 Welcome everyone, welcome everyone to those in the audience if you could take a seat that would be great There's still folks arriving, but we're really pleased to have you in person here at this event And also welcome to the people that are tuning in at home I'm Kaylee over the senior program officer of the climate environment and conflict program at the US Institute of Peace Very first thing I like to do is take a moment to acknowledge land in which we're meeting on Today this land was the land of the Nanachik and Piscataway people the first residents of the land that would become the district of Columbia But where you're sitting today Is also the United States Institute of Peace There's many familiar faces in the room, but for those who don't know USIP is a national nonpartisan independent institute founded by Congress and Dedicated to the proposition that a world without combat violent conflict is possible practical and essential for the US and global security Now the climate environment and conflict program is a relatively new program established in 2020 To understand how climate policy and peace building can work together to ensure that we stay ahead of the climate curve and Put effective communities on the path toward long-term peace and stability Our program actually has three pillars of work which include climate migration and displacement issues We just recently issued a pieceworks on Climate migration and cities. I encourage you to check that out We also work on risks related to the just green sent transition including the race for critical minerals for instance And we also focus on trans-battery water and conflict issues Perhaps why you're here today. We're particularly interested in understanding how research meets practice And we have new work undergoing to understand the effective effectiveness of conflict resolution mechanisms in Trans-boundary water agreements and thanks to a partnership with our learning evaluation and research team We have something undergoing about how to understand why and how data sharing leads to trust building and water diplomacy And of course we're also interested in the impacts of gender on water diplomacy issues And so today we're here in honor of the International Day for Women in Diplomacy, which Just last year with the leadership of Amina J. Mohamed the UN Deputy Secretary General the UN General Assembly declared by Consensus that June 24th in a few days time would be the International Day for Women in Diplomacy and so this Coming 24th will be the first anniversary The intent of the day is clear to recognize often overlooked contributions of women in diplomacy and Advocate for increased representation of women in key decision-making positions that can greatly shape and implement multilateral agendas I'd be remiss if I didn't also note that today is World Refugee Day and Acknowledge that one of our speakers is speaking from her experience as both a woman water diplomat and as a refugee in Canada We're also interested in women and water diplomacy specifically Why? Research shows that including women in peace processes Makes agreements more durable and leads to lower instances of conflict But despite this less than 10% of negotiators in peace processes are women and in Transbanded water management women are specifically underrepresented especially at higher levels of decision-making However entities such as the woman and water diplomacy network are looking to change this by supporting a community of practice Focused on empowerment peer-to-peer learning and collective advocacy for formal and informal woman water diplomats We'll be learning more about their work very shortly But I'd like to first thank them the woman in water diplomacy network as well as the Environmental Law Institute and the Socombe International Water Institute Who support the women and water diplomacy network for being our co-host today? And now I Like to turn to our keynote speaker Mr. Hank W. J. O'Vink this special envoy for international water affairs of the kingdom of the Netherlands Hank was appointed by the cabinet of the Netherlands as the first special envoy for international water affairs in 2015 prior to this role He was Sherpa to the high-level panel on water Installed by the then UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and president of the World Bank Jim Kim He was both acting director general of spatial planning and water affairs and director of national spatial planning for the Netherlands Hank is also currently the principal of rebuild by design the resilience innovation competition He developed and led for President Obama's Hurricane Sandy rebuilding task force And he holds a research position at the University of Groningen and teaches at the London School of Economics and at Harvard Graduate School of Design Hank the stage is yours. Thank you so much actually It's a bit weird to be first speaker as a man So I Dedicate this for sure to my mother who was a true activist. She passed away 12 years ago yesterday. So That brought memories of course like she's with me every day Which he was born in 1926 And post World War two one of the first female school directors in the Netherlands So she was a real powerhouse. So I Like to honor her with my talk and the many women around the world That have the opportunity but also take the capacity to lead Not everybody has of course And it's not that we all are born in equal opportunities And we know that for sure women are not vulnerable But find themselves too often in conditions that make them vulnerable Conditions that predominantly are created by people like me white male global north Don't feel guilty in that sense personally, but there's definitely a change a curve that needs to happen so Humility and honor and thank you women water and diplomacy And Elizabeth and the whole team for inviting me here There's a reason I guess that you invited me and that has to do with the UN 2023 water conference a conference that just happened in March this year 46 years after the first UN conference This was the second time in the context of the United Nations that the world had the opportunity to come together And the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands together with the Republic of Tajikistan were the proud co-host of such a process So I'd like to talk about Four things in my little address One is of course water second is women leadership Third is diplomacy Not a surprise, but fourth is the alternative and let's see if I get there Meanwhile, I brought Images from a dear friend female documentary photographer Cynthia from Elk New York based Who traveled with me and the many partners through Asia while we were doing a Water program on building capacity in communities in China in India Kulna in Bangladesh and Samarung in Indonesia and she documented the whole process and The images you see also show The the many sides of the situation water vulnerability here in Kulna And then what a responsibility fully depending on Women leadership in these communities and of course that in itself immediately poses a challenge Because it should not be the burden of women in these communities and there should be freshwater available For everybody, which is not the case I don't need to remember you that over two billion people around the world lack access to safe drinking water Over three billion access to hygiene facilities and over four to sanitation facilities So and this burden is predominantly felt by women around the world, but they also take literally the helm and Ensure that what there is there for their families for their communities eating away hours in their days that they should Not put in getting water for their communities But you know working on the economies on their communities on spurring actions across and Science and practice prove that the moment that happens when there's water available women lead They outperform men. They spur these communities towards progress and opportunities for their kids Girls can go to school with sanitation facilities and very don't become monthly dropouts so while The images are amazing and Cynthia was able to capture here in Chennai the way women lead on water It also shows that this you know this power That women bring in securing water for all and securing health for their communities and family Is not the situation that we want to see water Just asking where in the Institute of Peace on diplomacy who of you has any clue about water? It's like no, that's great Because water is a is a crazy resource You know, it's