The Universities Partnership for Water Cooperation and Diplomacy (UPWCD) serves as a platform led by knowledge partners in the field of water cooperation and diplomacy. It is a one-stop-shop where such actors can share and access information about relevant activities, co-develop research and education tools and jointly support professional training in this field.
The main objective of UPWCD is to bring together research and teaching competences from various institutions and disciplines and enhance their respective visibility, impacts and services rendered to key target audiences. While preserving and respecting its Partners’ identities, the Partnership encourages and reinforces connections, collaborations and exchanges among them. It, therefore, aims at leveraging existing competences and bolstering institutional strength while striving to achieve common goals.
The partnership achieves its main objective by:
- Enhancing scientific knowledge and capacities in water cooperation and diplomacy;
- Contributing to the public debate and discourses on shared waters;
- Introducing rigorous science into related dialogues and deliberation processes.
Who can be a member of the UPWCD?
The Partnership is reffered to as a “Universities’ Partnership” as a tribute to its history, evolving from a number of universities willing to join efforts. It is however established as a multi-institutional, academic, research and non-academic partnership, whose Partners share the partnership’s objectives.
Who is the UPWCD target audience?
The Partnership aims at rendering services to a wide array of audiences engaged in or concerned with, water cooperation and diplomacy. These include and are not limited to, policy and decision makers, senior, mid-level and junior professionals, students, educators, civil society, the media, donors, and intergovernmental institutions).
Where is the UPWCD physically based?
The Partnership is wherever its partners are, and the Geneva Water Hub currently hosts its Coordination Unit.
The partnership is composed of 3 categories of partners:
- Core Partners
- Partners
- Associate Partners
The choice to become a Partner or an Associate Partner depends on an institution’s desired level of involvement within the Partnership, as well as its work on water cooperation and/or diplomacy.
Partnership
Our core partners
They are the founding members of the Partnership.
Partners
Partners are knowledge institutions (academic or non academic) who have a well recognized and identifiable research/education/training programmes on water cooperation and/or diplomacy. They have the will to contribute to the Partnership’s development and the achievement of its goals.
Associate partners
Partners are knowledge insititutions (academic or non academic) who are at the stage of initiating education, research and/or training activities/programmes on water cooperation and diplomacy.
Partnership’s activities and label
An activity can be labeled as a Partnership activity if:
- It contributes to the goals of the Partnership, and
- It is conducted by at least 2 members of the Partnership, and
- It has been approved by the Core Partners.
Core Partners can use the UPWCD label when organizing an activity responding to the above criteria after having informed their peers.
Partners can use the label of the partnership for activities responding to the above criteria. They will have to inform the Core Partners (through the Coordination Unit) of their intention to do so and get a greenlight from them.
Become our partner
You are invited to express your institution’s interests in, and expectations from, the Partnership by filling in this form. The Coordination Unit will be in touch with you. Your candidature will be submitted to the Core Partners whose endorsement finalizes the integration process.