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In April 2017, young leaders, from diverse backgrounds will come together for the Water Innovation Lab Europe. The Lab is the home base for creativity, innovation and water, and an opportunity to work with inspiring thought leaders to invigorate ourselves and others in driving change.

Right at the heart of Namibia, “the land of the brave”, in the capital Windhoek was the venue for the 7th SADC Multi- stakeholder Water Dialogue held from the 29th to the 30th of September, 2015. Held under the theme, “Watering Development in SADC: The central role of water in driving industrialization” the dialogue was attended by 150 delegates from across the region representing the water sector, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), cooperating and development partners, academia, the media, and other relevant stakeholders from non-water entities (energy, agriculture, industrialization). The delegates, of which a good number were youth were brought together to deliberate the role that water will play in driving industrialization in the region.

GWP participated in the UN climate conference in Marrakech, COP22, with representatives from various parts of the network. Adaptation and financing were two topics that dominated many discussions, with a strong youth perspective throughout.

The Water, Climate and Development Programme was re-launched during a session held during the UNFCCC COP21 conference taking place in Paris, France on 1^st December, 2015. GWP is responding to the climate change challenge through the Global Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) which includes a portfolio of programmes and projects aiming to build climate resilience through better water management. The WACDEP in Africa programmes and projects are being implemented on behalf of the African Union and African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), and in collaboration with relevant governments and regional economic development communities.

India Water Partnership (IWP), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) jointly celebrated the World Water Day 2017 on 27 March 2017 at Water Technology Centre, IARI campus, PUSA, New Delhi, India.

The International Water Resources Association (IWRA) is organising an online conference on 29-30 October to address the challenges and priorities on how to resiliently manage groundwater resources under climate change.

Final preparations are underway for Stockholm World Water Week 2016, which this year takes place 28 August – 2 September. Similar to previous years, GWP has a prominent role at the event, with representatives involved in a number of sessions. Here are some highlights.

A mission was set up in September to develop the Strategic Plan to ensure the strategic guidance of Benin CWP activities during the period 2017-2021. The specific objectives relating to this mission are to provide Benin CWP with a Strategic Plan; give the WIN coalition a guidance document for the promotion of integrity in the water sector and sanitation in Benin. On 18 and 19 October 2016, a workshop was held in Ouidah, bringing together the internal and external stakeholders of the CWP Benin for the validation of the strategic priorities, objectives and results, and action planning.

2015 was a milestone with the new UN Sustainable Development Goals and the COP 21 on Climate Change in Paris. For the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), 2015 was the “water” year. Water is the main agricultural production factor impacted by climate change. In the Global Water Partnership (GWP), partners are joining forces at country, regional and global levels to contribute to sustainable development in the face of climate change. This initiative, in Sub Saharan Africa, was, in an inclusive manner, identifying challenges and technical and institutional priority actions, and implemented concrete activities at all levels.