October 2019

Wetskills water challenge: redefining ‘challenge’ to mean teamwork

Posted on October 30, 2019
in Blogs, Wetskills Netherlands 2019
by Odwa Ntsika Mtembu

Wetskills The Netherlands 2019 by Sandra (Zimbabwe) & Oscar (Panama)   Upon hearing the word “challenge” in the Wetskills Water Challenge (WWC), one would envision some form of division amongst participants with everyone being competitors. We sure had a similar picture in our minds when we came to the Netherlands for the WWC. Today, on the sixth day of the 14-day programme, we have since come to the realisation that this could not have been much further from what Wetskills is really about.   Today has been a journey of showcasing and focusing more on the teamwork aspect of the WWC. Some teams worked at the pumping station of the Rotterdam municipality whilst other teams went to work at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education.   At the pumping station of Rotterdam municipality offices, the whole day was spent in teams as all participants worked on their case studies with Ralph and Odwa also to...

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“Work work work work work work (Rihanna’s rythem)”

Posted on October 29, 2019
in Blogs, Wetskills Netherlands 2019
by Odwa Ntsika Mtembu

Wetskills The Netherlands 2019 by Ron (Israel)   Fifth day is here and the real work started!   After four amazing days of getting to know each other, traveling, partying and lots of free time - it's time to work!. Today's goal was to prepare an action plan for our case studies. My group was very lucky and we were able to meet with a lab technician related to our project. During the day we met five experts from different fields and conducted a "Brain Hurricane".    [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="451"] Experts and participants during the brain hurricane briefing [/caption]       It's with no doubt that after two hours with them, the fog started to fade...

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“Wetskills 2019 Crazy 88 games by young future water leaders”

Posted on October 29, 2019
in Blogs, Wetskills Netherlands 2019
by Odwa Ntsika Mtembu

Wetskills The Netherlands 2019 By Itani (South Africa) & Moza (Oman)   Everything started on a cold Sunday morning where we celebrated a fellow participant’s birthday, Mohammed (Palestine). It was great to see birthday wishes and songs coming from a variety of traditions and languages 😊   [caption id="attachment_56709" align="alignleft" width="225"] Feed a city pigeon[/caption] [caption id="attachment_56710" align="alignright" width="225"] Walk on hands and feet along a dog's leash[/caption]   "...

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All roads lead to Wetsland: Excursion day!!!

Posted on October 29, 2019
in Blogs, Wetskills Netherlands 2019
by Odwa Ntsika Mtembu

Wetskills The Netherlands By Mira (Oman) & Mthokozisi (Zimbabwe)   Waking up on the 26th of October proved to be a challenge after a long night of exploring the dazzling city of Rotterdam hence we found ourselves tearing through breakfast as we had to rush to the bus to go to Westland.   Lash green grass and numerous greenhouses littered the route to our first destination, Optiflor; a company that specialises in growing Orchids from all over the world of numerous shapes  and colors. What started as a small family business that grew tomatoes has transformed to a marvel of Orchid growing.  After traveling back in time through the history talk and museum visit, we went to the greenhouse which contains two parts: a warm part (for stimulating growth) and a cold part (to stimulate flowering).       The plants there grow by Aquaculture and can take up to 3 years to mature. Optiflor continues to run...

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Day 2: Let the work begin!!!

Posted on October 29, 2019
in Blogs, Wetskills Netherlands 2019
by Odwa Ntsika Mtembu

Wetskills The Netherlands 2019 By Tasneem (Palestine) & Mohammed (Palestine)   Today we started at 9 am as the second day of teamwork which is a full-day of energy work schedule. We met with our case owners and started conducting research for our cases with hopes of starting to get an idea for the solution and brainstorming. To achieve this, we sat together and drafted an action plan to guide us.   [caption id="attachment_56687" align="alignleft" width="300"] Participants (Green and purple team) engaging with their owner (IHE DELFT)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_56688" align="alignright" width="300"] Future Water leaders doing the assignment with their team members[/caption]                 Between 1pm - 2:30 pm, we explored parts of Rotterdam and had our lunch together at a nearby restaurant which was a really interesting experience. After our food hunt, a training session on how to lead yourself and know more about who you are (based on the Personal Color Theory) was conducted by Wetskills Team....