almost free. It's not like oil or energy We take it for granted Predominantly it's dealt with with by engineers predominantly also male engineers You focus on infrastructure pipes or fixing the pipes and Almost everything in life is dependent on it. Yeah, it's a human rights because of that It's not a commodity. So we pay nothing for the single resource that actually makes us live Interesting huh that the thing that's most important for food security for energy security for climate for resiliency for sustainability But also for equity and equality for finance and funding That single resource water that is connected literally to every sustainable development goal is almost free and That we literally have no clue how to organize ourselves because it's so complex It's related to everything and something that is so complex related to everything and costs nothing Of course, you know is left unaccounted for right now and Then I'll I'll I'll get to my next topic right now We put such a large dent into the water cycle a cycle where we have water in our grounds in our rivers and lakes and oceans and in our skies that that cycle starts to break and That means that every second of every day we have less fresh water available for us While the demand on that freshwater is growing because of population and economic growth so what we have is a resource unprotected Unaccounted and undervalued that is abused misused and under managed less fresh water means more pollution less water in our soil and these are Aquifers groundwater bubbles you could say that beyond a tipping point will not restore themselves And that is the current situation with close to over half of those aquifers Water is becoming more saline and more polluted leaving us more vulnerable. That is one the second is We have more water in our skies Atmospheric rivers they called because of again pollution land degradation infrastructure planning urbanization economic development Exacerbated by climate change. So right now atmospheric rivers are impacting across continents from the Amazon to Africa from Asia to Europe from the Americas to China The environment in the conditions and economies and communities that are already vulnerable. So a Lack of water in one leads to a massive abundance in the other and on top of that Sealer for rise surges storms and Droughts extreme events are becoming more extreme over 90% of all those climate disasters hit us through water So this crazy little resource that we like to drink don't drink it from a bottle you can drink it from a tap especially here in the US That resource that we take for granted that You know until this day ministers of agriculture and the food industry say Give us our water because then we give you our food. They don't care for as real water stewards Private sector and public sector have a hard time getting their head around that was the whole idea behind this crazy You and water conference 46 years after knowing that in contrast to climate or biodiversity There is no agreement on water There's nothing to hold ourselves accountable to so it's only about our voluntary actions and commitments The conference put together over 800 of those commit commitments adding up to Billions of dollars that now have to be implemented and scaled at the same time Organizing a conference well organizing a conference in the U.N. is something completely different We can do that over drinks, but organizing a conference And I had the honor to lead that on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands organizing a conference in a situation where there's no agreement is also a bit of a cover-up Because Everybody for months actually years is very busy with this conference and it feels like Everybody's very busy with water But it turns out that's not the case And it's the moment that brings you together But if there is no follow-up process if there is no agreement and alignment the day after the conference you wake up and I woke up and we warned the world that Exactly that Saturday Again, there is nothing organized on water. Nobody picks up the phone at the UN or in the many institutions To organize yourself on water. So water is left alone in a very vulnerable place Luckily enough we're here in the US where the United States Launched its water security strategy last summer coming from the White House in Partnership with state USA interior fairs the NSC and so forth organizations of the US federal government that said What I can't be left alone. It is connected to everything we value and therefore security is not only security at large it's security for food for equity and equality for finance for production for Energy for climate for cities the environment and so forth I wish more countries would champion water in such a comprehensive way and be able to lead The Netherlands was very lucky to work together Closely still until this day not only in the preparation of the conference being the US one of the co-leads Co-chairs of one of the interactive dialogues on the follow-up of the conference But also real push now in the multilateral day domain to ensure water is there and they did this with female leadership Of course So That's water. I'm a water ambassador and for you for the kingdom of the Netherlands. I stopped talking about water because I Can never stop talking about The relationship with women is clear From different angles, it's the leadership question the capacity the understanding But definitely also the value and we come from a time where We thought every problem could be solved with a Solution which is a you could say a very modernistic view on the world and with all those Solutions that we poured out around the world We created many many more problems that all were then again attributed with more solutions IPCC now counts that 90 over 99 percent of all global investments I will repeat this over 99 percent of all global investment Increases climate change one and second makes us more vulnerable But because it destroys exactly that that they actually can help us in the context of Sustainability equity and climate and that means that the way we invest and the way our policies are drafted the way we value and validate Our programs and projects are designed and tailored to something that is totally outdated single-focused non-inclusive Non-comprehensive and not addressing the longer term and those mechanisms Of course we're designed predominantly by men in the positions that they let and I don't want to put the blame totally on them But we have to change course Looking up literature will women leadership change that course don't think so not by itself, but in collaboration in inclusion and Through the lenses of valuing equity sustainability and resiliency we can and shown is there that we have a massive gap to bridge and Also around the world. We see wherever we put the opportunity in place for women to lead They are able to bridge many of these gaps It takes a village To develop the change that we need And that village can and should be co-run by women in leadership position Third is diplomacy And the way how we come together Now we're in the Institute of peace and diplomacy. So you know more about diplomacy than myself I know it by practice working in regions of the world where there are conflicts where water is a key driver a Source as part of those tensions And where we can overcome this By coming together now how can water and Diplomacy hold hands again that is I would say almost more, you know fairly easy The opportunity with water is that it touches upon everything So that means that if you have an honest conversation on the issues at stake and you start with water Because water is linked literally to everything. It's also linked to everyone Everyone has a stake and that means with everyone having a stake everyone also has a role What are conversations? organized in a very safe manner a safe space Really help to address Issues way beyond water security. They tap into opportunities for women and kids for resiliency and economy For environmental issues for food and energy security for schools educations and jobs water conversations and power diplomacy Around the world if done in the best way possible. So diplomacy informed Through a water lens helps us understand what a conversation can really look like that is inclusive That is addressing holistically the issues at stake and goes beyond the lock-in We too often find in the context where we need diplomacy. So most not saying that water will solve all your problems In the wrong