Traveling Exhibit

Together with IW-Learn, GWA started a traveling Exhibit in May 2005. The main objectives of this project are:

• to raise awareness about gender and water issues
• to strenghten capacity in community-based groups and organisations to address gender equity in integrated water resource management

To do so an artistic exhibiton has been produced in the form of a visual storybook that compares and contrasts gender and water stories from GEF IW project regions around the world. This portable and dividable exhibit is generated through new interactions between the GEF and Gender & Water Alliance communities.

In the first two years the exhibit was developed for and displayed in the Latin American region by GWA members from that continent, in 2007 the exhibit entered its global phase by developing an African Chapter and in August 2008 an Asian chapter was developed.

Latin American and Caribbean chapter

In the Latin American and Caribbean region a set of 10 different panels were produced with text in Spanish and English. Later a second set was printed with text in 4 languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese and French. The exhibit was launched at the 3rd biennial GEF IW Conference in Salvador, Brazil in June 2005. After that the exhibit travelled through the following countries of Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Bolivia, Panama, and Argentina, where it was displayed at several international conferences as well as at national and local events. During its display other activities like seminars, radio programmes, drawing competitions for children, essay competitions for students, were organised to raise awareness about gender and water. These activities strengthened the exhibit on display and managed to reach many people.

African Chapter

For the African chapter the panels were produced in cooperation with the Gender Equity Unit of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, as digital files on a CD-ROM. This CD-ROM can be copied easily and sent to different countries, where they can be used again and again. The advantage being that the panels will remain in the country and can be used repeatedly and on various occasions related to IWRM and/or gender. It is also easier to add panels, as a digital format is provided which can be filled with country specific context (text and photographs).

An exhibit of 7 panels was produced on the basis of photo’s and text provided by GWA members. The panels have text in 3 different languages: English, French and Portuguese, and was launched at the 4th GEF IW Conference in Cape Town, South Africa end of July 2007. This exhibit is still available to our members and interested parties.

South Asian Chapter

The first version of the South Asian chapter of the Travelling Exhibit was launched at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden in August 2008. It consists of 7 panels with text in English and Hindi and is available in a digital format, just like the African chapter. For an impression of the panels, developed in cooperation with the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad, India, see the link below this article. Up to March 2009, the exhibit is scheduled for display in 6 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In March 2009 it will be on show at the fifth World Water Forum in March 2009, Turkey.