The last classes of the course “Water Resources Management and Leadership” were held today. This course is one of the three courses within the educational track on water for 3rd year bachelor students of the program “Change Management” of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). On classes students learned about leadership in the water sector at different levels: Governmental, business, NGOs and youth.
The course was dynamic and practical. During 14 classes students:
- learned about the ESG concept, green governance, fundraising, the Netherlands’ action plan to adaptation to climate change;
- got acquainted with the work of international and national bodies and organizations from UNEP and the World Water Council to the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use of Russia and the Water of Russia project;
- developed their own environmental project in the field of water resources management;
- compared the water strategy of Russia with the water strategies of Great Britain and the USA;
- discussed Russia’s water strategy for the next period, trade of water-intensive products, issues of gender equality in water use;
- worked on the creation of a youth organization aimed at solving the problems of the water sector,
- played the climate game;
- learned how to calculate the water footprint of a business, negotiate, present project ideas and much more.
The course was taught by the staff of the Lake Baikal Foundation — young professionals and leaders of change:
- Olga Amelkina – specialist in the field of sustainable development, leader of the project on the introduction of separate collection of food waste, member of the working group on circular economy of a youth organization;
- Ekaterina Terenteva – head of projects, Youth Ambassador of the Sustainable development goal (SDG) 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”;
- Evgeniya Elkina – specialist in environmental law and climate;
- Vasilina Chernysheva – an impact assessment specialist for humanitarian aid and sustainable development projects.
Invited experts also participated in the course:
- Jean Louis Oliver – an expert in the field of water management and has headed the French Academy of Water for over 15 years;
- Giuseppe Musumeci – the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Studies with the focus on water (India),
- Daria Grigoryeva – Head of Sustainability at the Russian gold mining company Polyus,
- Petr Vesnovskiy – a Master in Water Policy and Water Management (Oxford), Youth Ambassador of the SDG 6 “Clean Water and Sanitation”, Member of the European Youth Parliament for Water.
In January, students will have an exam. We wish them good luck!