hands, it will only make them worse But in the right hands Women hands what a diplomacy can really help us understand better the challenges the interdependencies and The opportunities that come with it. That's to the last point. Which are is the alternative If 99 percent over 99 percent of our global investments and therefore the way We are tailoring our economies is increasing our vulnerability our inequalities and increasing climate change How can we turn that one percent where we get our inspiration from into two four sixteen and a majority? What is the safe space needed to bring forces together to ensure that that alternative of Looking at the future and not the past Bypassing our lock-ins and coming together really can spur the action so much needed and empower the the sitting powers To step beyond their vested interests. I don't know If I did we wouldn't have this challenging conversation because if I know you know, right? I'm no magician I'm a Dutch diplomat working on water but I do know from working on water in Places like Chennai, Gaza, Afghanistan, Peru, Chile, the US, New York after Hurricane Sandy, Europe, Africa, Central Asia in all those places Where vulnerability of our future and future generations is at the heart of the opportunity of solving a crisis That it is possible That there is always a will If only we dare to look it into eyes and empowered it. I Started with my mother who was a true activist. I'll end with my father who was married to her For a very long time. He turned 97 when he passed away in 2018 five years ago now They were two of the same kind in a way True activist, but my father was an engineer and not the bully type of engineer like Robert Moses, but a passionate engineer When I worked for President Obama, we had a joke if Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs had married Their love babies might have be able to you know change the world. They're very compassionate passionate inclusive human-centric Community led way still building bridges and infrastructure that was resilient and taking into account I'm not saying my parents would have been that ideal match for the world I don't think idealism comes to play here, but I do believe that Putting together the will and capacity for an inclusive equitable and very holistic approach Can come together with the action needed to deliver the change in the communities for our economies and our political Environments that we so much need and I think it's exactly why we are here and I wish you a great conference I want to thank you for your attention. I don't love following that speech I mean it was very inspiring and I'm sure we're all feeling very inspired right now So thank you so much Hank that was truly moving and thank you to your mother and incidentally your father for Inspiring all of us So I'm actually here to just introduce our moderator if we'll have the task of introducing the rest of our panelists So it's my great pleasure to introduce Elizabeth Cock the senior manager for international programs at the Environmental Law Institute and the lead of the woman in water Diplomacy Networks process support team. She has over 15 years of experience supporting water diplomacy engagements in conflict-sensitive basins on behalf of ELI see we shared waters Partnership program the UNESCO category to International Center for Water Corporation and EcoPeace Middle East I'm sure there's many more things that can be said, but Elizabeth, please the stage is yours Welcome to you all it's such a pleasure to see Mostly new faces In the room today. My name is Elizabeth Indeed it's been my pleasure to support the woman in water diplomacy network since 2017 First through the Stockholm International Water Institute and now here in the United States for the Environmental Law Institute I really just want to say a big thank you to our partners of this event the USIP this beautiful auditorium And our partners from the Stockholm International Water Institute as well Before I introduce our amazing panelists today, I'm gonna just give a few minutes Little background on the women in water diplomacy networks you all can get a sense of this community that goes many spread across several continents these days so We like to refer to the background of the network as the her story of the network so we can do a little bit of Sharing of our inception and development periods since 2017 You're gonna hear from several network members In the panel as well who I hope can give you a taste of their experience as part of the network I should say that the network really what why did we dive into this network development stage? Well my colleagues at Siwi and I we had the opportunity Through the State Department Supported shared waters partnership program together with the Netherlands and UNDP in Sweden have supported and out engagements in conflict sensitive river basins all around the world predominantly in Africa and Central Asia and the Middle East and these engagements enabled us to provide support opportunities for joint learning planning with riparian stakeholders from across these basins and What we saw again and again was that the lead actors in those decision-making forums Were men and there was in a kind of a sense of exclusion already there So in addition to what we call mainstreaming gender equality throughout our programming We also said okay We also need to do targeted engagement to bring more women Water diplomats into this room into the decision-making space And hold hands with us throughout that process so in 2017 amazing group of Women water diplomats from across the Nile Basin got together for the very first time and we had no idea that a women in water Diplomacy Network was going to be formed at that time But we brought together representatives of the ministries of water and ministries of foreign affairs from the Nile Basin countries And this was really the first time that we had this Opportunity and we took five days together to learn together exchange knowledge Talk about some of the core issues in the Nile Basin that of the day Get to know each other's experience. How did they become a women water diplomat and also just Give everyone the sense that they are a women water diplomat It's often one of our key messages in the network is that you are water diplomat And you are a water diplomat and you are a water diplomat and that was really one of the core aspects of that first workshop a Little more than a year later. We brought together the the group They at that point. They said we need to do this every year. We have to bring in new people to the network We want to establish a constant engagement And so we launched the second women in water diplomacy network forum which took place in Ethiopia at the end of 2018 And again five days together experience exchange networking there was a lot of major political issues on the table in the Nile in this time period we had lead negotiators from Egypt Ethiopia Sudan The the Great Lakes region of the Nile it was really a fantastic opportunity and while we did something like a Several-day simulation of negotiation on a fictitious basin We were able to bring some of those core issues into the discussion in a in a safe space between Sisterhood of diplomats The third Nile network forum was held in January 2020 This took place in Kenya. It was again an amazing opportunity for learning We brought in a quite a few younger water diplomats in that in that forum event and You can see already. There's a sense of real sisterhood across this network And really outstanding opportunity really just to get to know each other You'll note January 2020 is we we had a bit of a change up thereafter As so many communities across the world experienced We as well had to very much pivot our engagements To online digital water diplomacy supported engagements So whereas before we were meeting in person every year now we were meeting online almost on a monthly basis and Well, of course, it was a really difficult period for many of our network members All around the all around the Nile basin who lost family members or really had to battle through some difficult times and It also enabled us to come together in a really difficult time We learned how to do these online engagements all together And we did it at such a higher frequency that we were able to handle new challenges across our growing network The next year was the year that we launched the Central Asia Afghanistan network You can imagine trying to launch such a community of practice in a time when