Netherlands: Young Water Diplomats Program

Sep 19, 2021 | IHE Delft
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The Young Water Diplomats Program provides diplomats and professionals with a background in foreign affairs, international relations or international law with relevant and up-to-date knowledge about water, the various challenges water resources face under a changing climate, as well as its technical management and tools for transboundary governance.

Learning objectives

The content of the program is designed to enhance an interdisciplinary understanding of transboundary water challenges and advance tools for water diplomacy, as well as to strengthen professional networking among the next generation of leading water and environmental diplomats.

Successful completion of the program will enable early career diplomats to strengthen their expertise and skills in contributing to prevention and mitigation of conflicts related to water and environment, as well as to environmental peacebuilding. Knowledge gained through the Program is relevant for diplomats in national services as well specialists working for regional and international organizations.

Content and time plan

The Young Water Diplomats Program will be conducted in the period between January and June 2022 (six months). During this period, participants will be engaged in online and in-person learning activities consisting of lectures, reading assignments, discussions with experts, as well as individual and group assignments.

Thematic lectures delivered by leading academics will be coupled with interventions from practitioners. Interactive meetings with diplomats who have prominent experience in the fields of water diplomacy and environmental peace-building will create additional space for sharing experiences and getting first-hand knowledge. The program involves participation in the Water and Peace Seminar, and annual science-policy dialogue organized by IHE Delft that brings together scientists, policy makers and practitioners to share experiences and gain more insights into transboundary water cooperation.

Participants

Participants are expected to meet the following criteria:

• be at an early stage of their career
• work in the field of international relations, foreign affairs, diplomacy, conflict resolution, and cooperation – preferably in environment or water-related issues
• have strong interest in learning more about water, and aspiration to apply the knowledge their current and future professional development
• have strong command of English

Requirements of the Program

Selected participants of the Program will be expected to commit to spend approximately 4 hours per week to fulfil minimum requirements of the Program (the number of hours might slightly vary depending on the schedule for each month). For the in-person meetings in March and June, physical travel to the Netherlands is anticipated.

Costs and scholarships

The Program fee is 1400 EUR. This does not include travel and accommodation costs for the face-to-face meetings in Delft.

Candidates from low- and middle-income countries who meet all of the eligibility criteria can apply for the full coverage of Program-related expenses, including the program fee and travel-related costs. Please check the following list to identify which countries are considered as eligible to apply for the coverage – https://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-standards/DAC-List-ODA-Recipients-for-reporting-2021-flows.pdf. Please check the information “Application for funding” below for more information.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to participate, applicants must:

• be at an early stage of their career
• work in the field of international relations, foreign affairs, diplomacy, conflict resolution, and cooperation – preferably in environment or water-related issues
• have strong interest in learning more about water, and aspiration to apply the knowledge their current and future professional development
• have strong command of English (ability to read and understand specific professional literature, and articulate thoughts clearly)

Application process

All interested candidates should apply with a motivation letter (max. 2 pages) and CV. The following questions should be adequately addressed in the motivation letter:

• Why are you interested in this program?
• How is your current position related to transboundary water (or the environment)?
• Will you be able to fulfil all the requirements of the Program (see above)? If no or not sure, why?

Please send both documents before 30 September 2021 by e-mail to WaterDiplomacy_Project@un-ihe.org. Selected and non-selected candidates will be notified by mid-October 2021.

Application for funding

Candidates applying for the program and coverage of expenses need to submit

1. CV
2. Motivation letter (max. 2 pages) addressing the following questions:

• Why are you interested in this program?
• How is your current position related to transboundary water (or the environment)?
• Will you be able to fulfil all the requirements of the Program (see above)? If no or not sure, why?
• How are you going to apply the knowledge obtained during the Program in your current and/or future professional life?
• 16 hours of monthly workload, including preparatory reading, lectures, group works and work on individual assignments
• Travel to the Netherlands in March 2022 (exact dates to be confirmed at a later stage) for 3 days, excluding the time needed for travel
• Travel to the Netherlands in June 2022 (exact dates to be confirmed at a later stage) for 2 days, excluding the time needed for travel.

1. One reference letter
2. Confirmation of consent from a job supervisor about the employee’s availability for participation in the full Program, indicating the following preliminary estimates:

Applicants should send this before 30 September 2021 by e-mail to WaterDiplomacy_Project@un-ihe.org . Please indicate clearly in your email that you are applying for admission and funding.

Background information

The Young Water Diplomats Training Program is offered as part of DUPC2 Water Diplomacy Project funded by the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The IHE Delft Water Diplomacy Programme in the framework of DUPC2 aims to contribute to the establishment and advancement of joint water governance arrangements. 

Contacts

For content-related questions on the Program you can contact Jenniver Sehring via e-mail j.sehring@un-ihe.org. For application procedure and organizational issues contact Bota Sharipova via e-mail b.sharipova@un-ihe.org.