World Waternet and Wetskills Unite to Foster Global Water Management and Capacity Building with youth
11 November 2024Amsterdam, 7-11-2024 – World Waternet and Wetskills Foundation are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the ongoing collaboration on water management, youth empowerment and capacity-building initiatives worldwide. This partnership leverages each organisation’s strengths to drive impactful solutions, develop young professionals, and enhance local water management capacities.
Enhancing water management through collaborative initiatives
The partnership will focus on joint projects, innovative research, and capacity-building efforts that address critical water management challenges globally. Through shared expertise, World Waternet and Wetskills aim to empower local water organisations and nurture the next generation of water professionals.
“We are excited to partner with Wetskills Foundation to promote sustainable water management across diverse communities.”, said Frank Tibben, CIO of World Waternet. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to building resilient water systems through knowledge sharing and youth empowerment.” 
Driving knowledge exchange and capacity building
Key activities under this partnership include the organisation of Wetskills water challenges, where young professionals collaborate to solve real-world water issues, as well as training sessions, workshops, and mentorship programs led by experts from World Waternet and Wetskills. By connecting Dutch and international participants, the partnership fosters a cross-cultural exchange of ideas and best practices.
World Waternet and Wetskills has a long history of cooperation for more than a decade
“Working with World Waternet presents an invaluable opportunity for Wetskills to organise events together and stimulate innovations and follow-up in certain focus areas worldwide. Also young professional worldwide can brainstorm to come-up with new ideas and concepts for urgent and real-life water challenges. This MoU will boost the cooperation to amplify our impact and reach more young professionals worldwide,” stated Johan Oost, Executive Director of Wetskills Foundation. “Our joint efforts will empower youth and support innovation in water management, driving progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Commitment to innovation and sustainable impact
Together, World Waternet and Wetskills will actively seek opportunities for new projects and align efforts with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6, focused on clean water and sanitation. The partnership will also engage third parties as part of a broader collective to address pressing global water challenges. The three-year MoU will be a dynamic framework for cooperation, with both organisations meeting biannually to review progress and set new targets.
By connecting young professionals form Waternet and World Waternet (The Netherlands) together with local youth and yeppers (Young Expert Programme) abroad, we will work on water related and problematic topics, within countries in the World Waternet programme. Each year, we will build on ideas from Wetskills sessions, implementing at least one as a concrete project. Through these joint efforts, World Waternet and Wetskills Foundation are committed to advancing sustainable water management and fostering global solutions for future generations.