In-person meetings were not possible was a real challenge But we were able to bring them together Each of the representatives in this network were nominated by their countries And you're gonna meet one of our Afghan representatives in the panel discussion just shortly It was a very difficult year to launch a process in Central Asia and Afghanistan as you can imagine and things Immediately changed for so many of our network members as the Taliban Took over in Afghanistan Still the network continued to meet online Discuss exchange and support each other through this very difficult time That same year we launched the Women in Water Diplomacy Leadership Council and you can see some of the amazing members Representing their country or their institutions That have been really leading this network since its inception So you have very senior representatives from a number of the Nile basin countries as well as southern Africa East Wattini in South Africa here today You saw one of these publications outside the room we have lots of copies, so please take some and Dive on into our strategy. There's other Publications that can give you further background on the network online or just write me an email and I can tie you over to those resources In 2022 we went global when we launched the strategy that's out on the table outside We really said we have a blueprint that is adaptable and adaptable To basins all over the world. We've given it a go in the Nile Central Asia and Afghanistan sisters in the Americas and Asia Southeast Asia were reaching out to us saying hey, we want to grow networks in our basin communities So we had a global network forum that's brought together about 75 women water diplomats from a lot around the world a couple of representatives right here in the room And we came together for a few days of learning and then we launched our strategy at the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, and that was also just a really unique experience for many of us to come together and meet people engaged in similar professional capacities from very different contexts and Then as Hank Elevated we had a chance to participate most recently in the UN water conference. We had a side event That was inside the UN and we had a one-day water diplomacy Symposium ourselves again, we tried to bring together around 70 water diplomats men and women this time to explore some of the You know wicked challenges around water diplomacy Of the day and come then come to the UN water conference with a real motivation to elevate issues of gender equality within the water Dialogues taking place at the UN This is our network strategy. I really just encourage you to look through it In detail. I will just say that it's generally built around five pillars Gender and youth empowerment is the first one where we really work with Women to empower them young diplomats to encourage their entry into the sector male champions that want to support the network and Make space for women water diplomats in their worlds peer-to-peer learning is our Modus operandi really of the network. We have so much capacity in the network So much knowledge and experience. It's really about making space to And accessing that knowledge We're also trying to get a research cooperation agenda off the ground You can see in the literature. There are not as many Women engaged in research processes in these networks Either and that those researchers in many countries become very important Influential intermediaries in in diplomatic processes bringing their knowledge to those discussions and finally events like this Where we're engaging with the public elevating messages Coming to conferences and whatnot Pillar five is really about Organizations like ELI and see we who support the network And we do my trade evaluation resource mobilization and that kind of thing to support the objectives Identified by the leadership council and the strategy We have a lot of partners. Some of them are here today So very much. Thank you to the Netherlands in the US State Department who are with us in the room today also Sweden and UNDP our partners in Central Asia include the organization for cooperation security or cooperation security in Europe And the Central Asia Regional Environmental Center Who is our local partner really driving this process in Central Asia in Afghanistan and a number of? Institutional partners that have been helping us along the way We're really grateful to you all we really believe that we're Community that's stronger together and so we look for opportunities to collaborate and with complementary expertise along the journey That is it for me. I have the very lovely opportunity to introduce a extremely I mean a wealth of experience in this panel Their bios are available in full on the website I will introduce each one and ask them to join me on the stage here We do hope to have opportunities for some questions and answers after some of our own Questions have an opportunity to be responded to so if something comes to your mind Please get ready to hold your hand up during the open discussion so First of all, I'd like to welcome to the stage Tanya to Hilo Tanya is the assistant secretary for water and science at the US Department of Interior She's been an amazing champion of the network these last years joining us in events in Stockholm At the UN and a number of other different locations She has is a water lawyer with really more than 30 years of experience working in complex natural resource management issues She most recently worked on worked as a project director for the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign and before that was the executive director of the Colorado River Board of California she has served as senior counsel to the US Energy and Natural Resources Committee and as counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the Department of Interior. Welcome Tanya Next to her is Dr. Annalise Bloom And Dr. Bloom is a hydrologist with experience in climate water national security policy She served as the deputy assistant secretary for water and science at the US Department of Interior Working really closely with the US Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation Previously she served at the DOD the Department of Defense as a senior advisor for climate policy and an American Association for Advancement of Science policy fellow for which she was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service Dr. Bloom has over a decade of experience leading multidisciplinary research focused on water security Extreme events and the impact of climate change Welcome very much Dr. Bloom Online you're going to meet very shortly Fumon Furrow Fumon is one of our founding network members from Afghanistan she holds an MSc in hydraulics from Ferdowsky University and Until recently served as the general director of the Kabul River Basin Authority This is the largest water basin in Afghanistan And before and of course when the Taliban took over Kabul all women professionals were no longer able to Undertake their professional roles including Fumon So since that time she's relocated to our neighbor in Canada Where she's now serving as a water resource specialist and engineer at the South Nation Conservation Authority Fumon has extensive experience in trans-boundary water management Serving in various capacities at the Afghan Ministry Including actor acting director for water allocation dam and river advisory She Participated and in some cases led negotiations with all of Afghanistan's neighbors And she's really been an essential leader in the development of the network in Central Asia Whoo, these are long. They're just so impressive My dear dear friend Dr. Zodwa DeLamene is a seasoned international trans-boundary water management specialist development professional and senior infrastructure project manager and She was the former South African chief delegate And permanent representative on the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission for 11 years She oversaw the this major infrastructure work Until very recently it was the largest water infrastructure project in Africa And so she played an enormous role in sustainable development issues in that region I Zodwa further led and really championed gender policies gender equality policies in that basin in a really intense intentional and decisive manner Hiring in the end the first appointed women chief executive officer for the basin And she was a founding member of the women and water diplomacy network