Do we have the courage to change? Reflections from the IHE Delft symposium

From 2 to 4 July, water professionals from around the world gathered at the Knowledge and Capacity Symposium at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education to address how the water sector can advance knowledge and capacity development. Over three days, speakers, including Partners for Water representatives, challenged traditional approaches, arguing that real change requires a renewed focus on power distribution, trust and local needs.

Capacity and knowledge development for young people was at the heart of the symposium, as well as a widespread recognition that the next generation of water professionals will play a vital role in shaping a sustainable water future. Yet while members of this new generation are often called on to take responsibility, they are not always equipped with the resources or influence needed to match that responsibility.

The question of empowerment

Several speakers asked whether young professionals are truly being given space to lead within the water sector. For instance, Igbal Ali, a young professional from Sudan and project management assistant at IHE shared how she was invited to take part in high-level talks, but without substantial support:

“I was placed in a high-level setting where social science was dismissed, and everything had to follow an engineering lens. It set me up to step back, not because I lacked motivation, but because I lacked support. It made me ask: are we confusing inclusion with empowerment? When we bring young people into the room, are we giving them a voice, or just a seat?

“Are we confusing inclusion with empowerment?”

Others echoed this concern, noting that empowerment requires more than presence; it needs trust, support and a shift in how decisions are made. Botagoz Sharipova, a PhD candidate at IHE from Kazakhstan, explained: “Many older experts say there is a new generation who will solve tomorrow’s environmental problems. That’s a good thing, and a natural development. However, I’d like to advocate for not only redistributing responsibilities but also resources, powers, and everything else.”

Redefining the ‘new generation’

This raised a deeper question that echoed throughout the symposium: who exactly is this ‘new generation’ that is being called upon to lead change? Dr Hajar Choukrani, researcher at the Institut agronomique et vétérinaire Hassan II in Morocco explained: “The new generation is not about age. You can be young and still maintain hierarchies and inequalities – or be older and actively break them. It’s not about saying a lot or publishing a lot – it’s about daring to challenge dominant narratives.”

Former Dutch Water Envoy Henk Ovink amplified this by arguing that change is not about age but about courage: “True change means challenging the institutions that are still led by people like me: white, male, close to sixty. And that’s hard, because it means giving up power. But change isn’t only about age. It’s about the capacity to face an uncertain future, and to draw hope and courage from partnerships that do the same. Every day, we need to find allies – across generations, across backgrounds – who are willing to question the way things are. Even when it feels vulnerable. Because keeping that courage alive is the only way forward.”

Local expertise and contextual understanding

Throughout the symposium, the conversation moved to local capacity, especially in places where external actors often dominate. Several participants shared frustrations about how local expertise is too often overlooked or undervalued.

Sharipova shared: “I’ve seen many international donors arrive with good intentions, but little understanding of our context in Kazakhstan. They read a report about our problems and assume they know what we need. They bring polished tools and models, and suddenly you start to feel like your own systems aren’t good enough. That’s not real empowerment. It creates dependency, not capacity.”

Partners for Water: learning from long-term challenges

Partners for Water’s programme coordinator, Liliane Geerling, also shed light on a topic that often goes under the radar: the Build-Neglect-Rebuild (BNR) cycle. Through a fishbowl discussion, she highlighted how BNR still receives too little attention within the water sector.

The BNR cycle refers to a recurring issue in infrastructure: systems are built, but without long-term budgets or maintenance plans, they gradually fall into disrepair, only to be rebuilt again. It’s a costly waste of time, money and trust. Partners for Water research shows that breaking this cycle requires structural change in how we plan, fund and manage water projects. We should transition to programmes instead of projects.

“BNR is an important issue, but it hasn’t been talked about much, not even here,” Geerling said. “We need to speak more openly about our failures and mistakes if we want real progress. Young professionals aren’t always connected to these long-term patterns. That’s why intergenerational exchange and sharing our failures is so crucial.”

Four questions for reflection

The message throughout the symposium was consistent: if we want lasting change – whether through youth leadership or local ownership – we need to bring our failures to light, go beyond talk and provide time, funding and space to act.
Rather than an agenda full of action points, the symposium closed with four reflection questions meant to spark a change in direction:

• What characterises the new generation in your efforts?
• How are your capacity efforts challenging power dynamics?
• When do your capacity efforts actually translate into empowerment?
• How can co-creation lead to meaningful, long-term change?

Moving forward

The symposium didn’t offer easy answers, but it did create the space to ask difficult questions, and to have honest conversations about the topics that are often overlooked or uncomfortable. Participants concluded that we should all take these questions forward into our own work and partnerships. The next step is not only to keep the conversation going, but to translate it into action on the ground.

Want to take the next step? Join Partners for Water at Stockholm World Water Week, where we’ll continue exploring BNR challenges and the value of sharing failures in dedicated workshops with water professionals worldwide.