SuSanA News - March 2024   
 
Dear SuSanA members and friends,

World Water Day – 22nd of March, a day that serves as a reminder of the critical importance of fresh water on our planet.

This year's theme, Leveraging Water for Peace, takes on heightened significance in light of escalating challenges such as climate change, population growth, and water scarcity. It's essential to recognise that water can be both a source of peace and a potential catalyst for conflict. It can be a trigger, a weapon, or even a casualty in conflicts. This underscores the urgency of addressing water-related issues and the need for strong international cooperation.
You might be wondering - is this day really that relevant for SuSanA? While the focus of World Water Day may be on water, sanitation remains a critical component of the discussion. Proper sanitation, including the safe disposal of human waste and wastewater treatment, helps maintain the quality and availability of water for various purposes, including drinking, agriculture, and industry. Not to mention that many sanitation systems around the globe still heavily rely on freshwater supply. Investing in improved sanitation infrastructure and promoting sustainable sanitation practices are essential steps in safeguarding water resources for present and future generations.

To address these challenges, fostering innovation, exchanging ideas, and promoting collaboration globally are vital. The SuSanA community plays a pivotal role in advancing sustainable sanitation practices worldwide. We welcome your contributions and encourage you to share your stories and innovative ideas with the SuSanA community through our forum or by writing a blog post for the SuSanA Blog (further details provided below).

Yours sincerely,
Arne, Alexandra, Maren, Daphne, Teresa, and Bettina-Sophie
on behalf of the SuSanA Secretariat
Holy Shit Movie in Bonn
As already announced in our last Newsletter – The topic of sanitation has made it onto the silver screen and we as SuSanA are proud to be a partner of the movie.

For everyone that is based in Bonn, Germany or close by - don’t miss out on the screening of the award-winning documentary "Holy Shit" by Rubén Abruña at Kinopolis on April 11, 2024, starting at 7:00 PM. We are looking forward to an inspiring evening with live music (featuring the film's soundtrack) and a thought-provoking discussion at the end with the producer Valentin Thurn and field experts from Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and NetSan.

If you are based somewhere else in this world, check out the webpage of the movie to see if there is a screening nearby. Perhaps you could even organize a screening yourself?
Extending our Webinar Series on Water Utilities and Sanitation
Last month we successfully concluded the webinar series, brought to you by GWOPA, WaterWorX, SuSanA, AfWASA, German Water Partnership, FSMA, AquaFed, and GIZ. From September 2023 to February 2024, we embarked on a journey to promote knowledge sharing, experiences, and lessons learned, with over 10 case studies, showcasing the innovative approaches utilities are taking to enhance urban sanitation access.

Due to overwhelming demand and the immense success of the series, we're extending it with 5 more webinars! Furthermore, stay tuned for a knowledge product capturing key takeaways from the first series.

A special shoutout to everyone who attended our last webinar, where we discussed women leading the sanitation sector in water utilities. Your record attendance made it a resounding success, highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion in shaping the future of sanitation.
Newest blog articles
Did you catch the buzz in our last newsletter about the latest addition to the SuSanA platform? That's right - our very own blog! Since then, we've been hard at work curating an even richer collection of interesting articles that we can't wait to share with you.

If you're passionate about Gender Equality and the pivotal role of women in the WASH sector, then our newest blog series is tailor-made for you. Dive into insightful discussions on (African) women in mentorship, paving the way for a brighter, more inclusive future (links can be found below). But that's not all – are you eager to explore discussions on decolonizing the WASH-Narrative or the business side of sanitation? We've got you covered there too.

So why not treat yourself to some inspiring reading material? Head over to our blog and delve into a captivating selection of articles, written by you, for you.

