For the second part in our series of partners speaking about why their communities should submit their change journeys to the Water ChangeMaker Awards, we spoke with WaterAid’s Dr Virginia Newton-Lewis, Director of Policy and Advocacy at WaterAid Sweden, highlighting the role of the WASH community.

Edit 27 April: Please note that the application deadline for the GWP summer internships was 26 April (the below text is the original call), therefore we are no longer accepting submissions - shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Thank you to everybody who applied!

“My journey in the water and development sector began through a simple internship for a small China-based NGO named Thirst”, says Alex Whitebrook, Fundraising Team Manager of Geneva-based NGO Water Inception and Focal Point Oceania for the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW). Whilst studying international relations in Shanghai, Alex took on a role with Thirst to teach high-school students about China’s water challenges. One thing led to another, and now, as part of the GWP-WYPW youth storytelling initiative, Alex looks back and shares the story of his first on-the-ground experience, which took place in a tiny village in Mexico.

April 6, 2020 – As of today, the Water ChangeMaker Awards is inviting submissions from those who have shaped water decisions that have helped build climate resilience. Submissions close on 7 June 2020.

On 22 March 2020 (World Water Day) GWP and Partners launched the ChangeMakers Award - a global competition that celebrates transformative changes towards a water secure world.

The Water ChangeMaker Awards are a new initiative that seeks to highlight experiences in the way water decisions have built climate resilience. The initiative was launched on World Water Day 2020, March 22.

In the lead-up to International Women’s Day 2020 (8 March), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency Sida has kicked off what they refer to as a super-year for gender equality. This was announced at a seminar on 5 March at the Sida headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, under the theme “Generation Equality: Adolescents, Gender Equality and SRHR”.

Michèle Okala coordinates the work of RECOJAC – the Network of Water and Climate Organisations of Central African Youth. She is one of the founding members and she is also in charge of youth issues for GWP Central Africa. Michèle has been volunteering for over 8 years, and she shares some insights to what she has learned – and what she hopes to leave as her legacy: “I created RECOJAC for the generation that will come after me. I am only laying the foundation.”

“Connection leads to protection because when you feel connected to something, you feel a responsibility to care for and protect it,” says Stephanie Woodworth as she reflects on her experiences over the past few years – from winning the 2016-2017 edition of the Great Waters Challenge, to working on a number of water-related youth projects and finding her motivation to reach her goal of connecting people to water, especially the younger generation.

Young water leaders from Central and Eastern Europe attended COP25 in Madrid as part of the GWP youth delegation to continue the efforts of GWP to engage and empower youth in water and climate governance.