However, the chance that Day Zero will repeat itself is plausible. The city is preparing for this with its new water strategy. Jan Jorrit Hasselaar, director of the Amsterdam Centre for Religion & Sustainable Development (Faculty of Religion and Theology, VU Amsterdam), played an important role in this project with Cape Town. The project is one of the follow-up projects from the symposium 'Water in Times of Climate Change - A Values-driven Dialogue' (2019), organized by the Faculty of Religion and Theology and the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
A shared journey
Implementation of The Cape Town Water Strategy can be seen as a journey towards 2040. This project was part of that trip for more than a year. The trip included inspiring dialogues, knowledge exchange and trust building as important building principles for cooperation and implementation of the water strategy. It started with getting to know each other online through sessions, webinars and trainings, and ended with a paddle trip on World Water Day through the Sand Flat basin in South Africa.
The Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, The Khayelitsha Canoe club, Green Anglicans and representatives of the University of the Western Cape, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Wereld Waternet took part in the tour to raise awareness and share the pursuit of healthy and waterways in Cape Town. The mayor shared his ambitions to take the necessary measures to improve access to drinking water and sanitation and reduce water pollution in Cape Town's catchment areas. This also highlighted the valuable role of partnerships for Cape Town's journey to become a water-sensitive city. Amsterdam served as an inspiring example: it took the city more than 40 years to become a swimming and liveable city, which resulted in an annual Amsterdam City Swim in 2014.
Results
Within the partnership, three inspiring 2-pagers have been developed, summarizing the key achievements and the way forward to promote safe access to water and sanitation.
- Community platforms: principes and criteria for a platform to support a shifting policy paradigm from informing to actively involving communities in policy.
- Storytelling for Community Development: Plea to integrate community voices into policy development. This 2-pager was co-developed with Professor John Klaassen (Head of Religion & Theology, University of the Western Cape).
- Video message from Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, successor Desmond Tutu: uit invitation to Cape Town to jointly design a 'Water & Toilet Indaba' to simulate trust and inclusion, set up a (safe space) platform to build courageous conversations and actions together and celebrate the Utopia in the now. This invitation is based on his theology of Indaba.
On 18 March 2022, a final seminar took place at the head office of the Water and Sanitation Directorate of the Municipality of Cape Town. There was a positive response to archbishop Thabo's invitation for a 'Water & Toilet Indaba'.
One of the focus areas within the partnership was knowledge exchange through the experiences of international utilities facing similar challenges. For that reason, the state-owned water and sanitation company from Buenos Aires (Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos, AySa), the water cycle company of Medellín, Colombia (Empresas Públicas de Medellín, EPM Water) and state-owned company of Jakarta (DKI) were invited to participate in the work sessions. During the final seminar it was decided to continue the cooperation.
Training in engaging communities
As part of the partnership, training has been developed for officials responsible for water and sanitation in informal settlements. Building trust, inclusivity and Indaba were important elements of this course. The course was co-taught by John Klaasen and Jan Jorrit Hasselaar. On 17 March 2022, 21 city officials graduated for this course during a ceremony at Cape Town City Hall.