As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many meetings, workshops, and consultations suddenly went online. In many parts of the world, in-person meetings were impossible for a long time, and only now are slowly resuming. In other parts, hybrid meetings with online presence and in-person participation are becoming the new norm. Each of these formats comes with its pros and cons. In-person meetings allow for broader and deeper discussions, while online meetings are logistically easier to manage and make it easier for more participants to join. A new publication analyzes the impact that different formats can have on the quality of the interaction in the context of multi-stakeholder consultations.
The UN Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) 2021 Partnership Forum will focus on the theme of 'Partnerships as Game Changer for a Sustainable Recovery from COVID-19'. The 2021 Forum will convene virtually and be webcast via http://webtv.un.org/.
The countries of the world have jointly committed to achieve the SDGs through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, including the SDG #6 on water and sanitation, central to achieve the other SDGs, particularly related to agriculture, energy, disaster resilience, health, environment and ecosystems, economic growth, and SDG #16 on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.
The Global Water Partnership South Asia (GWP SAS) Regional Council has announced the appointment of Kusum Athukorala as the GWP SAS Chairperson in effective of 1 January 2022.
The first Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance event for 2022 kicked off on 16 February and included 150 participants from around the world. They explored how the design of Transboundary Water Agreements may affect their performance, and the ‘key ingredients’ that should be considered when creating such agreements.
On March 24, 2022, the National University of Public Service in Budapest, Hungary, conferred an honorary doctorate on Jerome Delli Priscoli, GWP’s Technical Committee Chair from 2016 to 2022.
