THE FIRST BLUE DEAL CONGRESS

From 12 to 16 June, Dutch Water Authorities welcomed 16 international delegations from Argentina, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Palestinian territories, Peru, Romania, Vietnam, and South Africa participated in the first Blue Deal Congress in Amsterdam. They also visited Dutch water projects and water authorities in various provinces. These international partners had the opportunity to get to know each other and the Dutch parties involved in the Blue Deal for 5 days. The days are all about meeting and exchanging knowledge.

Notably, we have the presence of 4 Vice Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of 3 provinces in the Mekong Delta (Hau Giang, Kien Giang, and Can Tho) to represent Vietnamese partners of the Blue Dragon Program (Blue Deal Viet Nam) to participate the congress. 

• Mr. Dang Ngoc GIAO - DARD Hau Giang
• Mr. Huynh Thanh VIET - Water Resources Division under DARD Can Tho
• Mr. Pham Truong YEN - DARD Can Tho
• Mr. Quang Trong THAO - DARD Kien Giang
• Mrs Birgitte de Kraker and Mr Tjeerd Dijkstra - Partnership Managers. 

Day 1: the guests became acquainted with Dutch water management and, together with Dutch administrators, they discussed the water problems that countries worldwide are experiencing, including the Netherlands. 

In the morning, Luzette Kroon and Emilie Sturm opened the day under the leadership of moderator Ikenna Azuike. Kroon is a board member of International Affairs at the Association of Dutch Water Authorities. Sturm is the program manager of the Blue Deal Programme Office. Kroon: “This congress is a wonderful way to learn from each other: learning by meeting each other.” Because that is the purpose of these days together: to meet each other and thus create a basis for exchanging knowledge even more easily in the future. Between the Netherlands and the partner countries, but also between the partner countries themselves.

Day 2: participants were split into smaller sessions to 6 workshops on topics that play a major role within the Blue Deal. 

The themes of the sessions were:

• Water pricing
• Water safety management
• Stakeholder participation
• Urban wastewater management
• Nature-based solutions
• Smart monitoring

Day 3: was all about seeking knowledge in practice: a number of excursions were organized to locations where water solutions were visible in practice, such as the Sand Motor. Vietnamese delegation joined the visit trip to Sand Motor. 

Day 4 and 5: the delegations traveled to the provinces to visit a few authorities of the 21 Dutch water authorities, and the Vietnamese delegation visited Water Authority Vechtstromen, and Water Authority Vallei en Veluwe.

Look back at the whole congress through the video below:

Why the Blue Deal Programme?

Water managers all over the world are noticing the consequences of climate change. Floods, droughts and a lack of clean water are increasing worldwide. That is why there is an increasing demand for knowledge and expertise in the field of water management. And that is exactly what the Dutch Water Authorities have to offer. Based on the demand, the international program Blue Deal of Dutch Water Authorities has been established. For more than 6 years, the program has been working in partnerships and exchanging knowledge with countries from all over the world. The goal: improving access to sufficient, clean, and safe water for 20 million people all around the world.

In addition to sharing their own knowledge, the Dutch Water Authorities also collect knowledge from the partnerships in Argentina, Burkina Faso, Colombia, eSwatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Palestinian territories, Peru, Romania, Vietnam, South Africa. New ideas and experiences arise that can also be used in the Netherlands. For example, countries such as South Africa have years of experience with drought, something that is relatively new in the Netherlands.

Thanks to the long duration of the Blue Deal Programme, Dutch Water Authorities can build sustainable partnerships based on equal cooperation. They focus on three crucial components of good water management: sufficient knowledge and expertise; a well-functioning organization; and, collaboration with key stakeholders.

Visit the Blue Deal Programme’s website for more information.