Summer School on Water Governance 2026: A Wrap-Up
From prolonged droughts to disputes over shared rivers, water is shaping some of today's most pressing global conversations. Behind every story sits the same underlying question: how do we govern this resource together?
That's the question that drove the 2026 Summer School on Water Governance: Framework and Negotiations, which has just wrapped up two intensive weeks at the Formation continue - Université de Genève.
Starting with our feet on the ground
The program opened with a field tour led by Professor Christian Bréthaut, walking participants through Geneva's water landmarks, the Bains Des Pâquis and the confluence of the Rhône and Arve. A useful reminder that water governance isn't just a concept on paper; it's visible in the infrastructure, ecosystems, and decisions that shape a place.
A genuinely diverse room
This year's cohort came from France, Switzerland, Colombia, Jordan, Uruguay, Iraq, and Portugal, and the range of professional backgrounds was just as wide.
We had diplomats working at the United Nations, humanitarians with UNHCR MAURITANIA and SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL, a legal advocate in climate justice, engineers from the Blue Peace Middle East Initiative, an associate professor from the Universidad de Córdoba, professionals from IUCN and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and independent experts in climate risk.
The people who led the sessions
Over the two weeks at the Institut des sciences de l'environnement (ISE) - UNIGE, participants learned from practitioners and researchers including James Dalton (IUCN), Erik Aarnos (UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), Dominique Bérod (World Meteorological Organization), Nataliya Nikiforova, Diane Guerrier, Laurent Wismer from the International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC, and colleagues from the University of Geneva, the Geneva Water Hub, among others.
The focus: frameworks, negotiations, and the shared responsibilities that shape how water is managed across borders and sectors.
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed, the speakers, the participants, and the teams behind the scenes, for making these two weeks such a rich exchange. The conversations don't end here.
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