in the Nile been with us since that very first picture in Uganda and just a pleasure to work closely with and Finally, Dr. Aubrey Paris is a senior policy advisor on gender climate change and innovation in the Secretary's Office of Women Global Women's of Issues at the US Department of State Where she leads foreign policy and public diplomacy efforts related to the nexus of gender and climate change At the State Department she launched the innovation station initiative to amplify the impact of women and girl innovators Developing solutions to climate related challenges while also drawing Subnational connections between the domestic policy objectives and international communities Prior to joining the State Department Dr. Paris was a national science foundation Research fellow and energy and climate scholar at Princeton where she contributed to research projects on water security Among many other issues. So dear panelists, I invite you all to the stage Wow, it's such a pleasure to have you all with us Should point out before we get going that you're probably all noticing that we have this lovely clip on This is the symbol of the women and water diplomacy network and it was co-designed by our network Just prior to our global strategy launch Through a really interactive process together with several designers in Sweden And so you you'll see people wearing them here and in other events Welcome everyone We're gonna dive right into a discussion Welcome Fumon as well Let's start with you Dr. Zodwa Help us set the scene if you would you we've heard a little bit from Hank on what is a water diff mat? Why this is such an important role and opportunity for? Addressing some of our major security and peace issues of the day Could you elaborate on your experience of being a water diplomat? What is this water diplomacy especially for many of the people in the room where this is new? Oh Your microphone is Thank you so much. It's been it's such a great opportunity to be here and to discuss this very important subject which is very close to my heart and When we talk about water diplomacy, you know, we're talking about inclusive you know collaboration of various stakeholders and These stakeholders will vary from youth women indigenous people politicians you name it and It is not a fiefdom of exclusive individuals Which has always been you know The trend in the past however, when you look at This water diplomacy it includes everybody because it's about collaboration Collaboration in terms of what is needed especially in trans boundary waters That you know, it's just that one river that we are talking about that Everybody is relying on and that river as Henke was saying a lot of times We take it for granted and yet it benefits everybody Hence we cannot just say it belongs to a particular group and in the exclusion of others So it's about inclusivity, but most importantly also it brings technical, you know, expertise as well as political Expertise you name it. It's about technical informal, you know engagements as well as formal engagements You know, so this is exactly what we are talking about and saying let's bring women together Because we know what is important and the role that they will play We have seen for many many years for many decades where you know agreements were reached without women and Most of those agreements when you go to them law students when you look at them There are so many flaws But some of the you know, you know some of these agreements they need to bring a change of the Attinge of the future Because most of the time we are not even certain of what the future is holding So if we are not going to bring in, you know, and that foresight and that vision Which will say there might be, you know, a change or there might be that climate change And who would know better because women will always know You know when the sauce is no longer a particular sauce is no longer producing so much water. It's women who know first You know, so it's very very important that that an inclusivity that inclusion is always there Be it youth because by the way the future is no longer ours It's for those we are taking from the the youth because it's their future also And when we talk about, you know, a women involvement that for me is very important There's no way we can do it without their You know, they are participation that we have seen, you know in various Basins especially in the orange single we have seen that as well as you know Working in the Lisuto Highlands Water Project, you know involving women even at village level makes sense Thank you so much. Can you see why she's been a mentor to us all? Tanya as a senior leader in the Department of Interior, what does diplomacy mean to you? And could you share with us some examples of how you have practiced diplomacy in your 30 Year career of being a water lawyer and working on policy issues including from your current role Thank you. Thank you Elizabeth and thank you to all the hosts here for having us In particular Elizabeth your leadership at the network has been very inspiring and it's been wonderful to be part of the group I am very pleased to be here I want to follow Hank's lead and perhaps say a thank you to my grandmother and mother who were leaders in diplomacy as well My grandmother was one of the first Hispanic female graduates from a small college in northern New Mexico where I'm from and taught in one-room school houses in northern New Mexico to inspire the next generation after her and My mother ensured that my brother and I were able to have a great college education and a law school education and allow us to give back to our Communities and I think that's very much the spirit of Diplomacy with respect to how I've approached my career at at the department. I think one of my Current roles and goals is to be able to encourage and empower the next generation of leadership And I'm tag-teeping today with our deputy assistant secretary Annalise bloom who you You introduced earlier and really acknowledged the the great leadership that she will bring to the department and also really Encouraging and reminding us of the importance of the role of science in underpowering and underpinning all of our decision-making and being the basis for the Diplomacy that we have been working on so it's been great personally to be able to be part of the team at interior We have lots of good leadership in place whether we're working on transboundary issues with Canada or Mexico or throughout the Global environment that we're in so thank you very much and I look forward to hearing from Annalise this program Fantastic. Well, I'd like to dive into that intersection between policy and science a little bit dr. Bloom We heard in your intro that you have a wealth of experience as a hydrologist Engaging in the water science and data sharing from some of the most contentious basins out there You're now focusing on policy issues Could you give us some highlights of what you think would be important for bringing more women into this space? Sure. Thanks so much and thank you so much assistant secretary Trujillo. It's great to Get to work together on these topics. So as a scientist not surprising I think one of the things that's most important that we focus on is making sure that we have the data and that we're gathering the data Particularly as climate change is making everything more uncertain and more extreme We need to make sure that we're gathering all of that kind of basic data And we're sharing it with one another so that we can have a common baseline for conversations whether it's overshared water Resources or something else, but having that common understanding I think is really an important first step to be able to make progress on these issues And making sure that the the information is getting to those who need it the most in communities that maybe Previously haven't had access to these sort of data sources And this has been a real push from the Biden-Harris administration making sure our investments are informed by the best data and science At the Department of Interior, I'm lucky to work closely with the US Geological Survey or USGS the nation's earth water biology and civilian mapping agency and The USGS is playing a really important role in supporting the US but also the world in providing data And understanding and knowledge that can inform all of these sort of Discussions so specific to water We know a common understanding of how much water is available is often kind of this first Step to cooperative management