The work visit to the Netherlands of Blue Deal team from Eswatini in March was in a double transboundary setting this time. The partners from Eswatini kept passing borders. First from Eswatini to South Africa to the Netherlands, and then on to Germany for a 'Winter school'.
Winter school
The week of the Winter school started on Sunday afternoon with a preparatory meeting with 2 Swazi’s, 2 professors from the Rhein Waal University and 1 colleague from Dutch Water Authorities. Monday morning, the Winter school welcomed 20 students from all over the world: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, and of course from Germany.
The topics were developing inclusive water management in Eswatini, knowledge dissemination, and gender. At the beginning of the week experiences were shared on cultures in Eswatini and the various parts of the world. At the end of the week, the students were asked to come up with solutions to specific issues in Eswatini. An exciting and full week with insights from younger generations on inclusiveness, gender and not just water management.
Visit to the Netherlands
The following days were spent in the Netherlands with meetings at Dutch water authority Vechtstromen, where they met, among others, with the Dutch company Royal Eijkelkamp and the NWB Fund on the project carried out by the KIWI’s, participants of the Dutch learning programme for the Blue Deal. It meant one less border to pass for the partners from Eswatini before travelling back to southern Africa.