SIC ICWC TOOK PART IN TWO SEMINARS DEDICATED TO WOMEN IN WATER MANAGEMENT AND YOUTH
In 2021, the OSCE launched the “Women, Water Management and Conflict Prevention- Phase II” project, initiating the implementation of the Mentorship and Career Growth Program aimed at uniting and supporting women professionals in the field of water resources management from five countries in Central Asia and Afghanistan, as well as enhancing their professional level and active role in water resource management in the region.
Over 20 women professionals regularly participate in virtual and in-person events, where they exchange experiences with international experts and mentors, contributing to expanding their knowledge, skills and opportunities for career advancement. This mentorship program played a key role in the establishment of the Network "Women in Water Resources Management in Central Asia and Afghanistan". The Network's co-organizers are the OSCE, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), and the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC). This is a community of women experts and practitioners whose activities are related to various aspects of transboundary water cooperation in the region.
On September 4-5, the regular seminar of the Network was held in Almaty to review the work progress and plans for 2024, facilitate the discussions on the draft Network Code and elect representatives for the Global Council of the Women in Water Diplomacy Network. Yodit Balcha, one of the founders of the African Association 'Women in Water and Climate', presented the experience of women's participation in the Nile River Basin Commission, shared by 11 countries. Representatives of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) reported on the thematic “Communities of practice” established as platforms for the exchange of experience, opinions and information, sharing of scientific papers and publications.
Members of the regional Network shared their experiences and talked about the impact that their involvement in the network has had on their professional development, discussed how the water diplomacy processes benefit from the role of professional women associations in the water sector, and emphasized the need for professional trainings. Representative of SIC ICWC, O. Usmanova spoke about the positive impact of such associations, using the example of the Network “Gender and Water in Central Asia”, established in 2007, as the first experience of highlighting gender aspects in the regional water sector and organizing trainings for women. She reported on the work being started as part of the OECD project “Regional mechanism for the low-carbon, climate-resilient transformation of the energy-water-land Nexus in Central Asia”, one component of which is to establish a regional Center of Excellence on the nexus approach on the basis of the existing expert platform. This Center of Excellence aims to bring together scientists and practitioners from different disciplines for collaborative research, knowledge production, peer-to-peer learning and exchanges. She encouraged all members of the Network to join this platform.
The Youth Seminar "Drops of the Future", focusing on the water-food-energy nexus, took place in Almaty on 6 and 7 November. This is the second in a series of seminars supported by the OSCE and the Swiss program "Blue Peace Central Asia", which aims to create a common vision among young people on the interlinkages between different sectors and to establish a dialogue between representatives of the older and younger generations. The first meeting was held in Vahdat, Tajikistan. The next meeting will take place in Tashkent in the second half of September.
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