and personally before my policy Work, I was a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins and worked with a team we formed we called the ad hoc blue Nile Forecast group a team of researchers working outside the region to develop seasonal forecasts We wanted to inform the conversation on the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam with hopes that we could provide this politically neutral Outlook of upper Nile flows to help inform the discussion So just kind of personally an example of working on this sort of data in my policy work at Interior the Bureau of Reclamation Recently released their new climate change adaptation strategy and talks about Pilots and collaborations increase the utility of forecast-informed reservoir operations Again kind of how we can bring the data in to manage our water resources particularly in light of climate change And Also, finally the other kind of key thing in addition to data I want to highlight is making these interconnections whether it's between Hydrology and social science whether it's between the security community and the scientists or the diplomats And so previously I worked at DOD And it was really interesting being there and the Department of US Department of Defense and realizing the work that I had Done when I started my career on water sanitation and hygiene or wash really was a security topic And that was I didn't think of it from a security lens when I was doing it but Working at in the security space and understanding kind of the intersection of how all of these issues are important for Building security and peace was really fascinating. So I think Kind of making sure that we're breaking down these silos and talking to other communities It's going to be really key to advancing all the topics we care about. Thanks Fantastic. Wow Dr. Paris, I wonder if you could build on some of those connections between the policy and science and really bring in The gender equality perspective from your current role We have such an amazingly qualified Panel here today Really the floor is yours dr. Paris. Well, thank you so much for the question for having me You've convened a really dynamic group here. So congratulations Yeah, I think this this answer really does flow naturally from from dr. Bloom's answer because let's be honest for a moment as Policy makers the most effective decisions that we can make will be informed by All sorts of topics. It includes economics. It includes geopolitical considerations It includes social and cultural context and it should also include science, right? Especially as we're thinking about things like natural resource availability Water scarcity water excess etc. When we're trying to project into the future to make decisions on things that remain uncertain We need the best available information what this really means is a Two-way street of communication between policy makers and scientists and this is where I think like dr. Bloom It's really interesting to think with my scientist hat on as well as with a policy makers hat on Seeing both sides of that conversation or having experienced both sides of that conversation I think there's a lot of scientists out there who are really really eager to ensure that the data they generate Are being considered by people who could use that data productively to make important decisions and That's something that we see happening more and more in government and decision-making spheres, which is excellent But we also need the other end of that communication as well Policy makers need to be able to communicate with scientists about what sorts of data are missing What information they need to make those complete decisions? I think that a Lot of the times the data that that are missing or that I've experienced People really searching for are really the the data that come from on the ground Experiences the lived experiences of women and girls in these highly climate effective affected regions The case studies of what they've experienced that we can also use to make decisions We at the State Department have kind of generated an internal resource We have a series called our ask a gender and climate expert series or we bring in Academics many us academics who are leading on different topics in the gender and climate space Including water security We allow for that two-way conversation The academics to present their findings but also for the policy makers to say but what about this? You know, I hear you here But we're still missing this information to really get those conversations started It's often those case studies and the on-the-ground examples that we're still missing and we could use more of Thank you. I just I just want to highlight to all the young people in the room as well Water diplomacy has space for lawyers hydrologists scientists communicators Project managers all sorts and it really takes all hands-on tech to deal with some of the enormous Challenges across the water sector, so I really encourage you to live by this amazing examples and apply your Expertise and knowledge to the water sector as we move into this very difficult times ahead Fumon welcome. I haven't forgot about you If you in this room can speak to the personal trajectory of your life as a water diplomat At the fore of some of the most water insecure basins in the world managing Afghan relations water relations with your neighbors from Pakistan to Iran Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Tajikistan you are the former director of Afghanistan's largest trans boundary basin I would just love it if you could share a bit about your experience As a senior negotiator and if you would you recently wrote an article for the women in water diplomacy's newsletter highlighting, you know the lack of women or water knowledge from Afghanistan at the UN water conference Given the enormous changes in the region. Could you reflect on that as well? Hello everyone. Thank you to give me a chance to speak in the high-level Conference as you know the Afghanistan major river basin are shared with the neighboring countries The Kabul river basin where I work it as a general manager has been one of the most challenging area in the term of water research management In the local level and also the regional level between two countries because of the climate change the number of droughts and Floods has increased which cast water tension at all level in addition the development project of both country on the upstream and the downstream In the sub in the river basin increased tension and highlighted the issue of water Scarcity and trans boundary water in addition to talent and Technical problem I faced in water resource management I also had to face a serious traditional problem that Afghan society was delinquent in Traditional society Afghanistan the persons of the woman as the leader was often disregarded and consistently meet with challenges However, I and other Resilient Afghan woman refused to give in this limitation and consistently is tried to play a Significant rule in our country development and the manage of water resource Unfortunately, the progress in woman participation in water source management Was abruptly halted with the rise of the Taliban a fundamentalist spirit that's opposite to woman involvement in all aspect of society culture and policies as of one of the senior manager I was unfortunately forced to remain at home and leave my position While the talent of an inter in quality and displacement persists There is a main potential in Integrating gender perspective into water management and diplomacy as well as empowering female water Professionals by involving diverse range of a stack holder including women We can make a better informed position find sustainable solution and promote equitable water resource management For women professional working water resource management who were firstly this place from their carriers situation has had proud profound implication for water management in Afghanistan That inequality and social Institutes has created a specific barriers hindering the professional advancement of women in transmissory water sector woman water expert often incurred challenge in assessing leadership position and face exclusion from decision-making process due to a particular slacker and political norms as we know the presence of women in water source manager Yell positive effect for both resource management and communities these effect include in Hampstead economic and environmental Preferments gender blunts and social justice