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The ITT welcomed 18 of its Alumni in Cologne for one week of workshops, presentations and get-together-events in the context of the ITT Alumni Seminar 2013 “Rio+20: From recommendation to Practice – regional showcases for implementation”. After the Rio+20 conference, Green Economy and Green Growth have emerged as a new paradigm for sustainable development. Many initiatives and projects were initiated worldwide to implement the recommendations of the conference. With the Alumni Seminar, the ITT wants to support its alumni to display innovative project ideas that aim to implement and realize the outcomes of Rio+20.

The participants were recruited from all of the four master programs at ITT: TERMA, TERMA VN, ENREM and IWRM. All in all, 14 nations were represented from the continents Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. The multicultural and interdisciplinary background of the seminar led to fruitful and inspiring discussions regarding the project proposals of the participants. During the seminar, the participants got the opportunity to present and improve their project ideas and to get them evaluated. In specialized workshops, they learned how to present their projects in a Logical Frame Matrix and how to prepare their proposals for funding. Furthermore, the attendance phase included visits to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and to the United Nations University in Bonn to foster their contacts to potential partners from Germany. A highlight of the week was the Panel Discussion named “The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus in the context of Transboundary Water Cooperation” with renowned speakers from the German Development Institute (Dr. Waltina Scheumann and Dr. Ines Dombrowsky) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (Holger Hoff) that took place on Thursday, October 17, at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Besides, the Minister-Director of the National Water Authority of Nicaragua (ANA), Mr. Luis Ángel Montenegro, was on site to get an overview of the Alumnis project proposals. Followed by a poster presentation of the Alumnis project ideas, the audience had the chance to learn about the Alumnis projects in detail and to exchange ideas and possible cooperative propositions.

“It was a very good opportunity for all of us to make new contacts and to learn about the other project proposals. I hope we all stay in touch to exchange further information in the future”, said ENREM Alumna Mara Hoffmeister.

To get an overview of the project ideas of the ITT Alumni, please download the book of abstracts.

Book of Abstracts - ITT Alumni Seminar 2013