What is GWP SAS Water Academy for Youth (WAY)?
GWP SAS aims to tap into the existing potential of youth and to further empower them to find water solutions for the future. The GWP WAY takes strategic steps from learning to lead. The manner of teaching moves away from traditional lecture-based teaching and creates a space of collaborative and immersive learning based on systems thinking and design thinking. The youth connect to decision-makers, practitioners, and senior water leaders for mentorship, inter-generational dialogues, networking and to act on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation around riverscapes and riverine ecosystems in South Asia. Furthermore, the youth from South Asia will relate to other like-minded youth within the region and the broader Pan-Asia region for peer-to-peer learning. At the end of the programme, participants will join a network of WAY alumni that will act as a pool of knowledgeable youth and GWP Ambassadors while also gaining valuable skills such as critical thinking and tools to effectively assess and tackle a problem.
The application deadline is Monday, 5 September 2022 at 11:59 pm (India Standard Time).
Objectives of the programme:
- Provide practical and engaging experiences to empower South Asian youth leadership and skills around water
- Allow youth to identify problems and solutions that lead to accelerated action towards SDG 6
- Develop and establish a network of dedicated youth in SAS while further connecting them to youth and other organizations across the greater GWP network
- Create an opportunity for intergenerational conversations and mentorship as well as peer-to-peer learning
Curriculum:
The WAY programme is divided into four distinct components which are as follows:
- C1. Leadership and Skills Curriculum
This curriculum will focus on specific areas of soft skill development. It will focus on developing skills such as goal setting, decision making, listening, empathy, problem solving and communication.
- C2. Locally Centered Learning and Capacity Building Curriculum
This curriculum will immerse the participants in local issues and delve into a heightened understanding of the specific challenges that impact countries and regions by utilizing problem identification techniques.
- C3. Scenario Planning and Problem-Solving Curriculum
This curriculum will focus on the various approaches to problem-solving and scenario planning building on the problem identified in C2. It will explore tools for stakeholder/public engagement in community scenario planning and the use of communication, research, models and visualisations to help communities and various stakeholders understand their environmental, social, and economic implications.
- C4. Mentorship, solution transfer and inter-generational knowledge sharing
Participant groups will be paired with mentors for the duration of the programme and will be in communication with them for feedback on projects, solution identification and solution finding. They will also have regular check-ins for career guidance and networking while they serve as a listening ear on their leadership journey.
Eligibility
- Must be a South Asian national from GWP SAS countries
- Fluency in written and oral communication in English
- Must be a youth with age between 18-35 years old
- Youth from a range of different disciplines are welcome to apply and there is no prior experience in the field of water is required
- Available time to commit to an average of 3-hrs of structured sessions per week excluding additional time as required by project work and tasks
Please submit your applications: https://forms.gle/AintdVPUbi3XkZwN9
The course will be hosted fully online with some field components if applicable.