and improve a sustainable utilization of water resource to Reliance this positive outcome effective policy and measure that put rise gender in water resource management are crucial although such initiative appear unlikely under the current ruling group in Afghanistan in conclusion by Acknowledging the importance of women partnership and addressing gender-related challenge We can pave the way for inclusive and sustainable decision-making process in water resource management in Afghanistan Thank you so much woman You're such an inspiration to the network. We're so lucky to have your continued engagement As many of you know the network kind of got one of its foundations through something in Sweden called the feminist foreign policy and feminist foreign policy Was conceived in a number of different countries and over the years it has spread around the world Including to our neighbors here Canada and Mexico and it takes different forms in different countries But dr. Paris, I'd like to turn back to you if you would and thinking about you know the foundation of our network and feminist foreign policy Could you share with us some important values and approaches here in the United States which take into account Gender equality at these intersections with climate and water. I would love to So I think first and foremost it's important to understand the vast complexity of the situation that we're talking about here What does the nexus of gender equality and climate change actually look like? Well, it has implications of course for natural resource availability food water Firewood and and other resources as well. It has implications for Migration and conflict looking at how women and girls are Differentially affected by natural resource scarcity and the conflicts and other outcomes that might occur as a result We see intersections with gender-based violence GBV GBV tends to increase as natural resource scarcity increases whether that be in the home if women and girls are seen as unable to Accomplish their their roles and responsibilities related to water or other natural resource procurement GBV increases on migration routes or in temporary shelters following natural disasters We also see child early-enforced marriages increase when we see families Feel the need to reduce their expenses right when as scarcity worsens as well Educational opportunities livelihood opportunities health care services are often they often disappear following natural disasters and ways that Explicitly affect women and girls. So a lot of challenges There's also opportunities though when we think of the green and blue economies and the jobs that are becoming available in these Economies and sectors as well as any sector transitioning to a greener more sustainable approach But that of course means ensuring that if we want women and girls to be able to take advantage of these opportunities Ensuring they have the education training Mentorship assets financing you name it to be able to take advantage of and realize those opportunities This really big complex picture, which I could talk about for 20 minutes alone. You're welcome I won't But this complex picture really leads to the US government's two-pronged approach to policy programming and Outreach efforts related to the nexus of gender equality and climate change on the one hand addressing the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis on women and girls and on the other hand empowering women and girls as leaders in Combating the climate crisis. We've fortunately been able to institutionalize this approach in several key gender strategies of the US Government including the US national strategy on gender equity and equality The recent update to the US strategy to prevent and respond to gender-based violence globally Which for the first time now does integrate climate change and environmental challenges including water issues in our GBV response approach as well as the US strategy on global women's economic security which was launched for the first time ever earlier this year The last thing that I'll mention before I turn things back over is is there are many ways to try to put this approach into practice and one of the ways that we have Worked on this from the Secretary's Office of Global Women's issues is through our innovation station initiative Really recognizing that women and girls around the world are generating creative Translatable solutions to these climate related challenges in their communities. So we're amplifying their work through various online formats virtual events podcasts all the fun stuff But also helping them behind the scenes to build their networks with other communities domestically and internationally That could learn from their work and implement their solutions elsewhere So that's sort of part of our empowerment arm of that approach and how we're taking action. That's super inspiring Um Dr. Zodwa when I was introducing you I mentioned that you are a member of our leadership council and that you've been Engaged in supporting the network since 2017. I wonder if you could give a little more character to the herstory Stages that I outlined in the intro and your experience has been part of of that network as Everyone knows our our strategy is called the path forward for women water peace and security and you really Bring together all of those different pieces When we started in 2017 we didn't know that this workshop of Women was going to develop into a network We had the women who came from all the 11 countries of the Nile and we you know, they were from the Ministry of Water as well as foreign affairs but also we had members of Parliament who came and when we first started a lot of women felt an ease and Most of them they were asking themselves and they were even articulating it to say they that they don't think that they are at the right place and Because they did not even understand they had never even you know had the concept of water diplomacy and You know there There was you know, we had to with all the other Support system, you know ladies that were there, you know ambassadors from Netherlands and also Ambassadors from from Sweden who had been working in the in the in the area of peace negotiations and They were you know, it was like wow, we have never heard of so so, you know so many powerful women who had been negotiating for peace You know and then others my colleagues also a from from Eli You know Jennifer so you Jessica you will look, you know at that time You you could see that there was a thirst To do something but they did not know how you know whether they were the right persons Because they kept on looking at themselves to say But I'm only a an assistant director in the organization What kind of impact can I make? But the the long and short of it all by the third day Everybody felt that they had a You know, they had a chance, but also they belonged there and And we started you know strategizing but also giving personal You know experiences as we're sharing with them where we came from and what it is that we have been through You know and how we are going to assist them to Understand their role, you know and also not to undermine the the kind of You know Abilities and experiences that they were going to be bringing so that made a huge impact But as we're you know, we continued in that that workshop, you know 2018-19 a lot of things happened But most importantly which I would want to also share is that even during the COVID-19 period as Elizabeth was talking about it is that Most of the people that we are talking about the women we are talking about are from areas where You know connectivity is not a given it's a challenge and There were times when we would be there, you know some would be coming in and you know and then and there would be an Interruption, but as Elizabeth said, you know a lot of them kept on You know entering and being there, you know to be seen but also to participate so it was not easy to really build the need to the network and Thanks to women such as Elizabeth Gore as well as Julian and And Alexandra those were people that kept on the ship, you know a float so that we could achieve what we achieved within that space of time When that year 2021, you know Afghanistan as well as Central Asia the a network was born there and Then during that very year, you know, and the leadership council for the Nile basin was formed and during that very time a pathway our strategy was a Was developed and thanks to the various development partners as well as various