A two part series on the uneven experiences and everyday challenges of lockdown conditions in India. Reflections and insights from women and small-scale farmers, migrant workers and civil society activists in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra point to a systemic blindness of the state and economic system, which fail to see, understand or respond to the struggles of the most marginalised people in the country.

This research project was born with the purpose of analyzing the biophysical and socio-economic factors that surround the routines of intermittent water service, rain harvesting and water storage in Colombian cities. We aimed to understand the context in which the Aedes aegypti mosquito reproduces, and to study the vulnerability of some communities to diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes in neighborhoods of Barranquilla and Buenaventura, the main port cities of the country. In both cities, we chose a group of neighborhoods where water services are intermittent and precarious, and where there have been outbreaks of Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya. That is, a group of neighborhoods in which water cuts have historically influenced the well-being of the communities. Especially, they have influenced the lives of women who are generally in charge of storing and treating water for tasks such as washing clothes, cleaning the house, preparing food and caring for children, the elderly and the ill.

In this programme-wide learning session, Jennifer Lentfer, communications strategist and creator of how-matters.org, leads participants in interactive and practical writing, editing and reflection exercises to explore how we can tell more compelling, yet not overly-simplified or stereotypical stories about water-based interventions.

In the lead up to the UN 2023 Water Conference, the Dutch environmental justice organization Both ENDS and the international water knowledge institute IHE-Delft initiated a process to develop the ‘Transformative Water Pact.’
Authored by a diverse group of 40+ environmental justice advocates from civil society and academia, notably from the Global South, who work extensively on water-related issues throughout the world, it details an alternative vision of water governance based on the tenets of environmental justice, equality and care.

Day 3, Welcome + Session 1: Fanel, a panel on sharing failures to learn from

An important objective of this symposium was to create space to reflect on and learn from stories of failures, uncertainties and what we do not know (yet). In this Fanel – a panel to share failures – we shared insights from the programme management team on our learnings and struggles in trying to achieve the ambitions of the programme as well as explored the messy, challenging and dire water realities that two of our project teams faced while implementing their activities. This Fanel showed the importance of sharing and listening to difficult stories to understand the politics of water as well as to nurture humbleness and solidarity in our interventions. 

Moderator: Margreet Zwarteveen

Rapporteur: Muna Dajani

Presenters: Jeltsje Kemerink-Seyoum and Wim Douven; Nadia Fawzi; Adel Yasin

Watch here.