Gender, water and equity: Training programme

Gender, Water and Equity: Training Programme October 20-24, 2008 Organised by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, South Asian Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs) , Hyderabad, Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), Pune, and the Gender and Water Alliance (GWA). The political-economic- social environment globally is in a flux due to numerous interlinked changes. Many of these changes are evident in the water sector. In rapidly changing countries in the South Asian region, water is becoming the source of conflicts at the national, regional, and local levels. The processes of liberalisation and globalisation, growing inequalities, global environmental changes and water scarcities are all interconnected contexts within which an understanding of gender, water and equity needs to be located. These processes particularly affect the lives of women, often the primary informal managers of water in India, but for whom access and rights to water are mediated through their social and economic position in society. Women's central role in the provision, management and safeguarding of water has been reiterated in several UN conferences. The documents that have emerged from these conferences emphasise the need for policies to equip and empower women to participate at all levels in water resources programmes. Policies, projects, programmes and research in India and the rest of South Asia have attempted to integrate women, with varying degrees of success, in countering the multiple processes that contribute to inequalities. However, not everyone is equipped to understand the complexity of the water sector as it relates to gender and concerns of equity. The proposed training will address some of these gaps, both in terms of conceptual and contextual knowledge, as well as in building practical skills to negotiate concerns of equity and the principles of gender mainstreaming in the water sector. The objectives of the training programme are: · To understand the larger political context of water distribution and reforms · To strengthen participants' perspectives on gender, water and equity issues · To examine analytical frameworks that could incorporate gender in the planning and implementation of programmes in the water sector · To build a preliminary set of skills to incorporate gender and equity issues in the participants' work situations We invite applications from a diverse set of mid-level professionals— individuals working in development organisations, activists, academics, researchers, and officials working in state and central government departments of water and sanitation—from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, who are interested in attending such a workshop. The medium of instruction during the training will be English, so participants should be able to comprehend and communicate in English. This training is being organised by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) within the 'Crossing Boundaries' project supported by SaciWATERs. The 'Crossing Boundaries' project aims to build perspectives and understanding of gender, equity and integrated water resources management in South Asia. This training is being organised in collaboration with SOPPECOM and Gender and Water Alliance. A core group comprising Sara Ahmed (chairperson, GWA), Seema Kulkarni (SOPPECOM), Anjal Prakash (senior fellow, SaciWATERs), and Chhaya Datar, Lakshmi Lingam and Sharmila Joshi, TISS, are associated with this training. Applications must include all the details listed from item 1 to 20 in the following format. Hardcopy applications may be sent to: Dr. Lakshmi Lingam, Dean, Research and Development, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai 400 088. Applications may be sent as softcopy to: gwetraining@ gmail.com The last date for receiving the applications is September 20, 2008. Application Form 1. Title: 2. Name: 3. Age: 4. Country/ Nationality: 5. Organisation/ Institution: 6. Postal address: 7. Tel number (landline): 8. Mobile number: 9. Email address: 10. Educational qualifications: 11. Passport no (if not from India): 12. Date of expiry of passport: 13. Previous work experience: Please write 3-4 sentences each for questions 14 and 15 14. Experience in the areas of water and sanitation. 15. Current involvement in the areas of water and sanitation. Please write 3-4 paragraphs each for questions 16, 17 and 18 16. Have you attended any gender training in the past? 17. Why would you like to attend this particular training? 18. How would this training help in your work? 19. Would your organisation/ institution sponsor the entire or partial cost of your travel and accommodation? 20. If you need sponsorship, please specify for which of these categories: (a) travel (b) accommodation (c) both. Signature (only for hardcopy applications) Date