EJWP is reaching beyond Europe for the first time with our upcoming training week next month in Tel Aviv with partner organization EcoPeace. EJWP participants from countries including Belgium, Croatia, the Netherlands and Norway will convene at the EcoPeace offices from 11 – 15 June for a charged week of project research and presentation on water pollutants in the Jordan River, field trips, training sessions on negotiation and consulting, and cultural experiences.
Field trip
The week will kick off with the group embarking on a to the Northern Jordan Valley, by facilitated EcoPeace. Participants will see where the Jordan river totally transforms into a different river almost, a tiny trickle, and much more polluted. The tour will wrap up in Gesher, the only spot where people can access the river near the border with Jordan. Three ancient bridges are located here, indicating the spot as a strategic location and a hint of the history of the place as a hydroelectric plant.
Training
Masterclasses during the week will include Community based / transboundary water management and Blue Economy and Innovation. Training topics during the week will include focus on consulting and negotiations in professional settings with EJWP Trainer Jennifer Cronick:
- The role and expectations of a consultant
- Techniques and practice in gaining trust and advising
- Getting to the core of messaging
- Negotiating styles and practice
- Preparing and dealing with counterparts
- Adapting learnings to personal situations
New Waves Collaborative Workshop
EJWP will also organize the New Waves Collaborative Workshop 2023 on Wednesday 14 June during the Training Week in Tel Aviv – to exchange experience and knowledge, while working together to experiment and set the agenda for future collaborations. This will be our third annual New Waves Event, following the New Waves of Inspiration in 2021 and New Waves Festival 2022: The Future Workplace of European Water.
Participants in New Waves 2023 will:
- Interact with European and local sector colleagues including young professionals of EJWP on the current development, challenges and innovations in cross-boundary water management
- Connect and create fresh ideas on workplans and collaborations
- Listen to different perspectives to integrate in new ways of thinking and implementing
“As an expert in transboundary water management, I am very much looking forward for this training week in Israel. Having worked in the region for 10 years, I am delighted to take EWJP outside of Europe for an insight on how water is managed in the Middle East, a place where transboundary water interactions remain securitized. Water management is a complex flux of political, economic, social, and hydrological elements – especially when water crosses frontiers.
EcoPeace does an important job in understanding and managing these elements, bringing people from across these frontiers together to work on the preservation of their shared environment and water. Through its collaborative project on the rehabilitation of the Jordan Valley, EJWP helps EcoPeace’s goal to enhance peace through environmental cooperation in the region,” said Maureen Walschot, PhD, EJWP participant.
About EcoPeace and our project together
EcoPeace is sponsoring the collaborative EJWP project for Groups 3-4 on Mapping Water Pollutants in Jordan Valley. The project that began in January will conclude with final research results and a presentation for stakeholders during the Training Week in Tel Aviv next month. The aim is a visualization of water pollutants in the Jordan Valley, with the impacts on people and communities, and to support a funding request for the creation of joined Waste Water Treatment Plants.
The project also supports regional understanding and collaboration options of the EJWP participants and supporting partners in the project. The exercise also serves as an introduction in cross-boundary water management, while raising awareness for integrated approach of environmental and social impact methodologies.