“Since childhood, I was always in awe of everything related to the development sector. I had the ambition to help the disadvantaged populations in my country and in Africa”, says Félicité Vodounhessi, Programme Officer for GWP West Africa. In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD2020) she shares her career story on becoming a Water and Rural Equipment Engineer.
From 20-24 November 2017, CWP-Benin represented by Rachel ARAYE took part in the Sharing Skills Seminar organized by the VIA WATER programme in Ghana. This seminar was hosted by the ISGC (International Student Guest Centre) and attended by 26 innovative project leaders on water, sanitation and agriculture issues from seven (7) countries: Benin, Mali, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique and India.
GWP was founded in 1996 to foster integrated water resources management (IWRM), defined as a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.
GWP’s “Follow-the-Sun” Network Meeting concluded, after 29 hours, on Friday 28 September. The meeting, which was held in 15 consecutive multi-point video conference sessions over two days, engaged over 400 Partners across the world, in nearly 50 countries. The main aim was to seek insight for GWP’s Strategy development, in addition to statutory tasks. “We have a powerful story”, said GWP Executive Secretary Monika Weber-Fahr in her concluding remarks.
The President of GWP-CAf is recruited amongst political, scientific or technical personalities from a country in the Central African sub-region, with recognised experience in cooperation and networking, and with the capacity to mobilise stakeholders in the water sector.
In July, a 3-part webinar series was held on “Coordinating, Implementing, and Financing National Climate and Water Policy Frameworks”. The series was developed by GWP and Cap-Net, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), and the Water Governance Facility. The sessions highlighted climate and water linkages in national frameworks such as the National Determined Contributions (NDCs), the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and various investment mechanisms.
Benin has established a Network of Professional Women in the Water and Sanitation Sector (RBFPEA) on 11 May 2018 in Cotonou to promote the involvement of professional women in the implementation of actions and projects and highlight their contribution to the development of the sector. CWP-Benin strongly supported the initiative.
