africa at 12:00 to 14:00 on 25 June and ending with GWP Eastern Africa at 15:00 to 17:00 on 26 June 2019. GWP West Africa had its regional consultation on 26 June 2019 from 10:00 to 12:00 with two country sites (Abidjan and Abuja) participating. Conakry and Banjul could not join because of technical issues related to internet connection on these sites.
Since its beginning in 1974, World Environment Day has developed into a global platform for raising awareness and taking action on urgent issues from marine pollution and global warming to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. The day is celebrated annually on 5 June, and the 2021 edition calls for urgent action to revive our damaged ecosystems.
