World Water Week: a student’s view

“This week put into perspective the opportunities and knowledge that I and my fellow MSc students are acquiring here in Delft. I attended multiple online sessions, all of which underscored major themes that are currently seen as crucial and cutting-edge in the water world. The crazy part of this is that I have spent the past 10 months learning about these themes: how the knowledge came about, how it can be applied, and the potential these ideas have to transform water governance for the better. Furthermore, these lessons were sometimes delivered by the very people who addressed the entire water world at World Water Week.

For example, Susanne Schmeier, Associate Professor in Water Law and Diplomacy taught us students about the importance and potential of River Basin Organizations. At the World Water Week, she spoke at many sessions, including one on Sharing hidden treasures: how to improve transboundary groundwater cooperation about the role that River Basin Organizations can play in relation to groundwater. I realized my privileged position: through my learning at IHE Delft, I know far more details about these organizations than could be shared in that 90-minute session.

I drew more inspiration from listening to IHE Delft alumni who now are experts in their fields. In the session The heart of resilience: Cultivating the untapped potential of women, for example, Jacob Baraza, who recently graduated from IHE Delft with an MSc in Water Management and Governance, spoke as a panellist on how he and his team ensure women are able to enter into water governance effectively and efficiently.

Throughout my IHE Delft modules, I and my fellow students have learned from many angles about the ways in which women are most affected by water issues and least included in solution making. Attending this session and others helped me contextualize what I have been learning while, at the same time, what I have learned at IHE Delft helped me to contextualize what I heard in the World Water Week sessions.

For me, World Water Week has been a perfect opportunity to reflect on and appreciate my privilege: I learn about both the major issues and most promising solutions to water issues in real time—as these ideas are being explored and shared within the water world.”