ChannelingChange

Driving Diversity, inclusion & equality in the Water sector

PRINCIPAL SPONSORS

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The Australian Water Association is introducing a new program focused on increasing equality and diversity in the water sector, across our membership base and importantly, with our stakeholders nationally and our affliated water organisations across the Asia Pacific Region. Our goal is to lead by example and show how encouraging the right behaviours can galvanise support for a more diverse and inclusive sector. We want to acknowledge the positive change the Australian sector has already demonstrated to inspire further diversity, inclusion and equality in Australia and over the Asia Pacific region. The proposed program will include the promotion of success stories, videos capturing individual stories, workshops on engagement, promoting panel parity at events, and capacity building projects in the Asia Pacific regions to link innovation in the water sector with diversity, inclusion, and equality.

The program focus will be on raising more awareness and support for improved outputs on:

◗ Diversity: who’s sitting around the table, who’s being recruited, who’s being promoted, who we are tracking from the traditional characteristics and identities of gender and ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and disability - to name a few.

◗ Inclusion: the promotion of behaviours that welcome and embrace our diversity. How people are feeling – how the diversity of voices and identities are encouraged and supported. The program will seek to highlight the strengths and benefits gained through our diversity.

◗ Empowerment: how do we empower people to rise above traditional attitudes? In particular, how can the Australian water sector help empower women in developing countries in the Asia Pacific region? How can the Australian water sector help women in the region to address urban and rural development challenges including economic and social improvements? The Channeling Change Program implementation will include the development of a pipeline of opportunities that the Australian water sector can support to identify, train and develop future women leaders and those from diverse backgrounds in both Australia and across the Asia Pacific region.

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The Association’s national and international networks are extensive and our digital communication channels are performing significantly above industry standards in terms of open and click through rates. The Association has the ability to seamlessly share stories through email and across social media channels with a combined reach of 15,000+ people in the water sector. Through these digital channels, and our stakeholders across the water sectors in Australia and overseas, we can crowdsource support of this important initiative.

The Association has entered into Memorundums of Understanding with our counterpart national water organisations (and with the Vietnam Women’s Union) in most countries across the Asia Pacific region. This network of water organisations has been successfully utilised to support our members interests in business, and the transfer of knowledge and technology, and is ideally positioned to help Australia’s efforts to drive more empowerment of ‘women in water’ across the region.

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Embracing Innovation and Disruption for a Smart Water Future

◗ A dedicated page on the Association website to promote champions of change, videos and podcasts of individual stories and journeys on change.

◗ Workshops in both Australia and internationally.

◗ Opportunities designed to embed more diversity, inclusion and equality.

◗ The production of specific videos on inspiring champions and beneficiaries of diversity.

◗ People will be invited to share and record their stories at the dedicated ‘Channeling Change’ Lounge over the three days at Ozwater.

The Channelling Change Program will have the following key elements:

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Development of a DeDicateD webpage for ‘channeling change’ on the association website

This page will share stories on equality, diversity and inclusion in the Australian and international water sector. It will be designed to be constantly updated and each State/Territory Branch of the Association will be asked to nominate one person to profile every 6 months. It is also where successes can be recorded and where people can nominate who their champion for change has been. The Association will commit to uploading a minimum of two new profiles per month (24 per year). Four of these will be dedicated to international profiles.

The stories will profile:

1. Diversity of phase: Student/early entry/mid career/late career/transitioning to retirement/retired

2. Career perspectives of the water sector when first joining

3. What has been advocated for and what does success look like?

4. Moments of truth - when did people realise things were changing or, on the flip side, were still the same and something needed to be done?

5. What are the levers that can drive change?

6. What message do they want to give others – how can others make a difference?

7. Who were their champions for change?

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proDuction of 4 feature viDeo profiles

The production of four feature video profiles to be used at major events, promoted on our digital platforms, and social media. The videos would also be circulated to the Association’s international partner organisations for promotion and use.

The proposed four feature videos would be:

◗ 2 leading ‘Women in Water’ that have championed gender equality (1 Australian based / 1 international)

◗ 1 Diversity piece

◗ 1 Male champion for inspiring change

promoting ‘channeling change’ across australia

The Association will promote Channeling Change at all our events across Australia (Major Dinners, State Conferences, Policy Breakfast Briefings and Technical Events). Each event will be encouraged to include a short introduction to the Channeling Change Program by a suitable selected representative of the diversity program.

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women in water leaDership workshop at vietwater’17 in hcm city

The Association will be taking our third delegation of more than 60 water professionals to Vietnam’s leading water conference and exhibition Vietwater in November this year. The Association will be convening a workshop on ‘Women in Water’ with our strategic partner organisation the Vietnam Women’s Union. The purpose of the workshop is to explain how the Australian water sector continues to empower women across the sector, and some of the techniques and behaviours that have led to the increased empowerment of women in both urban and rural water environments. The workshop will be promoted as an opportunity to develop leadership skills to increase the empowerment of women in the Vietnamese water sector. An Australian representative and champion for change will be identified and will be funded to travel to Vietnam for the event. Working with the Vietnam Women’s Union, the Association would aim to identify women from science and research, utilities, regulators and the government to participate in the workshop.

further projects to extenD the implementation of change

There is a powerful opportunity to implement a range of specific projects to further embed the intentions articulated in the Channelling Change Program, in both Australia and across the Asia Pacific region.

The Association will be working with stakeholders from across the water sector to implement a range of specific projects to further promote diversity, equality and inclusion through the Channelling Change Program.

get involveD

Register your intent to become involved in the Channelling Change Program by filling out the online form at: www.awa.asn.au/channellingchange