Feeling inspired to share your own perspective? We'd love to hear from you! Send us an E-Mail to info@susana.org and we'll happily provide you with guidelines and support to bring your ideas to life on our platform. Let's spark meaningful conversations together!
Get Ready for the Annual SuSanA Meeting in Stockholm
SuSanA is gearing up for its annual meeting and we want you to be part of it! Hosted as usual by SEI at its offices in Stockholm on the weekend before World Water Week, this event promises to be a gathering of minds dedicated to advancing sustainable sanitation solutions worldwide.

The agenda for the meeting will be shaped by you – the SuSanA community. Key topics will be identified by the Global Steering Committee and its Advisory Board, drawing on insights from the lively group discussions at our last SuSanA meeting.

Once the topics are selected, we’ll issue an open call inviting you to submit proposals to present your activities or projects in this field. A transparent selection process will follow to ensure fairness and diversity in the line-up.

So, dear SuSanA partners and members, get ready to share your expertise, showcase your innovations and connect with fellow sanitation enthusiasts from around the world. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
SFD is going multilingual
We're thrilled to announce a major step forward in accessibility: the Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) portal is now available in over 100 languages, thanks to our new automatic translation feature! Following in the footsteps of our SFD manual, available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, we're expanding our language offerings. The document guiding the review procedure, including the source evaluation tool, is now accessible in those same languages.

But perhaps most exciting of all, the SFD graphic generator is now available in nine languages, including Hindi, Chinese, Arabic, and Bengali. This means you can develop an SFD diagram in your desired language, making it even more relevant and accessible to communities worldwide.

Join our mission to make SFD available in every city! We're issuing an open call to all passionate individuals: reach out if you'd like to assist us in translating SFD tools into additional languages.
News from the CRS coalition
Are you already familiar with the Climate Resilient Sanitation Coalition (CRSC)?

The Climate Resilient Sanitation Coalition, of which SuSanA is a member, emerged from a joint Call to Action launched at COP27 in 2022. Its core mission is to integrate sanitation into climate policy and practice. It is a growing coalition of international organisations, research bodies and practitioners working collectively towards improved prioritization, capacity and investment in climate resilient sanitation. Notably, the topic of climate-resilient sanitation was identified as a priority topic at the last SuSanA Meeting in Stockholm. It will be comprehensively addressed in the upcoming annual meeting scheduled for August.

Keen to learn more about the coalition and its members or even how your organisation can join forces? Follow the link below to our new thematic page dedicated to the CRSC. Additionally, check out the collaborative blog post written by CRSC members on our blog, focusing on how to get sanitation back on the (global) agenda.
Joint Mentorship Program for Women in WASH – Agenda for Change and RWSN
Are you still unsure how to (re-)enter the WASH sector and/or where to start? Then perhaps the joint mentorship program organized by Agenda for Change and RWSN might be a good fit for you. Mentorship benefits both mentors and mentees, fostering a win-win situation. This year’s mentorship program features three tracks:

• Women in WASH (for women only – with traditional and near-peer mentoring tracks)
• Career progression (for young professionals of both genders)
• Solar pumping and groundwater courses alumni (by invitation)

Applications for mentors opened on 1st of March and for Mentees on the 14th of March. You can find more information on this programme following the link below.
4th Sanitation Technology Hackathon – Finish Mondial
The winners of the 4th Sanitation Technology Hackathon, with the theme: Innovation in Greywater Recycling for Sustainable Agriculture and Kitchen Gardening, were announced on the 22nd of March 2024.

We as SuSanA are very proud to say that three of our SuSanA GSC members were part of the jury team of the 4th FINISH Mondial Sanitation Technology Hackathon. Rohini Pradeep, Charles B. Niwagaba and Dorothee Spuhler joined their fellow judges Shirish Singh, Daigo Ishiyama and Dr. Tanvir Ahmed to review the many innovative submissions and select the top Hackathon finalists!

Congratulations to the winners and thanks for all your valuable contributions!
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Imprint
The secretariat of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance is located at:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 36 + 40
53113 Bonn, Germany

info@susana.org