More than 30 water leaders from Asia visited the Netherlands from 22 to 26 October for the 1st Asia-Netherlands Water Learning Week convened by UNESCO-IHE and the Asian Development Bank. The group included several ministers, heads of agencies, as well as knowledge leaders from centers of excellence.
Through a program of facilitated dialogues, the water leaders from Asia exchanged knowledge and experience about smart choices with their counterparts in the Netherlands and explored further innovation for water security and green growth.
They also engaged with more than 250 future water leaders from 70 countries around the world at the start of the 2012-2014 MSc program at UNESCO-IHE.
During his visit to Asian Water Learning week Djoko Kirmanto, the Minister of Public Works and UNESCO-IHE alumnus, met and talked to current Indonesian students.
Leveraging green infrastructure, building and financing public-private partnerships for infrastructure, adapting delta cities to climate change, and modernizing water legislation were among the topics attracting wide interest.
A large number of partners in the Netherlands supported the learning week, including three ministries, the city of Rotterdam, the province of Zeeland, and the Netherlands Water Partnership. The initiative forms part of the knowledge partnership between UNESCO-IHE and the Asian Development Bank signed in November 2011, supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During their visit to the Netherlands, the water leaders from Asia initiated several follow-up activities for capacity development and innovation, including in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam. These will be further developed through the knowledge partnership.