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“If you build it, they will come”

Posted on October 29, 2019
in Blogs, Wetskills Netherlands 2019
by Odwa Ntsika Mtembu

Wetskills The Netherlands 2019 By Annesley Crisp (South Africa)   On Thursday 24th October 2019, 26 young water professionals from across the world made their way to Rotterdam to participate in the Wetskills Challenge 2019. As we gathered in Bar Brasserie Engels, it was hard not to be awe-struck by the diversity of participants…. 12 countries are represented this year, including Oman, Canada, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, eSwatini, Panama, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, Mozambique, Palestine and The Netherlands. Immediately everyone began talking and sharing their water stories and how they came to be part of the Wetskills challenge.   The theme for Day 1 was “ice-breaker” getting to know a little bit about each other, over pizza and drinks, and enjoying the excitement of what lies ahead.   [caption id="attachment_56668" align="alignnone" width="433"] Participants from all over the world mingling[/caption]   The Wetskills Foundation has been hosting Wetskills for the past 9 years and this is the 43rd Wetskills event. The objective...

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Register for: Aquatech Career Day

Posted on October 28, 2019
in News
by JohanOost

The Aquatech Future Water leaders Living Room also organises a tailored and inspiring Career Day for Young Water Professionals and students. Are you curious about the water sector? Come to the Interactive Career Day. This Day is held during the Aquatech in Amsterdam. Participation is free. The number of participating students and / or young professionals is 30 max.The registration starts on 25 October. Sign Up: afeil@natuurlijktalent.nl. ...

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Join our FWL Evening Cocktail Drinks

Posted on October 24, 2019
in News
by JohanOost

The AIWW Future Water Leaders programme organisers (Wetskills Foundation, with partners: KNW, National Water traineeship and Dutch Wavemakers) welcome you to join our Future Water Leaders Evening Cocktail Drinks! This occasion will also mark to official official start of the Wetskills Jubilee Year (2020).   Join this Cocktail Drinks with music and drinks, organised in the beautiful building and hosted by AKVO in Amsterdam. There is limited places available, so the first come, the first served!   Where? AKVO Amsterdam ('s-Gravenhekje 1-A, 1011 TG Amsterdam, The Netherlands) When? Wednesday 6 November 20.00-22.30 (Welcome from 19.45) How? Register here: https://knw1.typeform.com/to/bNI2EU. (The fee for the evening is 5 euros.)   (Note: registration of Wetskills-the Netherlands 2019 participants, Wetskills Team members, Dutch Wavemakers and the organisers is already done.)...

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Wetskills’ experiences in Kerala

Posted on October 23, 2019
in News
by JohanOost

October was a very busy month for Wetskills. Three simultaneous events took place in Budapest, New Delhi and Kerala!  The last two were organized with the occasion of the Royal Dutch visit to India and were honoured to hold their finals during the official trade mission programme.   Wetskills Kerala took off in Calicut (Kozhikhode) on the 7thof October with two days of field visits and teambuilding activities. The event’s theme being Integrated Water Management and Flood control, the group of 14 participants visited several flood and landslide affected areas in the Wayanad area near Calicut.  In this Wetskills event, the teams worked on four case topics selected from the recommendations found in the DRR report ‘Kerala Integrated Water Resource Management’, commissioned after the devastating floods which took place in the last years. The topics covered women empowerment for flood resilience, smart and flood resilient cities, water footprint for better flood and agricultural...

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Last day – the day of pitches and tears

Posted on October 18, 2019
in Wetskills India (Kerala), Wetskills Kerala 2019
by Ioana Dobrescu

Wetskills Kerala 2019 - By Xiaoxuan Zhao and Csilla Bekker - On the last day of the Wetskills program we had to give our pitches at the Conference on Maritime and Water Development held in Kochi. As we were staying in Fort Kochi we needed to arrange transport to the Hyatt Hotel in Kochi where this event was held. Fortunately we could hire a small boat that directly took us to the venue, starting the day with a boat trip in our smart dresses. Great fun!   We arrived just on time and at the back door of this fancy place, so it felt a bit like sneaking in. Once already there we had our first real coffees of these two weeks and could join the opening ceremony.  After some interesting morning sessions we were provided with an extended buffet lunch, which we all really appreciated.  Some of the pitchers had a last...

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Wetskills is an independent Foundation based in The Netherlands. Wetskills is part of the Human Capital Agenda of the Dutch water sector. KNW Waternetwerk, the Royal Netherlands Water Network, is the (financial) administrator for Wetskills Foundation.

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