International Water Leadership Program Launched
“Give me a thousand water leaders,” said Lidia Brito, a former government minister in Mozambique, at the 4th Delft Symposium on Water Sector Capacity Development.
“Today, water is no longer an exclusive problem of the developing countries,” said Guy Alaerts, Professor of Knowledge and Capacity Development at UNESCO-IHE and Lead Water Resources Specialist at the World Bank.
“Increasing water consumption and the water footprint have become a water problem for the industrializing world as a whole. We are now all in the same boat,” added Alaerts.
“Water security challenges are already affecting a majority of businesses in the developed world,” said Professor Misa Dzolijic, CEO and Rector of Nyenrode Business University. “Tomorrow’s problems will not be easier. We need to invest now in tomorrow’s leaders.”
Professor Andras Szollosi-Nagy, Rector of Unesco-IHE, agreed, “The solution lies in leadership, leadership that is forward looking, leadership that is service, and leadership that is able to lead through the very complex issues that water is posing.”
The International Water Leadership Program has been specifically developed to address the need.
Participants in the International Water Leadership Program, which begins in September, will progress through a full year of intensive work and learning involving four face-to-face sessions and a challenging on- the- job assignment.
The program is different from training, explained Leadership Coach Walter Linclaen, the Program Director and a former Lead Water Resources Specialist at the Asian Development Bank.
“The process of transformation to become a leader goes much deeper to your attitudes, your beliefs, your world view, and the behaviours you need as a leader to create and influence change wherever you are.”
The program targets emerging water leaders in governments, business and civil society organizations around the world who are university graduates with 10 years of relevant working experience.