Depicting the collective energy of water women

’You raise me up’ was launched this week at the second Women in Water Diplomacy Network Global Forum, held in Vienna, Austria. It is inspired by every woman of the Network, who I view as a collective.

Woman lifts a mountain on her shoulders

While envisioning Network, I had a different image in my head. I imagined a woman that lifts up a mountain on her shoulders, signifying the strength she carries in order to navigate the challenges women face, in progressing through their career in international spaces of water diplomacy. They often march forward to achieve goals that are important for society and sometimes her country as a whole.

But the true purpose of the Women in Water Diplomacy Network is for the women to share this burden of a mountain, by exchanging experiences, lessons and expertise that they draw from their regions.

She is not alone

This shared reality of the Women in Water Diplomacy Network of how every member supports one another, is well established in the

The Nile Network went above and beyond its original regional scope and since then, the Network has surged in many other basins. There are now Networks in Central Asia-Afghanistan, Southern Africa including the Zambezi, Orange-Senqu, Okavango, as well as shared basins across the Americas. Many more regions are also looking at joining this Global Network.