New project: MsM leads Dutch-Palestinian Consortium in Water Management
As part of the 1st Palestinian-Dutch cooperation forum, 5 Dutch and 5 Palestinian universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding for an academic cooperation program on joint education, research and training to improve the capacity in the Palestinian water sector.
The forum took place on 7 and 8 December as part of the Dutch trade mission to Palestine. The mission was led by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte who was accompanied by the Dutch ministers Frans Timmermans of Foreign Affairs and Lilianne Ploumen of International Development. The opening session of the forum was attended by Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah.
Maastricht School of Management is the lead organization of the Palestinian-Dutch Academic Cooperation Program on Water, that we refer to as PaDuCo, and that consists of 5 Palestinian and 5 Dutch universities. Over a four-year period (2014-2017), the universities will carry out activities in applied research/product development, education and professional training. The overall objective of the program is to improve the individual, organizational and institutional capacity of the Palestinian higher education sector in the area of water. This will, on the mid- and the longer term, contribute to the effectiveness of the Palestinian water sector regarding the development, provision and management of water resources and services, reduce dependencies on donors and external funding, and thereby contribute to an independent Palestinian state. Additionally, applied short-term research contributes directly to knowledge gaps in the water sector, and projects are specifically designed to address the real needs of the agricultural and water sector.
Stronger Palestinian economy
In his opening speech Dutch Prime Minister Rutte mentioned the academic water program as an example of the kind of cooperation his government seeks with Palestine.
"It is not only about money. The Dutch government firmly believes that prosperity, peace and security all feed into one another. The stronger the economy, the more people have the prospect of a successful future, for themselves and their children. And the bigger the chance of a peaceful solution to the serious problems which, sadly, the Palestinian people still face", said Rutte.
Ten participating universities
Participating in the program are:
- Maastricht School of Management (program lead), Maastricht
- Universiteit Twente, Enschede
- Wageningen University UR, Wageningen
- UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft
- Technische Universiteit Delft, Delft
- Birzeit University, Birzeit
- Al Quds University, Jeruzalem
- Palestinian Technical University Kadoorie, Tulkarm
- An Najah University, Nablus
- Palestinian Polytechnic University, Hebron
The consortium is supported by the General Delegation of Palestine in The Hague, Palestinian Water Authority, Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education, Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah, Netherlands Water Partnership and AgentschapNL.
