The WaterLeader Magazine, Issue 03
During a mini-reunion of the TED2009 Fellows in NYC, TED Fellow Sean Gourley had put out a challenge to the dozen or more of us crowded in that small room. "This is an incredible group of individuals," he said surveying the room, "...and I think some amazing projects can come out of us working and collaborating with each other. So I would like to throw out a challenge that each of us to find a way to collaborate with atleast one other Fellow to create something in the next two years."
I was at once energized by and skeptical of the challenge. As I surveyed the room and looked at the incredible quality and talent of the people I was surrounded by, I wondered how I could somehow find a way to leverage their skills into any work I did. I tend to be an "intrapreneur," one who goes into organizations and tries push innovation within the constraints of that organization or the circumstances I'm surrounded by. Of course, working within organizations means dealing with a lot more constraints and needing far more patience and maneuverability than when you work on your own. But used well, you can use existing resources to your advantage. And that's what I hoped to do...but it would take a lot of time, energy, and patience...
Just under two years later, I'm thrilled to say that I've finally been able to meet the challenge in the allotted time, though in a very small and humble way. A passionate infrastructure engineer, with an interest in institutional development and innovation in developing countries, I have spent the past year managing a water policy think tank in Singapore. Amidst the chaos of my work and the projects I was challenged with, I decided (with a lot of help from my colleagues) to turn a dying newsletter into a newly stylized, visually appealing magazine that brought academic voices around water issues to the layman. This would in turn be launched at the Singapore International Water Week, Asia's largest water conference that attracts almost 15,000 people from diverse backgrounds and cultures to discuss water issues.
At one point, I put a call out amongst the TED Fellows for articles. Four responded with articles; of which two were chosen...one by Milena Boniolo, and the other by Francis L. de los Reyes. The results are below. Please take a look and give me your feedback. Note that to ensure complete impartiality and transparency, the selection of articles was done by a distinguished team (all with PhDs!); AND that it took tremendous amounts of energy, time and patience to get very traditional and conservative organizations to trust me to do things in such a new way. But it has happened...
Special thanks to all contributors who shared their work, and my colleagues at IWP (particularly Professor Asanga Gunawansa and Sung Lee) who provided significant editorial and creative management to keep the quality of our product extraordinarily high.
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The Institute of Water Policy (IWP) is pleased to introduce the third issue of The Water Leader. Newly revamped and stylised, this issue features:
- 17 think-pieces from a multi-faceted group of highly-regarded academics and experts from around the world
- A stunning photo-essay titled "Choke Point China" by the internationally-renowned network of photojournalists from the Pulitzer-Prize-nominated organisation - Circle of Blue.
Read it online: click here
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