As a woman who has been working for women's rights for more than 20 years and participated in hundreds of training sessions, meeting and round tables, Mirela Arqimandriti has met women from all over Albania who work in industry, service sector or public sector – such as women workers in textile and shoe factories, agriculture, health, education etc. She says that having safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation is central to human rights and the personal dignity of every woman, man and child on earth. A collaborator of GWP Mediterranean, Mirela celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD2020) by sharing her story.
GWP is contributing to the development of a 2-part webinar series on farmer-led irrigation (FLI), in partnership with the World Bank, the International Water Management Institute, and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. The first webinar is on 11 June, on the topic "Accelerating Inclusive FLI and Reaching Scale: Key Considerations".
The GWP communication officers met in Beijing, China from 13 to 20 October 2018 for their traditional annual training and experience sharing meeting hosted by GWP China.
On 5 November 2019, Partners of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) Southern Africa announced the new Chair of GWP Southern Africa and Africa Coordination Unit (GWPSA-ACU): His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania. His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete was the 4th President of the United Republic of Tanzania from 2005-2015.
Communications is key for development, something recognised by both GWP and Sida, Sweden’s International Development Cooperation Agency, and one of GWP’s founding Partners. On 22-23 November, the Communication teams of GWP and Sida joined forces with Malmö University’s Master's in Communication for Development in convening a 2-day seminar for their students as part of the course on "Media, globalization and development."
“Water resources management is a learning process”, said GWP Executive Secretary Monika Weber-Fahr while on a visit to South America. She spent 26-29 March meeting with representatives of the key water agencies of Argentina and Chile. Both countries are Sponsoring Partners of GWP, and Weber-Fahr’s visits strengthened a close working relationship with the countries.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5), the effects of climate change will reduce renewable surface water and groundwater resources in most dry subtropical regions. These changes may intensify competition for water among all sectors, strain already water-scarce environments, and negatively impact water quality and quantity globally. Transboundary water basins are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, says Sonja Koeppel, Secretary of the UNECE Water Convention, as she highlights the up-coming Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on freshwater security that GWP is developing together with partners.