Strategic meeting peak preview: meet the members of the organising team
Watershare will hold its Strategic Meeting on June 29th and 30th. Before we start, we would like to introduce you to the organising team. You have met Lydia Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia as the Director of Watershare in a previous interview. And most of you have been in touch with Gerard van den Berg, Project manager International Research Programme at KWR and Project manager Watershare. Today we give the platform to Lisa Andrews, a Scientific Researcher at KWR and Engagement manager Watershare.
What is your role at KWR? What is your expertise?
My role at KWR encompasses
- research and
- the practical application of knowledge transfer
The latter includes learning theories and science communication to inform and create engagement and collaboration. My ambition is to build relationships and to co-define strategic innovations and partnerships across the international water sector and within Watershare.
My background is in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Environment And Development: i.e. a focus on connecting and engaging people from diverse backgrounds to deliver solutions to our most pressing water and climate challenges. Over the last five years, I have accumulated experience in coordinating and managing international water communities to share and exchange knowledge.
What do you bring to Watershare?
With my previous experiences and passion for engaging and connecting people, I believe I bring the practical experience and drive necessary to work with the Watershare members and to co-define lasting relationships in research projects and knowledge mobilisation.
As the newest colleague within the Watershare Management Team, I believe I bring fresh insights to the group to understand members’ needs and to deliver opportunities to fulfill our community’s objectives.
What are you proud of?
I only joined a couple of months ago, but one of my proud moments was jumping in and hosting the Watershare webinar on COVID19 in my first two weeks. This webinar enabled me to better understand and communicate with the community of members, as well as hosting 1000+ people from all over the world on the latest insights from Prof. Gertjan Medema’s research. This was the biggest Watershare webinar yet, so let’s see if we can keep up this momentum for future webinars!
Furthermore, we are about to host a Watershare Strategic Meeting, for the first time online, which I have been coordinating with members, so I am looking forward to that!
Which opportunities do you see for Watershare?
I see many opportunities for Watershare in the near and distant future. I believe that by working together with the right tools and engagement across the community, we can deliver on new research projects and innovations. I also see opportunities for growth in regions of the world where we do not yet have a presence, and further diversifying and enriching projects under the umbrella of Watershare.
Finally, I see an opportunity to focus on people: strengthening personal and organisational relationships, so that inspired individuals join expertise and experiences to drive change towards global resilient water systems.