International Conference 2010

The 2nd International Conference, an outreach initiative of the Crossing Boundaries project was held between 3rd and 6th October, 2010 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The three fold agenda of the conference included academic, policy and advocacy issues. The conference also focused on the major outputs of the Crossing Boundaries (CB) (link CB web site) project with stakeholders in South Asia and abroad. It was intrinsically linked to the 2008 Colombo Conference(link) that unravelled some glaring facts and critical issues concerning water resources management systems in South Asia. The Colombo conference cut across different subjectivities of understanding water as a resource, especially when it came to advocacy issues. It had also urged deeper introspection into each of these subjects to clarify some of the dichotomous views which characterize water policy reforms. While, the Colombo conference created a ground for engagement and argument; the Kathmandu Conference generated more practical solutions and indicate the way forward.
Another feature in the conference was the release of the book on Women Water Professionals in South Asia, edited by Sumi Krishna and Arpita De, and featuring 32 life stories of women in the water sector all over the region. This book was released by Nepal’s Education Minister, Er Surendra Nath Shukla and Grass Roots leader, Ms. Beli Lama. This is a one-of-a-kind book brought out by SaciWATERs to bring awareness to South Asian women water professionals as part of Crossing Boundaries’ Gender and Water Agenda.

The sessions in the conference were as follows:

  • Content and Context of water education in India
  • Gender discourses within the IWRM context
  • Water and Climate Change
  • South Asia’s knowledge systems
  • Media engagement in Environmental Action
  • Outcomes of CB project initiatives
  • Consolidations of the research programmes in the PIs
  • Status of Women Water Professionals in South Asia
  • Cross-regional comparisons in innovations in water studies
  • Social movements in democratising water resources

Conference Report
Book of extended abstracts and the conference agenda
Photographs
Newsletters