GWP held its annual Regional Days meeting on 23-25 May in Budapest, Hungary. This was followed by meetings of the GWP Steering Committee, Financing Partners Group, and Sponsoring Partners in Stockholm, Sweden on 11-14 June. All meetings were focused on launching the process for developing GWP’s new strategy.
Mina Guli is CEO of Thirst and a member of the GWP Steering Committee. In November she will embark on a mission to complete 100 marathons in 100 days – with the single goal of raising awareness around the global water crisis. In a Facebook Live interview from 15 June, she describes her motivation to work for a water secure world, and how she hopes to engage people all around the world in her campaign #RunningDry.
During the month of May, ten workshops were held in the different regions of Honduras to raise awareness on the steps taken by the government to prepare for the implementation of SDG 6 in the country, as well as to promote that the Goal is included in local and territorial planning. They were also an opportunity to share information on GWP's campaign #ActOnSDG6.
Monika Weber-Fahr took up her new position as Executive Secretary of Global Water Partnership on 7 May. “As the newest kid on the block I’m feeling very humbled. I’m inspired by what the network is and what it has done in the past 20+ years, and what it can do going forward in a world where water is such a huge priority”, she says.
GWP co-organised the recent World Meteorological Organization (WMO) HydroConference – the Global Conference for Prosperity through Hydrological Services – in Geneva, Switzerland. The event set out to create better interfaces between the providers of hydrological services and the users who need such services for a wide range of decision-making.
GWP Southern Africa played a major role in Botswana's development of a national Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Efficiency (IWRM/WE) Plan. The creation of GWP Botswana and its involvement in the process was vital to make it a success, allowing the government to access stakeholders from all levels of society, says Bogadi Mathangwane, Director of the Botswana Department of Water Affairs.
GWP has been working closely with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) for over 20 years – the first connection goes back all the way to 1996, when GWP was established. Today, GWP Southern Africa is a recognized implementing agency of SADC, and also a strategic partner. GWP has supported SADC through the different phases of its regional IWRM plan, and currently one of the key activities is implementing a regional Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus Approach.
The GWP Annual Report for 2017 – “GWP in Action 2017” – is available online. The report presents highlights from the entire GWP network. "The stories point in one direction: GWP is the multi-stakeholder partnership that delivers on SDG 6 implementation through an integrated approach to water resources management," says GWP Chair Oyun Sanjaasuren in her message in the report.
