GWP was actively involved during the first week of the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow – ensuring that delegates and other participants understand the critical priority of catalysing climate-resilient development, integrated resilience planning, and facilitating access to climate finance for investments in water. This effort has been amplified through the Water and Climate Pavilion in the Blue Zone, offering up to 100 events on water and climate over the course of two weeks.

In an event on the margins of the World Leaders Summit at COP26, former Tanzanian leader and Chair of Global Water Partnership Southern Africa and Africa Coordination, H.E. President Jakaya Kikwete called on the international community to support the establishment of an International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, which is urgently needed to accelerate investments in water security on the continent.

The Transboundary Freshwater Security Governance ‘train’ stopped at its second destination in the new season on 19 October, where webinar participants discovered linkages between transboundary freshwater systems and the marine environment in the framework of the Source-to-Sea approach (S2S). This topic was introduced by speakers who provided a comprehensive overview of this approach, and highlighted challenges with possible solutions.

Water must be at the core of effective climate action, but many countries are unaware of the powerful water-related solutions that exist. To remedy this, the global water community is speaking with one voice at the upcoming UNFCCC COP 26 Climate Change Conference by hosting a joint Water Pavilion.

A new online course on Gender and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) opens on 15 October. It is available on the Cap-Net virtual campus and has been developed in partnership with GWP and Gender and Water Alliance (GWA). The course aims to improve practitioners’ understanding of the benefits of integrating gender meaningfully in water resources management.

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 9th session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP9) to the UN Water Convention concluded on 1 October after a week of sessions, all serving to review and propose action towards transboundary water cooperation. GWP Executive Secretary Darío Soto-Abril was a panelist in a high-level session on the theme of 'Water and Peace'. One of his key messages was on the importance of turning challenges into opportunities.

Water projects are six times more efficient when women are part of the team. Yet there are still massive gaps in the employment of women in the water sector, particularly for jobs that are onsite or require a strong science background. On 22 September, GWP collaborated with Community of Women in Water (CWiW) and World Bank Equal Aqua on a virtual event that discussed how to support women to join and thrive in the water sector.

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security has entered its second year, and coinciding with this, the interactive series of sessions that explore related topics resumed on 21 September. Over 100 participants joined the event on the topic of international water law and dispute settlement. The speaker presentations highlighted the complex and long-running nature of international water disputes.

Photographs of women walking down dirt roads with jugs of water on their heads – cast in roles as water carriers instead of water managers – is not yet a thing of the past. A new report launching on 16 September shows progress has been slow and the management of this vital resource is still male dominated.