Water Diplomacy Roundtable

Partner Outreach Series

22 September 2021, 1:00 – 2:30pm AEDT, via Zoom

This virtual roundtable was hosted by AWP on the topic of water diplomacy as part of its Partner Outreach Series. Speakers Nandita Baruah (The Asia Foundation), Dr John Dore (DFAT Bangkok), and Tony Slatyer (Water Policy Group) presented to a group of 26 AWP Partners with Q&A. The roundtable was facilitated by Tamerlaine Beasley (Beasley Intercultural) with remarks by Michael Wilson (AWP):

What is water diplomacy? In AWP, we are aiming to increase our understanding of power in development processes, how interests converge and diverge over certain issues, and how power and interests are shaped. In this way, we expect to increase the impact of our programs, in design and throughout implementation.

But water diplomacy is more than this. It also includes Australian engagement in international forums – for example this year’s UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Glasgow, and the many other conventions and agreements that touch on water. There is a transboundary element too, as well as helping to contribute to the relationship between Australia and other countries where we work. There are other parts too, and I am looking forward to hearing from our three experts on their perspectives; and to an open and engaged conversation with partners.

View agenda – PDF 100kb
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Nandita Baruah – Country Representative – India, The Asia Foundation

TAF

Nandita Baruah is The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in New Delhi, India. She has over 25 years of experience working in the development sector in Asia. She has served in Nepal, Cambodia, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India, and has provided technical support to programs in Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Thailand among others. Nandita has worked with several multilateral and bilateral agencies on programs related to gender equity and women’s empowerment, regional trade and connectivity, water governance, renewable energy, labour migration and human trafficking. Among her many honours, in 2010, Nandita was awarded the Prime Minister’s Gold Medal by the Royal Government of Cambodia for her technical support to the Cambodian Government for the creation of victim protection policies and practices. Nandita holds an M.Phil and an MA degree in History and Political Economy from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. She speaks English, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali, Assamese, and Punjabi.

Dr John Dore – Lead Water Specialist, DFAT Bangkok

John is Lead Water Specialist for the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), posted at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, working across Asia. He is involved in many of Australia’s bilateral and regional engagements in water-related government-to-government partnerships and alliances with industry and civil society. John also serves on the editorial board of the Water Alternatives journal, is an Associate Professor at ANU Fenner School, and member of the University of Canberra’s Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. John holds a PhD in Water Governance (ANU), M Env & Dev (ANU), and B Agr Sc (Melbourne).

Tony Slatyer – Consultant on Water Policy and Governance, Water Policy Group

Anthony (Tony) Slatyer is a consultant in water policy and governance and a founding member of the Water Policy Group. Since 2017, Tony has been engaged by the Australian Water Partnership as Special Adviser on Water to the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade where he has advisory and representative roles. For ten years prior to this, Tony was head of what is now the Water Division in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Tony has also held senior Australian Government roles in infrastructure and regional development portfolios and has served in multilateral organisations, including as Deputy Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. He is a member of the International Technical Committee of the Alliance for Water Stewardship, the Australian National Committee for Irrigation and Drainage, and many other committees and organisations handling international water matters.

Tamerlaine Beasley – Cultural Awareness Specialist, Beasley Intercultural

Tamerlaine has over twenty years of experience in engagement and cross-cultural collaboration across the Indo-Pacific, and is an expert facilitator. Tamerlaine is the founder and Managing Director of Beasley Intercultural, providing advice and capability development for the Federal Government, multinational companies and international NGO’s. She is also a board member of the Australia-ASEAN Council for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Tamerlaine speaks Thai and has studied Lao and Bahasa Indonesia. She has studied Asian Studies at the ANU, International Business at Penn State University, and Thai at Chulalongkorn in Thailand. Tamerlaine lectures at Australia’s leading universities with a focus on global and cross-cultural leadership and communication.

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