After almost five years since the initiation of the administrative process to change its legal status, Country Water Partnership, Cameroon (GWP-Cmr) is now an NGO following a Ministerial Decree n° 00000005 of April 1st 2020. This change in status brings along a number of advantages the possibility to seek direct funding from government ministries and related organizations in order to advance its mission of ensuring water security in Cameroon. In an interview with the Chair of GWP-Cmr, Mr. Mamoudou Ousman talks about GWP- Cmr, what prompted the need for a legal status change, benefits and challenges, and shares lessons learnt with other Country Water Partnerships (CWPs) in the GWP-CAF network looking to change their legal status.

The Global Water Partnership Mediterranean is seeking to hire an Expert/Company to provide Whiteboard Animations for GEF Drin Project) in the framework of the GEF supported Project “Enabling transboundary cooperation and integrated water resources management in the extended Drin River Basin” (GEF Drin Project).

GWP and the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) collaborate on a storytelling initiative to make the voices of youth heard on water. Reflecting on the current challenging times, with the world battling a health crisis, we asked youth how the COVID-19 outbreak has changed their daily routines in different parts of the world. This is the second instalment in the series.

We work very closely as knowledge brokers with policy and decision-makers to walk the journey with them of implementing climate action, says CDKN Director Dr Shehnaaz Moosa: “When the Water ChangeMaker Awards came up, it seemed like an automatic fit for CDKN to be a knowledge partner”.

The connection between water and climate is undeniable, says Gabriel Eckstein, President of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA): "Without one, we cannot have the other. This is why we joined as a Partner with the Water ChangeMaker Awards - to bring closer the knowledge and expertise and voices of members and partners to the international water and development communities that are making decisions, moving to action and inspiring others."

To strengthen journalists understanding of water security and climate resilience for effective communication with stakeholders, the Central Africa Republic Country Water Partnership (PNE-RCA), with the technical and financial support of the GWP Central Africa (GWP-CAF) and UNICEF, organized a two day capacity building workshop for media professionals in Bangui in December 2019. The participants at the workshop expressed their gratitude for the initiative and committed to contribute to the sensitization of stakeholders on water security and climate resilience. They also made a series of recommendations to key stakeholders, on enhancing water security and climate resilience. Steps have since been taken by PNE-RCA to implement the recommendations made towards the establishment of a network of water and climate journalists, and plans have been made to sustain it through subsequent capacity building workshops.

GWP, GEF IW:Learn and partners are launching a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on “Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security” at the end of August 2020. The tentative start date is 31 August. The timing coincides with the start of the school year – giving educators the opportunity to build the MOOC into their curricula. One of the MOOC lecturers is Dr Jackie King, who shares a video message on why the MOOC is more relevant than ever. She says that “we are learning the hard way that everything is connected.”

Trinidad and Tobago held a virtual consultation on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.5.1 – which tracks the degree of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) implementation. This is the first in a series of 60+ in-country consultations coordinated by GWP this year, in collaboration with the UNEP-DHI Centre and Cap-Net UNDP, under the guidance of the UN Environment Programme. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the planned workshops will be held online. “We firmly believe that an integrated approach to water resources management is needed now more than ever”, says GWP Senior Water Resources Management Specialist Colin Herron.