Earlier training events 2002-2005
Updated - Tuesday 20 March 2007
Earlier training events include:
- WASMO briefing tour;
- SSHE Kenya workshop;
- AWARENETT training Kuwait;
- Water for African Cities workshop;
- Community management training in Vietnam;
- National sanitation awareness workshop Ethiopia
WASMO Briefing Tour (Netherlands, May 2005)
In May 2005, IRC staff hosted a study tour for 10 officials from WASMO (Water and Sanitation Management Organization) a GoI-owned organisation that aims at improving community management of water and sanitation facilities in the State of Gujarat, India. During 10 days, IRC staff members briefed the WASMO participants on a number of key topics for their work: scaling up community management, cost recovery and financing, sanitation technologies, hygiene promotion etc. The study tour included visits to treatment plants and other organisations, although most of the time sessions took place at IRC. Participants appreciated the dialogue and the quality of the information they received. They will apply this new knowledge to their work in Gujarat.
SSHE Kenya Workshop
In April 2005, IRC gave a workshop on School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE) programmes in Kenya, together with NETWAS. The Learning Workshop focused on how to create more effective School Sanitation and Hygiene Education programmes. There was an emphasis on creating a conducive environment, assessing current conditions, planning and implementing improvements in SSHE programmes. The purpose of the workshop was:
- To gain insight into the socio-cultural aspects of the SSHE programmes, which to a large extent determine the feasibility of the SSHE interventions;
- To upgrade knowledge about health and environmental risk reduction and key issues in hygiene education promotion;
- To review low-cost technologies for latrines used within the school areas;
- To provide those involved in developing an SSHE programme with effective planning and management skills;
The workshop brought together persons directly or indirectly involved in School Sanitation and Hygiene Education to share and learn from experiences and identify promising ways to sustained SSHE. Overall it was an interesting and intense workshop with a total of 23 participants from seven different countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Madagascar, Pakistan, Tanzania and Uganda). The combination of SSHE sessions which included various participatory exercises worked well. The plan is to hold a similar workshop in Mombassa in February 2006.
AWARENETT training Kuwait
The workshop on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) took place in the Arab Region, Kuwait, in May 2005. The results of the Training Needs Assessment study (TNA) were discussed. This discussion was part of the Training of Trainers workshop organized by the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research as an activity of AWARENETT and on behalf of the ESCWA.
The discussion was preceded by a short presentation of the TNA study and its results. The participants had received the report on the study in advance. The discussion was facilitated by Mr. Heikki Wihuri of IRC, who used the directed discussion technique. It was based on three questions posed to the participants, which aimed to provoke opinions from the audience. It was noted that both male and female participants expressed their opinion freely, and in a positive spirit.
Water for African Cities workshop
UNESCO-IHE and NETWAS organized a Training of Trainers (ToT) in June 2004 on behalf of UNCHS Habitat to train three trainers for each of the seven cities under the Water for African Cities - project. IRC was requested to give a number of training sessions.
Dick de Jong of IRC gave two sessions on Public Awareness, one half day for a Water Demand Management group and one half day for Pollution Prevention. It combined:
- Sharing good advocacy examples;
- Describing what WatSan utilities do in one simple sentence to the public, using an active verb;
- Overhead presentation on: Key steps in planning advocacy and communication tools/methods;
- Case presentation and discussion.
Several participants asked for a more in depth session on Public Awareness and Advocacy. This session included:
- Sharing of results from the two earlier sessions;
- Sharing the advocacy checklist;
- Discussion on IRC’s Seventh Video and the WASH STREAMS video clip and selecting relevant Public Awareness and Advocacy materials from the Water in African Cities programme;
- Presentation of an outline of the Public Awareness session.
Community management training in Vietnam
IRC contributed to a two-week management for sustainability and community management course in Vietnam with the COSI Foundation from Sri Lanka. More than 30 men and women joined the course in Buon Ma Thuot City. Most were advisors of projects in the Central Highlands provinces, supported by the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) or in the Mekong delta, supported by the Australian overseas aid programme ( AusAID). National level staff from the Vietnam Centre for Water Supply and Sanitation (CERWASS) and from NGOs also participated. CERWASS expressed an interest in joining the resource centre programme.
National Sanitation Awareness Workshop held in September 2002 calls for action in Ethiopia
IRC helped facilitate a Workshop on National Sanitation Awareness in Ethiopia, bringing together a group of 60 professionals representing stakeholders from various ministries, universities, municipalities, NGOs and multilateral agencies. The adopted Adama Declaration calls for the establishment of a National Sanitation Platform, with the secretariat in the Prime Ministers Office, to translate commitment into action to improve the bad sanitation situation (only 17 percent coverage, 2001 MoH).
