Month: Oct 2016

Update from the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

Hello all,

After what has been a prolonged period of absence for some members of the “friends list” to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation, I would like to touch base with you and renew my commitment to maintaining meaningful contact. As much time has passed, there is naturally a lot that could be shared. I will attempt to be selective and keep to key subjects that could be of your particular interest.

  1.     Recognition of human rights to water and sanitation

Firstly, the attentive among you may have recognized the change in my title. The General Assembly http://bit.ly/2drEiWH recognized the human rights to water and sanitation (plural) late last year in Resolution A/RES/70/169. More recently, the Human Rights Council also recognized the distinct rights in a new resolution http://bit.ly/2dPyVeY , meaning that my title has also changed accordingly to reflect the distinct rights. This is news to celebrate as I, like others http://bit.ly/2drFlpu , believe in the legal foundation and benefit of recognizing water and sanitation as two distinct but integrated rights.

Continue reading “Update from the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights to Water and Sanitation”

RWSN Forum Programme Announced Today! Le programme du Forum RWSN est annoncé aujourd’hui!

We are delighted to announce that the programme of the 7thRWSN Forum (29 Nov-2 Dec in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire) is now available.  As you can see, it is a very diverse programme, covering rural and small towns’ water access from policy, financial, practice and user perspectives – with contributions from over42 countries.  It is by bringing so much diversity, and many different players that this Forum is tackling the SDG challenge of Water for Everyone! The quality of contributions means that those attending will return home with new knowledge and new connections.

For more information see:   https://rwsn7.net/programme/

As our programme is just out now, we have also extended the deadline for regular registration to the 31st October 2016.  So those who have not yet managed to register and pay, please try to do so by the 31st October to benefit from the €600 fee.  Over 500 people have registered so far, with confirmations from over 130.  As with previous RWSN Forums, we expect a very diverse group to participate including government, private sector, NGO, donor, academia and civil society. You can register here.

Many people have been contacting us for sponsorship to attend the event.  Alas we have very limited funds as Forum organisers. However, we have prepared a help sheet for you to use within your organisation and with partners in trying to obtain assistance to attend.

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Veuillez nous excuser pour tous les emails en ce moment, mais nous sommes heureux de vous annoncer que le programme du7ème Forum RWSN (29 nov-2 déc à Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire) est maintenant confirmé. Comme vous pouvez le voir, c’est un programme très divers, qui couvre les perspectives des usagers, des professionnels, des décideurs politiques et les aspects financiers de l’approvisionnement en eau en milieu rural et dans les petites villes – avec des contributions de plus de 42 pays. C’est en rassemblant un tel nombre d’acteurs et une telle diversité que le Forum envisage d’aborder le défi de l’ODD “L’eau pour tous”! La qualité des contributions reçues va permettre aux participants de rentrer chez eux ensuite avec de nouvelles connaissances et de nouvelles connections.

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez consulter: https://rwsn7-fr.net/programme/

Notre programme étant seulement paru maintenant, nous avons étendu la date limite pour les inscriptions au tarif normal jusqu’au 31 octobre 2016. Si vous ne vous êtes pas encore inscrit, vous avez jusqu’au 31 octobre pour bénéficier du tarif de 600 Euros. Environ 500 personnes se sont inscrits, avec plus de 130 personnes confirmées. Comme lors des Forums RWSN précédents, nous nous attendons à avoir un groupe divers de participants, y compris des membres du gouvernement,  du secteur privé, des ONG, des bailleurs de fonds, des chercheurs et de la société civile. Vous pouvez vous inscrire ici.

Beaucoup de personnes nous ont contacté pour pouvoir bénéficier d’un soutien financier pour participer à l’évènement. Hélas, nos moyens sont limités en tant qu’organisateurs du Forum. Cependant, nous avons préparé un guide que nous vous encourageons à utiliser auprès de votre organisation et avec vos partenaires pour obtenir un soutien pour votre participation.

Warm wishes et cordialement,

Kerstin

Dr. Kerstin Danert

Director – Secretariat

Why is there a handpump in the car park?

Invitation to launch event 17 October at 5-6pm

About the Smart Handpump

Delivering reliable drinking water to millions of rural people in Africa and Asia is an elusive and enduring global goal. A systematic information deficit on the performance of and demand for infrastructure investments limits policy design and development outcomes.

Since 2010, the ‘Smart Handpump’ project has been exploring new technologies, methods and models to understand and respond to this challenge. A mobile-enabled data transmitter provides foundational data on hourly water usage and failure events which has enabled the establishment of performance-based maintenance companies in Kenya that are improving handpump reliability by an order of magnitude.