others that assisted in terms of reviewing the strategy but also, you know a see what a brought in the element of the male champions that was very very important because as Hank said There's no way that yet women only can you know succeed in Diplomatic, you know missions without the men being there all we are asking for is You know equality let women also Participate because we have a right to be there We have a right to participate and that is what we were able to do and in 2022 we were able to then you know Launch the strategy during the Stockholm World Water Week and we also held our very first Global forum in Stockholm So that is what this was all about and this is where we are and since then we have been able to Continue to hold, you know various workshops, you know, that is virtually because we had to adapt Thank you so much. I should I should note Fantastic Dr. Zodwa is leading the charge on establishing new chapters of the women and water diplomacy network in Southern African Basin. She mentioned the on Senku the Okavanga and our dear partners in the Zambezi Commission as well are all really Involved these days in the network and I would be remiss to mention that we're really crossing our fingers and hoping to launch Canada US Mexico Network as well with really strong leadership and anchorage with indigenous women who are taking the charge and leading water Diplomacy issues across this region We're running out of time. So I'm gonna Skip over to you dr. Bloom and ask you a question on that that very issue President Biden made history in selecting Secretary Deb Haaland To be the first Native American Secretary of the Department of Interior What are some of the steps that have occurred to ensure that indigenous knowledges and viewpoints are part of decision-making here? Thank you so much for that question Yeah, it's a really big push across the whole Department of Interior and broader US government right now to Include indigenous knowledge and decision-making Because we know that it contributes to our collective understanding of the natural world and enables us to make better decisions and make better policy So as the department continues to implement President Biden's investing in America agenda We're making sure that the indigenous world use our At our decision-making tables including it with indigenous women and girls whose knowledge of the community and environmental needs is indispensable in designing and implementing culturally appropriate solutions Incorporating indigenous knowledge and decision-making also empowers communities to participate in stewardship of their land and domestically as a cornerstone of President Biden's environmental policies Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland created the first-ever Secretary's Tribal Advisory Committee so that tribal leaders could have Direct and consistent contact and communication with the department on issues including how we can incorporate indigenous knowledge At the USGS, which is a focus of the work I do there have been long-standing relationships with tribes One recent initiative through the national climate adaptation science centers as a webinar series on how we can integrate indigenous knowledge into federal research and research and resource management programs The series centered on indigenous voices to explore ethical legal and scientific considerations for working within different knowledge systems and Provides guidance reflecting best practices if you're interested in those they're all recorded and available online and a really interesting Compilation of how we can start thinking more deeply about this from indigenous communities a Specific example out of the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center that is really exciting Is an effort led in part by Hawaiian women to understand how original inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands responded to droughts by exploring traditional texts newspapers Hawaiian language chants and these efforts of course go broader than the Interior Department Working with Department of Agriculture on some more things the White House Also issued a memorandum that commits to elevating indigenous knowledge and federal scientific and policy processes And on a personal note since you meant the historic nature of Secretary Haaland's nomination Personally, I'm really proud to be part of the Biden-Harris administration Which has such a historic number of women and high-level Government roles including my boss assistant secretary Trujillo and her boss secretary Haaland who's an indigenous woman and her Pueblo community Is traditionally matriarchal? Thanks really truly inspiration We had a chance to interact with the secretary at the UN Water Conference and I would say one of our biggest takeaways as the women in water diplomacy Network was the opportunity to engage and partner with indigenous leaders across this network across this region as well Governor Stephen Roe Lewis Brought this important phrase to our discussions teaching us their experience in forcing inclusion and I think that really put Kind of a name to a lot of the work that we're doing in the network It's no one is doing get making space Without efforts and efforts to expand the the dialogue and the decision-making table Fumon I'm gonna turn back to you. We're clearly running out of time We're hoping to have yet one question, but Kayleigh's giving me the hard pass. I I Would like you all to join us after this event concludes and bring your questions to our panelists And between yourselves in a small reception will have outside. So don't forget your questions We just have too much to say Fumon I'd love to hear how you're bringing your experience of you know the director of the Kabul River Basin Authority to your new role in Canada and how Your experience and priorities Is is translated to the year to your new role what policy initiatives you're excited about in Canada Thank you Fortunately in Canada and South Nation conservation We don't feel with it trans boundary water management But the South Nation Watership is so near to us and as far as I know there are Joint committee between the two countries that have worked together and eventually information something that really happened in Afghanistan a central area and In my new career We've I face it's a new problem like flats during the climate change flat a cure most in the this region and because of the sharing basins with the US and And with Canada we most know about the data about their Flow about everything that appear in the favorite river basin and after that we can plan a strategy for Master plan for river basin. So in this career I most focus on training the target that they thought and after that we can make watershed plan to have a secure plan for people and reduce the Reduce the impact of the flat on people Now I work on this and I love this because I also I'm a scientist and also I'm a Water diplomat, so I can make these together and Improved and develop a good strategy Fantastic, and you can really see the passion for water across the faces of all of our panelists including yourself women Tenya Trilo, I'm gonna wrap up with you because you started off giving us a good message around supporting youth engagement and I just would like if you could Share why this is again so important and give some inspiration to some of the young people here Well, thank you Elizabeth and thank you to all the panelists for the inspiring messages I think a lot of us have Similar themes in what we've been able to say and I think one of them is the fact that water does Unite us and is able to bring people together and bring women together And so I am very encouraged and inspired by the next generation who's coming Coming behind us and really wish everyone well with the ongoing work that you're doing. So thank you Thank you so much We've obviously gone over a few minutes. Thank you as well to all the participants online and To our amazing panel round of applause and I'll invite Kaylee back up to give us a closing remark. I will keep it brief. Don't worry This is just a thanks again for the panelists and also our co-organizers including Elizabeth who put in some Herculean effort to make this happen We're very pleased you're here with us and we hope to welcome you again back to us IP in the near future For now, I invite everyone to join us outside of the auditorium for some refreshments and treats Another networking opportunity for the great water and woman diplomats here tonight. Thank you