On 22 March 2023 the (English-subtitled) Movie of the presentation of the Youth Letter to Delta Commissioner Mr. Peter Glas was launched (during World Water Day and the UN 2023 Water Conference). The Youth Letter with the advice was drawn up by a team of four Young Professionals and students, Marijke Schipper, Merijn Verhelst, Joep Verhoef and Ligaya Wopereis, from various backgrounds and organisations in The Netherlands. Wetskills Foundation formed this team and supported them together with the Staff Delta Commissioner. This project is a unique example on how youth can be involved in drawing up important water management policy in countries.
During the presentation the Youth team and Delta Commissioner with his team had a lively dialogue on how the youth could become more involved, like to align the Delta Program to the “Generation Assessment (‘Generatietoets’) by the Dutch ‘Young Climate Movement’. This document aims to better picture the interests of the next generations. Also the team addresses points and concrete ideas on the increase of action perspective, coherence & connection, and cross-border thinking. The letter’s basis was their own vision of the National Delta Program (based on previous years and visit to the Delta Conference in Haarlem in November 2022) and 87 young people who completed a survey. The survey consisted of questions about what young people would like to see in the Delta Program, how they would like to receive information from the program and how they themselves can think along with the program. Read the Youth Letter at the website of the National Delta Program (in Dutch).
Inge Muhlig (deputy managing director) and Jan Peelen (board member) represented Wetskills Foundation during the presentation of the Youth Letter. Inge: “Why is this project unique? Worldwide we see that young people are increasingly taking the stage. See also UN2023 Water Conference. With this project, the input of young people becomes very concrete: co-writing one of the most important water policy documents in the Netherlands.”
About the project and Delta Program
The 2023 Delta Program, hold the motto “Accelerate, connect, renovate”. To achieve this, there is a need for better continuous collaboration in combination with a new way of thinking. The Delta Commissioner, Mr. Peter Glas, and his team already involved the next generation in providing feedback to already drafted programs (2022 and 2023). To provide a better involvement to the next Delta Program, he asked a team of youth to draw up a recommendation and their ideas/visions prior to the writing of the 2024 Delta Program. The team of four students and young professionals, formed and guided by Wetskills, came up with the Youth letter to the Delta Commissioner.
The Delta Program ensures a safe and livable delta in The Netherlands. It is the country’s main water management policy document. It reflects the progress of the longterm water management goals every year and it advises the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management and the parliament. The Delta Program has three goals: protection against flooding, sufficient freshwater and a climate-proof design.
More information: Johan Oost (johan.oost@wetskills.com).