The research is a collaboration between the School of Geography and the Environment and the Department of Engineering Science with a range of partners including government, international bodies such as UNICEF and the private sector. New research involves modelling the accelerometry data from the handpumps to predict aquifer depth.
We invite you to test the Smart Handpump in the car park and debate how the ‘accidental infrastructure’ of rural handpumps can spark bolder initiatives to deliver water security for millions of poor people in Africa and Asia.

17 October 2016 at 5-6pm
Hertbertson Room and the Car Park, School of Geography and the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX4 1LY

RWSN webinar: Participation: The key to gender equality in the human rights to water and sanitation?

Greetings/Buenos días (para el texto en castellano, por favor ver más abajo)

RWSN is delighted to announce the first two sessions of our mini-series of webinars (on-line seminars) on October 13, 2016. The first two sessions focus on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation and will be take place both in English and in Spanish. Here is the more detailed information:

Topic: Participation: The key to gender equality in the human rights to water and sanitation?

Date: 13.10.2016

Time: 1.30 – 2.30 PM (Central European Time, CET – check this out in your local time zone here)

Speakers:

– Léo Heller, Special Rapporteur to the UN on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

– Mayra Gomez, Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

– Seema Kulkarni, Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), Pune India

The event will consist of three short presentations, followed by a Questions&Answer session where all participants are invited to ask questions or make comments. In order to participate, simply use the following link on the day of the webinar – it will take you to a “Skype for Business” session, where you first have to install a plug-in if you never used this platform before. It’s fast and free – after completing this process, you can join the session. We recommend you start this process about 30 minutes before the webinar starts.

https://meet.lync.com/skatconsulting/martinlaeng/D4JNC1YC

Feel free to pass on this message to others – there is no need to register for this event. At RWSN, we are looking forward to a wide and active participation.

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Buenos días

Es con mucho placer que RWSN está anunciando los primeros dos webinars de la mini-serie de otoño 2016, los cuales se efectuarán el 13 de octubre. La primera sesión en español enfocará en el tema de los Derechos Humanos al Agua y Saneamiento. A continuación estamos enviando la información detallada respecto a este evento:

Tema: Participación: ¿La clave para lograr la igualdad de género en el derecho humano a agua y saneamiento?

Fecha: 13.10.2016

Hora: 4.00 – 5.00 PM (Central European Time, CET – para conocer el horario en su zona local, por favor utilizar este  vínculo)

Presentadores:

– Léo Heller, Relatador Especial ante Naciones Unidas respecto a los Derechos Humanos al Agua y Saneamiento, Brasil

– Mery Quitón, consultora independiente, Bolivia

El evento consistirá de dos presentaciones y posteriormente los participantes tendrán la oportunidad de hacer preguntas o comentarios. Para participar, simplemente hay que hacer clic en el vínculo abajo – le llevará a un sitio de “Skype for Business”, donde tendrá que seguir las instrucciones para instalar el plug-in. Es un proceso rápido y fácil – posteriormente, podrá entrar al webinar. Recomendamos empezar este proceso unos 30 minutos antes de empezar el evento, para asegurar que todo funcione bien.

https://meet.lync.com/skatconsulting/martinlaeng/LM2ND2AY

Por favor, comparta este vínculo con otras personas que podrán estar interesadas – no hay necesidad de registrarse con anterioridad. Por parte de RWSN, nos hace mucha ilusión poder contar con una amplia y activa participación.

MOOC “Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies”

Eawag-Sandec in collaboration with EPFL, the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program and the World Health Organization are launching the new revamped online course about urban sanitation on 17 October .

About the course
Do you want to learn how to plan affordable and context-specific sanitation solutions? The course deals with citywide planning and programming and focuses on specific contexts such as informal settlements. It covers the whole sanitation chain providing detailed
information about appropriate sanitation systems and technologies.
For the 2nd round of this course, we added new videos about recent developments such as sanitation safety planning or excreta flow diagrams.

• Week 1: Introduction to sanitation planning & systems approach
• Weeks 2&3: Sanitation systems & technologies
• Week 4: Urban sanitation solutions – Case studies
• Week 5: Urban sanitation tools

Sign up
The course is offered for free in English and French with subtitles in Spanish and Hindi. Please visit the course pages to sign up.
• Course in English: http://www.coursera.org/learn/sanitation
• Course in French: http://www.coursera.org/learn/sanitation-fr

Find out more: factsheet-mooc-planning-design-of-sanitation-systems-and-technologies