Dear readers,

100 participants, including representatives from 17 utility partnerships from 8 countries, shared their experiences on technical and social issues relating to water supply and waste management at the 7th Networking Event of the Utility Platform in April 2024. For the first time, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and colleagues from the three new utility partnerships in the waste sector were also present.

Our meeting was better attended and more lively than ever before and, in addition to the professional exchange of experiences, also offered the opportunity to take a look at the effects achieved at the end of the pilot phase.

In addition to the photo documentation of the Network Event, where all presentations are also available, we would like to take a closer look at a few selected highlights of the meeting in this newsletter: the recommendations on the role of water utilities and their partnerships from our keynote speaker Anne Le Strat; the review of the impacts achieved in some utility partnerships; different approaches to cooperation in the field of drinking water supply; successes and challenges in waste recycling and the discussions and examples on social dimensions: How do we manage to "leave no one behind" when it comes to drinking water and sanitation? How can utilities become more attractive to young people and women in order to counteract the shortage of skilled labour?

All partnerships confirmed at the meeting that they would like to continue their successful work. We are therefore pleased that, despite times of tighter funding, there will be a follow-up project to the Utility Platform, which will continue to be supported by the German Water Partnership (GWP) and the German Association of Local Utilities (VKU). Here we will try even harder to open up additional funding opportunities for the utility partnerships with the aim of anchoring them sustainably in international cooperation. We also aim to ensure that where GIZ programmes are in place on in our partner countries, utility partnerships are integrated into the GIZ-programmes and, where possible, financed by them. The Service Agency will also continue its networking activities with municipal companies in Germany and support the involvement of utilities in municipal partnerships with the Global South.
To further effective utility partnerships!

We wish you inspiring reading!

Your utility platform team
Heiko Heidemann (GIZ) and Linda Engel (SKEW)

"As someone who has been there since the beginning, it's impressive to see how big this meeting is. It has grown from time to time and it's really nice to see that so many are now taking part, that so many are now here!"
Claudia Wendland, Coordinator, Hamburg Wasser, Germany

"The partnership gives us the opportunity to be sure that we are working at the high level we are aiming for. When you compare your situation with others, you see the true picture. It gives me confidence in my technical work, in my professionalism. That's a good thing. That's simply the main thing. I want to continue to optimise this and maximise the benefits."
Majeda Al Zoubi, Head of Water Quality, Miyahuna LCC Water Company, Jordan

In less than six months, we have managed to process a mountain of waste the size of a five-storey house instead of sending it to landfill. The company has also started to generate its own money. The partnership has helped us a lot: Firstly through the technology, and secondly by sharing experiences. That is the most important thing.
Mykhailo Melnychenko, Deputy Mayor of Pyryatyn, Ukraine

"It's friendship, it's support and it's good communication. We have all of that in our partnership. And we are happy with it."
Volodymyr Bilynskyj, employee of Lvivvodokanal, Lviv, Ukraine

"The utility partnerships are now a part of us. In the beginning, it was a completely new project and now everyone at Stadtentwässerung Dresden is talking about it. Many colleagues have also been involved in the projects and everyone has been able to pass on good things from their area of work and perhaps learn something new themselves. The cooperation between experts on an equal footing was always very respectful and great. Regardless of the country, whether Germany, Ukraine or Moldova: at the end of the day, many problems are the same. The learning effect for Germany is not always to see everything in such a cerebral way, but to find simple solutions. I hope that the partnerships will continue to grow and that we will also make progress on the issues."
Willy Lenk, Stadtentwässerung Dresden, Germany