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The Change Agenda was a big topic at this year’s GWP’s annual Regional Days, which took place in Stockholm 10-13 May. As the network is preparing the 3-year work programme (2017-19), discussions were held on how the network can stay relevant and continue as a frontrunner on global water issues in an ever-changing environment.

Danka Thalmeinerova is Senior Knowledge Management Officer at the GWP global secretariat in Stockholm. She joined the global secretariat in 2008 but has a long history with GWP before that – both at regional and country level. In the on-going interview series to mark GWP’s 20^th Anniversary, Thalmeinerova speaks about her job: “I did not envisage how inspiring but challenging this would be.” 

Nine (9) countries across Africa among which four (4) are from West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria) met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 18-19 May to take a step further on the national consultations carried out in 2015 that led-up to the UN Committee on Food Security’s (UN CFS) 42^nd session. 

 

Name:                               Maria Amakali

Occupation:                     Director of Water Resources Management

Country:                          Namibia

Country of Work:           Namibia and SADC

What would you say are the main challenges in your work as a woman?

 

I started working as hydrologist in the Department of Water Affairs in the early nineties. I had studied in the US and was ready to come and work in a newly independent Namibia. My responsibilities included planning and execution of research and investigations regarding sustainable development of water resources; and providing advice on the effective utilization, protection and conservation of such resources. At a time I found a lot of males, in the department. Except for the two women scientist in Hydrology Division, most women were doing mostly secretarial or office administrative work. I remember one day standing outside, waiting for my ride home and this man came to me asking whose secretary I was. In an independent Namibia, I was quite shocked that the old stereotype mentality that women can only be secretaries still exists. Those days there were not many women or black hydrologists, but I was still offended.

 

“Water, gender and development are closely interconnected, and GWP realizes this fully. We think that water empowers women, and empowered women transform their societies.” These are the words of GWP Interim Chair Alice Bouman-Dentener on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2016 (#IWD2016). Alongside her, some of the remarkable women in the GWP network speak up - about their journey to become successful in their professions, how to overcome obstacles they face as women, and also recommendations to other women.

On 28 September 2016, the CamboWP conducted Awareness Raising on Basin Management Approach with 18 participants who are Commune Council Members, Village Leaders and Deputy Leaders and Villagers of the Baray Commune which is located in the Mekong Floodplain.

Sustainable Water Integrated Management – Support Mechanism (SWIM-SM), the largest water-related regional project supported by the European Commission (EC) during 2010-2015, successfully concluded its phase I, and held its Final Steering Committee (SC) Meeting in Luxembourg, on the 25^th of November. With a budget of 7.7 million Euros, the project was implemented in nine south Mediterranean countries[1] by a consortium led by LDK and with GWP-Med as the project technical director.

GWP Nigeria held a meeting on April 6, attended by a member of the BOT, Steering Committee and TEC members.

A regional water youth network was created by participants to the recent Youth for Water Conference organised by GWP Central America, Movimiento de Jóvenes por el Agua (Youth Movement for Water, MOJA) and La Ruta del Clima (The Climate Route) and supported by GWP South America, UNICEF-Nicaragua, Reforestamos Mexico, and IUCN.