PRESS RELEASE - 13 June 2007
UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education and the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management of The Netherlands signed a partnership agreement on Wednesday 12 of June to jointly promote knowledge-sharing and networking. The collaboration, renewed for the next four years, aims to ensure that the accumulated knowledge of the two organisations is available for professionals and institutions from other countries. The Vice Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Ms. Huizinga-Heringa, and the director of UNESCO-IHE, Richard Meganck signed the agreement.
UNESCO-IHE and the Ministry will also exchange of information, knowledge, and experiences among individual staff members, functional groups and institutes, to the benefit of both organisations. In addition, the Ministry will sponsor the Institute’s activities with 1,2 million euros in four years. Fellowships, especially for students from countries with which the Ministry has international cooperation programmes, short international courses for senior staff members short projects will benefit from this support.
“I firmly believe that together we will set a new standard for collaboration,” said Meganck of UNESCO-IHE. “Collaboration with UNESCO-IHE points to a very positive outcome. The Ministry will also benefit from experiences from the South. It is a two-ways haversting” said Ms. Huizinga-Heringa.
UNESCO-IHE also signed this week, under the framework of its 50th anniversary partnership agreements with the University of Florida, and with the Asian Development Bank and the Singapore Public Utilities Board.
For more information, please contact:
Cristina Gonzalez, Ewoud Kok
Communication team
Telephone: +31 15 2151722/ 876710