The museum features the Exhibition on Women, Water and Work and its galleries feature several stories exploring the link between gender and water. For example, the impact of the disappearing kenis (small water wells) in Kerala on women's water work; or the impact of floods on lives and livelihoods within the controversial embankments of eastern India; and the perception of the tempestuous ocean as 'Mother' by the fishing communities in Kerala, even as the livelihood options for women in fishing are dwindling.
The LWM team is keen to expand the virtual platform, especially in terms of seeing how it can be used to address challenges on the ground, through capacity building, water classrooms in schools, and eco-entrepreneurship around water heritage sites, etc.
LWM is always looking for feedback and new ideas for website content. Please contact: livingwatersmuseum@gmail.com
]]>Norma previously worked as the M&E officer of the EU-funded Water Supply and Sanitation Program in PNG. During this time she worked at the Program Management Unit to support the implementation of WASH across the country. She is a WASH advocate and has actively contributed to mainstreaming Gender and WASH into the national government policy (National WASH Policy for PNG 2015-2030), ensuring that women, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups actively participate in and benefit from WASH projects and interventions.
Norma has also worked several years with WHO and WaterAid. Along with her rich field- and grassroots-level experience, she has also worked at senior management and strategic planning level for 3 years.
She is dedicated to work for the mission and vision of GWA during her term as SC member, keeping in mind the principles of sustainable development, IWRM, human rights and gender equality.
]]>Bipasha belongs to an indigenous ethnic group of the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) region of Bangladesh. She has been working with UNDP Bangladesh for 14 years. She has more than 15 years of experience in human rights, communications, networking, media relations and advocacy. She has two Masters degrees - one in Sociology from Dhaka International University, which she gained in 2000, and the other in Community Planning and Development, which she gained in Australia in 2009 (through an AusAID scholarship)
Bipasha works in research, communication and advocacy in Bangladesh, and has demonstrated strong leadership and strategic planning skills in promoting indigenous rights, heading multi-media campaigns and acting as a media spokesperson.
She has been an active member of GWA since 2006, and aims to strengthen the member network and raise funds for GWA activities in Bangladesh during her term as SC member.
]]>Avinash has 40+ years of experience in developing and managing bilateral and multilateral projects in IWRM, gender, nutrition, disaster risk management, WASH and climate change.
He has worked in the India-Dutch WASH Program, which was a pioneering initiative in gender-inclusive, community managed Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS), based on the principle of decentralisation for sustainable development. He has participated in several national level think-tanks and has written on the theme of 'Good Governance in the Water Sector in India'.
Avinash feels spiritually and professionally connected to GWA. During his term as SC member, he wants to continue working on issues that touch his heart and give him a sense of purpose, such as women's empowerment and their right to better lives.
]]>Galina has been active in developing the Gender and Water Network in Central Asia (GWANET). For more than 30 years she worked in the water sector, with a background in biology and soil sciences. She has 50 major publications to her name, related to Agro-economics, the Aral Sea, Gender mainstreaming, Water modelling, IWRM, Irrigation, Agriculture, Climate, and many other related subjects, demonstrating her gender and water expertise.
Thanks to her efforts, gender has been an important factor in water management in Central Asia, a region with its own specific gender and water issues. She is the leading researcher in the Gender and Water theme in the region, and was the first Chairperson and Founder of the SIC ICWC (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) with a regional website with information and resources on water, gender, IWRM and related subjects. See website link for more information on the Center: www.cawater-info.net
]]>Eng. Liliane Kente Sandra is actively involved in the water and sanitation sector where she is doing her best to attain SDG 6 (safe and sufficient drinking water and sanitation for all) at national and international level.
She firmly believes that equitable access to and control over water is a basic right for all. Her own journey in the water sector shows that there is still inequity and gender imbalance in this area. For instance, women are the first to suffer when there are no adequate water and sanitation facilities, and food insecurity affects them more as they bear the primary responsibility in caring for their children. Liliane is from Rwanda, where efforts are being made to achieve gender balance and inclusion in every economic activity. This has demonstrated that women, when given the opportunity, give valuable input - not only in the domestic sphere, but also in other social, economic and political activities.
]]>Suxia Liu has more than 30 years of professional experience in the water sector and working experience with gender, including four international training courses in IWRM since 2006. She has proven capacity in fund-raising, successfully winning many projects, and has worked with NGOs and many water-related organisations. She currently has 180 publications to her name and has delivered keynote speeches in important water conferences. Through her work she has built a network of international and influential contacts in the water sector.
Suxia Liu previously served as the Vice-director of the Department of Hydrology, and as Chair of the Worker Community of the Department. She is currently the leader of the Dance Association of the Institute she is working in, open to all staff.
Suxia Liu has excellent communication and networking skills which she has developed over the years. She commits to making these immediately available for the work with GWA, by making many more people, including donors and funders, aware of and involved in gender and water issues, and of the GWA approach in this area.
For more information on Suxia Liu please visit her webpage: http://sourcedb.igsnrr.cas.cn/yw/zjrck/200906/t20090626_1842337.html
]]>Eldis specializes in Environmental Education and has a Masters in Environmental Law, Doctorate in Electric Energy and a Postdoctoral degree in Human rights. Her work is in the area of Gender and Water resources, largely based on international and national legal precepts.
From 2003 to 2017 she represented the National Water Agency in the Gender Committee of the Ministry of Environment in Brazil. During this time she participated in the group that implemented the Gender Ordinance of the National Water Agency.
Eldis has publications on Gender and Water and has participated and facilitated many courses and seminars on the topic, including during the 8th World Water Forum.
She is committed to sustainable development and integrated water resources management and wants to work on these subjects while focusing on GWA's institutional policies and precepts.
]]>The Steering Committee of GWA consists of 7 members; 1 Chair, 1 Secretary/ Vice-Chair, 1 Treasurer and 4 members The Steering Committee is composed as follows:
Former SC members are: