"Right now, a network like the Global Water Partnership is needed more than ever before," says GWP Executive Secretary Monika Weber-Fahr, as she reflects on what happened in 2019 and with a view to what the future might hold. Her remarks came in the just-published GWP in Action 2019 Annual Report.
The annual virtual meeting of GWP network partners is being held this year on June 25 and 26, 2019. For West Africa, it will take place on June 26 from 10am to 12pm. This year, Guinea, Gambia, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire will be the sites that have agreed to host national sessions on the topics of discussion around the new GWP 2020-2025 Strategy.
GWP and the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) collaborate on a storytelling initiative to make the voices of youth heard on water. Reflecting on the current challenging times, with the world battling a health crisis, we asked youth how the COVID-19 outbreak has changed their daily routines in different parts of the world. This is the second instalment in the series.
Michèle Okala coordinates the work of RECOJAC – the Network of Water and Climate Organisations of Central African Youth. She is one of the founding members and she is also in charge of youth issues for GWP Central Africa. Michèle has been volunteering for over 8 years, and she shares some insights to what she has learned – and what she hopes to leave as her legacy: “I created RECOJAC for the generation that will come after me. I am only laying the foundation.”
In 2014, GWP and UNICEF established a strategic partnership to work on climate resilience and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). The collaboration resulted in a Strategic Framework and a range of technical briefs and guidance notes to support the implementation of the Framework. In February 2018, a website was launched with the knowledge products. Since then, they have become among the most downloaded publications with GWP involvement. To mark World Toilet Day 2019 (19 November), which has a strong link to WASH, GWP followed up on the use of the material.
From 12-14 June 2019, GWPEA Regional Coordinator was invited and supported by SDG Center Africa to participate and contribute to the Conference on “SDGs implementation in Africa – reflections on a three-year journey” in Kigali, Rwanda.
The ad-hoc Steering Committee for the Nexus activities in the Drina River Basin under the SEE Nexus Project, supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), had its first online meeting on 15 October 2020. Representatives from the Ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia relevant to the water, energy and environment sectors, were informed about and commented on the project’s objectives and planned activities in the basin.
