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“Action on water is an absolute and ethical imperative…Acting now is a matter of human dignity, justice, and survival. Waiting to act is no longer an option.” This was one of the strong messages of the Budapest Water Summit 2016, which took place 28-30 November in Budapest, Hungary. GWP global and GWP Central and Eastern Europe joined forces to represent the network at the event.

GWP’s Financing Partners Group (FPG) and Steering Committee (SC) met in December to consider a range of issues facing the GWP network. One of the highlights was a joint session with both entities which addressed the issue of water diplomacy.

The water situation in Venezuela remains critical, both in quality and quantity. In a recent national television interview, Yazenia Frontado, Chair of GWP Venezuela and Vice Chair of GWP South America, spoke about GWP Venezuela’s work to revert this situation.

GWP delegates participated in the UN climate conference in Marrakech, Morocco, in November. Even though water is not central to the negotiations, it is getting increasing attention by the UNFCCC and other stakeholders. In this video, GWP delegates share their thoughts:

GWP participated in the UN climate conference in Marrakech, COP22, with representatives from various parts of the network. Adaptation and financing were two topics that dominated many discussions, with a strong youth perspective throughout.

In our interview series marking GWP 20 Years, we talk to GWP Steering Committee (SC) member Dr. Gunilla Björklund. Her ties to the network run back all the way to its founding days, and over the years she has been involved in GWP project evaluations as a consult. She says the main challenge as a SC member is to have a global overview while still maintaining an understanding of the details.

GWP is proud to announce the winners of the Global Competition for #YouthLed Projects. The winners will be presented today at COP22 in Marrakech at the side event “Youth for Water and Climate: From Commitments to Action”, organised by GWP and youth network partners.

GWP Central America hosted a regional workshop on Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) on 22-23 September in El Salvador. The workshop brought together practitioners from across the region. GWP Caribbean also took part, under the theme “Considerations for Implementing Policies and Practices Related to Rainwater Harvesting and Addressing Climate Change.”

The GWP Latin American International Water Law Training Programme held a successful VIII edition of a regional workshop with focus on La Plata Basin on 26-29 September. It was attended by 23 participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay, most of them from public institutions.

In our 2016 interview series to celebrate GWP 20 years, we talk to Ruth Beukman, Regional Executive Secretary for GWP Southern Africa. After 13 years, she is preparing to leave her job at the end of this year. But she will never completely leave GWP, she says, and speaks fondly of the network – the “GWP family”, whose strength lies in its strong relationships, diversity and flexibility.