Working Conference

Working Conferences are working tools of WfWP that allow involving members and non-members of the partnerships in developing project proposals. Different stakeholders can be involved in the working groups, together with organizations case owners initiates in the process of developing a common project and later in its implementation. In these conferences exchange of knowledge and experience of different partners occur on technologies for the water and sanitation, funding possibilities and the potential for scaling and implementation of successful initiatives.

The aim of the conferences is to provide practical solutions to problems that women groups face from project ideas in the 0 phase to up-scaling and replication of successful projects. This type of approach provides an opportunity to share information between different partners in development projects (groups of women, potential donors, NGOs, private sector, etc.).

Some examples

Regional working conference held in Kiev on 4-6 November 2007, hosted by WfWP member organization Ukraine - Mama-86 and Regional Secretariat WfWP aimed to create a partnerships between civil society, business and authorities that will facilitate access to water sanitation and safe in Central and Eastern Europe and EECCA countries. MAMA-86, AWHHE, WECF, Earth Forever, and other members of WfWP shared their experience in the field of water and health and proposed plans for scaling successful initiatives that would contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Regional Conference of the African in Botswana (12 and 14 February 2008) hosted by the organization Women Land and Water Rights Southern Africa has provided a real example of partnership of women organizations in water resources management. One of the basic results of the conference was a set of recommendations approved by the NGOs together with representatives of the conference participants of government representatives.

Regional Conference of the Suriname pointed to the need for involvement of community women in management of water resources and sanitation, promote sustainable practices of decentralized water supply and sanitation and conservation of water resources.

Working Conference in Moldova

The conference aim to develop concrete initiatives in the area of water and sanitation in which the important parties are represented in such a way that make it possible to use the WHO Protocol and the Ad Hoc Project Facilitation Mechanism.

The basic objectives of the conference are:

• Formation of a platform of (women's) NGOs, (female) community leaders, experts and policy makers at all levels in the water, and health and sanitation in Moldova
• Develop concrete projects in the water, health and sanitation to be submitted to the Ad Hoc Project Facilitation Mechanism of the Protocol on Water and Health
• Provide an exchange of knowledge and discuss the factual situation and importance of safe drinking water and sanitation for the health of women and children in Moldova and the needed actions to improve this situation
• Raise awareness of the importance of involving women’s NGOs, in the development of water and health policies and concrete projects.

Case studies

The goal for ddiscussing of the cases in the conference is to provide space for organizations that are able to present a project idea as a case study and develop it into a concrete project. In the working the members of organizations that have developed projects, technical experts of the government, NGOs from the business sector, universities, funding agencies across the region can participate according to the specific case. The following types of cases can be presented:

• 0 phase cases
• cases in development/implementation
• Case studies of scaling up

The case studies in Phase 0 are those which are at the preparatory stage, or that social infrastructure is still weak or missing. Therefore, projects are still in a preliminary stage, often at the stage of defining the problem. Also, this case study may have a rudimentary social infrastructure (the poor practice, the lack of a bank account, etc..), lack of social infrastructure or to implement projects (eg, the absence of a functional board to maintain infrastructure water in a sustainable manner). Conference is an opportunity to define clearly the initiatives / needs of the project and lead it a step further when the simple cases can go to the next step – projects worthy to be implemented.

A case in development is that when the project is in development stage and need of input for the finalization of the project document. Another case of this kind is a project in the course of implementation, which is necessary to revise its basic strategies. The working conference will help the completion or reviewing draft strategies, providing support in defining if the organization made some steps in solving existing problems, thus allowing the project to continue with a new course.

Upscaling cases may be projects that can be expanded in the same location or in the same sector increasing the scale of a project at the same location or in the same sector (e.g. more people or organisations involved, increased access to services like drinking water supply, increased funding, etc.); replication of a project in another location (for example, another region, another area).

Conference

Project

Meeting

Arhives