The Netherlands UNESCO WMO Water Committee met on the 3rd of July for the first committee meeting in 2025. Special guest on this occasion was ms Rahmah Elfithri, Chief of the Capacity Development and Water Family coordination Section at the UNESCO Water Sciences Division. She presented the governance structure of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme.

The following topics were discussed:

• Publication of new communication products, including the revamped website, an updated committee brochure, and LinkedIn Group;
• Updates on the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, including opportunities to contribute to the 50/60 Year Anniversary Year events;
• Introduction to the new National Hydrological Advisor, ms Maaike Ritzen, who will play a key role in shaping water-related collaboration with WMO in particular on the topic of operational hydrology, and discussion about this;
• Outcomes of an impactful workshop organized by IHE Delft, UNESCO IHP and Cap-Net on developing a Water Education Indicator;
• Presentation about the Speulderbos, the first UNESCO IHP Ecohydrology Demonstration Site in the Netherlands;
• Discussion about collective activities in the second half of 2025.

In case you would like to know more, please contact the committee coordinator.