Young Water Diplomats Programme
The Young Water Diplomats programme is designed to enhance an interdisciplinary understanding of transboundary water challenges and advance tools for water cooperation and diplomacy, as well as to strengthen professional networking among the next generation of leading water and environmental diplomats.
For whom?
Early career diplomats engaged and/or interested in international water and environmental politics with a background in foreign affairs, international law or international relations.
Prerequisites
Applicants should have Bachelor level diploma as a minimum prerequisite. Working experience or knowledge in the field of international relations, foreign affairs, diplomacy, conflict resolution, and cooperation – preferably in environment or water-related issues are necessary preconditions. The programme will benefit participants with a degree in social sciences, law or humanities.
Learning objectives
- Understand key aspects of water resources and their management (including the hydrological cycle, hydrological monitoring and modelling, infrastructure and its effects, climate change impacts, integrated water resources management)
- Assess and apply different institutional arrangements and diplomatic tools for water cooperation
- Evaluate key challenges that transboundary freshwaters (ground- and surface water) face under different conditions
- Analyse and compare lessons learnt from water conflict and cooperation in different basins in the world
- Understand and apply different tools of water diplomacy
- Integrate interdisciplinary knowledge in problem-solving and collaborate in intercultural and transdisciplinary teams.
Content of the Programme
The Young Water Diplomats Programme will be conducted from January to July 2025 (six months). During this period, participants will be engaged in online and in-person learning activities consisting of lectures, reading assignments, group work, and discussions with experts.
Thematic lectures delivered by leading academics will be coupled with interventions from practitioners. Interactive meetings with diplomats who have experience in the fields of water and environmental peace-building will create additional space for sharing experiences and getting first- hand knowledge.
The programme consists of bi-monthly webinars that will take place online throughout the duration of the programme. In addition, it includes two face-to-face workshops: in New Delhi (India) and Delft (The Netherlands).
Requirements of the Programme
Participants are expected to spend on average about 4 hours per week in order to fulfil the minimum requirements of the programme. Webinars will take place twice a month on work days during working hours in the CET time zone. In addition, for the in-person meetings in March and June, physical travels to India and The Netherlands are expected.
The average monthly workload of 16 hours includes the following mandatory activities:
- Active participation in two webinars per month (lectures, discussions, presentations, and other activities)
- Preparatory readings
- Contribution to group work
- Fulfilment of self-paced individual assignments
- Participation in two workshops in New Delhi and Delft (March and June 2025)
Eligibility criteria
Applicants should:
- have at least bachelor degree in the social sciences, preferably in international relations, international law or related subjects
- be at an early stage of their career, priority is given to applicants who are below the age of 40
- have working experience in the field of international relations, foreign affairs, diplomacy, conflict resolution, and cooperation – preferably in environment or water-related issues
- have strong command of English (ability to read and understand academic literature, and articulate thoughts clearly)
"It was an incredible experience. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in water diplomacy. Amazing professors, effective facilitation methods, valuable in-person trainings and fantastic networking opportunities!"
Course lecturers
Course lecturers include:
- Susanne Schmeier
- Jenniver Sehring
- Aaron Wolf
- Wim Douven
- Shreedhar Maskey
- Micha Werner
- Tibor Stigter
- Ilyas Masih
- Fredrik Huthoff
Practitioners and guest lecturers from different transboundary basins will complement the programme
Costs
The programme fee is 1400 EUR excl. VAT. This does not include travel, visa, insurance, living expenses and accommodation costs for the face-to-face meetings in New Delhi, India and Delft, the Netherlands.
Funding and Scholarships
There are a limited number of scholarships available for applicants from low- and middle-income countries by the IHE Delft Water and Development Partnership Programme (DUPC3) under its Cross-regional learning for transformative water diplomacy (CroWD) project.
The scholarship can cover tuition fees, roundtrip air tickets to New Delhi and back from closest international airport in March 2025, roundtrip air tickets to Amsterdam and back in June 2025, accommodation, visa application fee, local transportation, and DSA for both trips for selected participants. IHE does not cover insurance fees for the period of travel and stays in New Delhi and Delft.
See the OECD’s latest DAC list of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for recipients eligible for a scholarship.
In the application form, you can indicate whether you wish to apply for a scholarship.
Please note: participants seeking a scholarship will be requested to provide a formal confirmation from their employer stating that they are available to participate in the course and that they will be able to devote the time required to complete the programme.
Application process
Follow the application button at the top or bottom of this page. You will be able to apply for the programme after creating an IHE account and filling in all the required information. Please be prepared to submit your motivation statement in the required format, bachelor diploma and transcript, CV, and copy of identity document.
The deadline for application is 22 October 2024 - 23:59 (CET)
Related
Young Water Diplomats Programme: Building a water-secure future
Cross-regional learning for transformative water diplomacy (CroWD)
The Young Water Diplomats Programme is offered under the project “Cross-regional learning for transformative water diplomacy (CroWD)” funded by the IHE Delft Partnership Programme for Water and Development of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
CroWD is a four-year project which aims at creating and nurturing a community of open-minded and engaged early career and advanced scholars that i) jointly advance the understanding of water diplomacy and develop approaches to transform water diplomacy for more equitable and sustainable outcomes, and ii) share this knowledge with a wider water diplomacy practitioners’ community that will make a change on the ground.
You can find more info about the CroWD project here. This is the link to the medium platform for the CroWD project.
Contacts
If you have questions about the content and requirements of the programme, contact the course coordinator Mohd Faizee. If you have questions about the application process, contact our fellowship and admission officer.
Further information
Answers to some frequently asked questions can be found here.
Course Coordinator
Mohd Faizee
Lecturer/Researcher
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