"Capturing the Big Picture" - Summary of the Seminar

The seminar looked into the question why despite the growing body of evidence of the benefits of mainstreaming gender as well as an increasing number of international commitments it seems as if improvements are not happening fast enough on the ground an on a large scale. What are the reasons for this?

The seminar was chaired by Ms. Ethne Davey, Chair person GWA, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa. and Dr. Håkan Tropp, Project Director SIWI, Sweden.

In the first half of the seminar the following presenters gave an overview of gender mainstreaming practices at local, national and international level:

• Ms.Thresiamma Mathew, Director, J.Jeevapoorna Trust, Kerala, India
• Ms. Jayasree P.K., woman mason of J. Jeevapurna Trust
• Prof.Dr. Demitrius Christofidis, Steering Committee GWA, Professor Civil Engineer and Environmental Department of Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
• Ms. Meena Bilgi, Advisor Gender, Agriculture, Water, Gujarat, India
• Ms. Marcia Brewster, Task Manager UN Task Force for Gender and Water, USA

After the coffee break a lively and interesting panel discussion took place, which was be facilitated by Dr. Sara Ahmed, Steering Committee GWA, Advisor Gender and Water Development, India. Many different issues were touched and also the participants of the seminar took part in the discussion.

Panelists were:

• Ms. Ethne Davey, Chair person Gender and Water Alliance, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa.
• Dr. Håkan Tropp, Project Director SIWI, Sweden.
• Mrs. Lakech Haile, Head Womens Affairs Department, Ministry of Water Resources, Ethiopia
• Mr. Bert Diphorn, Water Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch, UN-Habitat, Kenya

After the plenary discussion key messages were formulated and in a summarised version the following keypoints were conveyed to the Stockholm Water Symposium.

1. Indicators for accountability for mainstreaming gender are needed: performance indicators, report cards and gender sensitive budgeting

2. We need to "think out of the box" We need to link gender and water concerns to other sectors and also look at diversity issues like class, caste and age

3. It is necessary to make partnerships effective: Capacity building should be seen as a continous process, strategic alliances should be sought, we will need to involve allies, interlink networks, and look for mutual benefits.