Water Portal Developer's Workshop at the 5th Water Information Summit

Background Document

This workshop brings participants into a virtual community-of-practice – composed of priorWIS web developers workshop trainees – which provides on-going peer-to-peer support andlearning for trainees while applying their new skills to develop and implement their own waterwebsites.Organizations nominating participants for training in the WIS-5 Workshop are requested todemonstrate their commitment to the World Water Portal “Vision to Action” process (to becirculated to applicants) following WIS-5 and leading up to the WWF-3. WIS-5 participants willhelp to formulate and be asked to enter into a brief Vision to Action Agreement with UNESCOWWAP, GEF-IW:LEARN and the WaterWeb Consortium. They will agree to develop local portalcapacity, provide reliable Internet access, and contribute to the co-development of theregional portal. Assistance may include implementation of local Integrated Water ResourceManagement-related knowledge-sharing products, information and communications toolsdeveloped or translated into one or more UN languages, and the formulation of actions plansfor collaborative development of regional Water Portals (e.g. the Americas, Africa, Asia, etc.).WIS-5 Vision to Action results will be showcased, and next steps proposed at the World WaterForum in March 2003.The workshop organizers welcome participants from the LAC region, as well as other countriesand GEF International Waters project regions. The cost of participating in both the Workshopand WIS-5 is $845 USD.  While sponsoring organizations are expected to provide forparticipants’ transportation, subsistence, and registration fees, funds are being sought forlimited scholarship support.  Attached below is a registration and scholarship application form(with criteria for workshop participants and scholarships), along with a description of WIS-5.