Throughout the busy week, I
learnt a lot and interacted with many wonderful people who are doing wonderful
things both to consume and to conserve (yes, at the same time!) the world’s
water and energy resources. While the event was about water and energy, food
kept coming up on the agenda and the nexus between the three was discussed in
depth through the week. There was a huge push to shift from a linear to a
circular economy where waste is seen as a resource.
It was interesting to witness lots
of debate with arguments for and against constructing more big dams for power
generation, especially in the developing world, as well as the responsibility
of huge water-consuming private corporations in the conservation of water
resources. Sustainable sanitation also received a lot of attention throughout
the week with several workshops, seminars and side events focusing on how to
reach the over 2 billion people without access to proper sanitation. An
interesting social media campaign was also launched by UNICEF to “take the poo to the loo”!
Besides the more technical
issues, I would like to share some key lessons I learnt from my perspective as
a young professional.
Learn to make choices
and priorities fast!
The world water week as a whole
has over 100 events with seminars, workshops and side events running
simultaneously along with an exhibition. Any delegate can be spoilt for choice
as to what to attend and what to miss out on. It’s so easy to spend your
valuable time attending events that are of no relevance to you at all. For a
more enriching experience, I had to sit down and review the whole program (over
100 pages of it) and select events of particular interest to me that would make
a reasonable schedule. I didn't regret the time I invested in reviewing the
program.
Do something, don’t just
speak!
When it comes to global issues of development, every one of
us quickly forms an opinion and can at once flash ideas of what should be done
about what. It’s so easy to point fingers at other people and pass on the
responsibility of making the world a better place to them, all the while
remaining in our comfort zone. With an illustration of the deciding penalty
kick at a World Cup final match, one speaker challenged us to examine ourselves.
Are we seated in the stands as mere observers? Dotted along the touch line as
media critics? Or are we daring enough to go in and take that final shot well knowing
it could be a hit or a miss? It is easy to speak high-sounding words and give
expert opinions but the real game-changers are those hands-on people doing work
on the ground.
Of great technology
and evil institutions
It was thrilling to listen to Dr.
John Briscoe, the 2014 Stockholm Water Prize laureate challenge popular opinion
about various water issues. At the Stockholm Junior Water Prize dinner, one
would have expected him to speak in awe of the wonderful technological
innovations brought forth by the high school kids that were finalists. He instead
stated in no uncertain terms that better technology will never change anything while
it exists alongside evil institutions and wrong mindsets! And indeed, it gets
very confusing sometimes when the very organizations/companies that consume and
pollute water and other resources the most claim to be the very ones championing
resource sustainability!
Starting my own
company or organization isn’t always the best thing
Dr. Briscoe was at it again! He advised
against the impatience that comes with youthfulness and the impulse to launch
out on our own, thinking that we can solve all the world’s problems despite
having little first-hand knowledge or experience about actual conditions on
ground. This often comes from the feeling that the organizations run by the older
generation have already failed, can’t do any better and aren’t willing to
change. Sometimes, it’s actually better to join those very organizations and
benefit from their rich field experience and perhaps attempt to change things
from within. One could be surprised at the willingness of people to welcome
positive change from within!
It’s okay to fail!
The organizers (Stockholm International Water Institute) put
up a session where people could come and share on the failures they experienced
in water and energy projects. It was humbling to listen to very experienced professionals
sharing their stories of failed projects, some with a price tag in the millions
of dollars! I came out of that session knowing that it’s okay to fail, if we
fail less each subsequent time and if we learn well from our failures. And if
you looked around, which success story doesn’t have episodes of failure
somewhere in between?
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