2024 GWOPA Assembly: Your chance to shape the future of WOPs

GWOPA’s Charter calls for a General Assembly of members to be held every two years.

In 2024, a GWOPA Assembly will be held on 2 and 3 November in Cairo, Egypt. This event will be held just prior to the opening of the World Urban Forum (WUF) on 4-8 November, the foremost global cities event convened by UN-Habitat with the Government of Egypt.

This will be the first assembly of GWOPA under the new governance framework, which will initiate a new hybrid format.

Please save the date to join us in Cairo and engage the diverse GWOPA memberships in refreshing our mandate, networking, and seeking synergies and new partnerships!

What to expect

Celebrate 15 years of peer solidarity!

We are brought together by a dedication to solidarity in supporting utilities to advance the SDGs. Let’s celebrate the achievements of working together as an Alliance as we celebrate 15 years.

Exercise your membership in the Alliance

The Assembly is the opportunity to understand the meaning and workings of the ‘Alliance’: how our members benefit from joining, how they can contribute, and how the governance works. Over the last 15 years, GWOPA has refined its ways of working together as Members, serving the Alliance with a Secretariat, a Steering Committee, and WOP platforms from several regions. Join us to meet with the new and current representatives from your constituencies and your region, to discuss how to best capitalize on this network. The elections for renewal of some seats at the GWOPA Steering Committee are open. The poll results will be announced at the Assembly. Read more on Steering Committee elections.

Shape the future

Participate in the discussions on strategic orientations as GWOPA reviews progress on its current Strategy and prepares for the next one. Make your voice and needs heard!

Learn

The Assembly will offer learning opportunities, with some exciting short onsite courses and inspirational talks on the art of mentoring, facilitating WOPs, and more. On the second day of the Assembly, members will have the opportunity to participate in a training session organized by our partner, the Water Integrity Network (WIN). Later in the week, GWOPA and its local partners will offer a half-day technical visit to the vibrant city of Cairo.

Utilities and local governments dialogue

The World Urban Forum (WUF) is the leading international conference on sustainable urban development. Attending the WUF is highly beneficial for the GWOPA membership as it offers unparalleled global networking opportunities with key stakeholders in urban development, access to expert knowledge and research, and insights into innovative solutions for urban challenges such as sustainable development, housing, and climate change. The forum allows participants to influence urban policy, engage in meaningful dialogue on the future of cities, and promote sustainable and inclusive urban practices.

About the GWOPA Assembly

The GWOPA Assembly is one of the three bodies constituting the organizational structure of GWOPA: The GWOPA Assembly, the GWOPA Steering Committee, and the GWOPA Secretariat.

GWOPA’s Assembly is open for all institutional and individual members to attend. We welcome you all to join in person or remotely.

The GWOPA Assembly (Membership) undertakes the following functions:

Reviews, guides and discusses the strategic direction of GWOPA;

Endorses and validates the elections of the Steering Committee, and elections of any other committees;

Requests the Steering Committee and other Committees to undertake certain activities, including the preparations of meetings, activities, and engagements of GWOPA;

Provides guidance to the Steering Committee and to the GWOPA Secretariat on issues concerning GWOPA;

Adopts recommendations, resolutions, reports, and other decisions pertaining to the work of GWOPA in an advisory capacity; and

Establishes committees or task forces, including the Integrity Committee and the Election Committee. The Terms of Reference for the Integrity Committee and Election Committee are attached to the Charter as Annexes 4 and 5 respectively.

Read the GWOPA Charter

Elections of the Chair of the Assembly

The Chair of the GWOPA Assembly facilitates the running of the Assembly proceedings. Beyond their role during the Assembly itself, he/she is expected to champion WOPs and act as a high-level face of the Alliance at events and meetings.

Functions of the Chair of the GWOPA Assembly

2.1

In addition to exercising the powers conferred upon the Chair elsewhere by these rules, he/ she shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting of the GWOPA Assembly, direct the discussions, ensure observance of these rules, accord GWOPA Members the right to speak, put questions for discussion and decision making, and announce outcomes. The Chair shall, subject to these rules, have complete control over the proceedings of the GWOPA Assembly and over the maintenance of order at its meetings.

2.2

The Chair, in the exercise of his/her functions, remains under the authority of the GWOPA Assembly.

2.3

The Vice-Chair shall support the Chair in the discharge of her/his duties as requested and carry out any responsibilities entrusted to him/her by the GWOPA Assembly.

Candidatures for the position of Chair are open until 15 September 2024

Apply here!

Eligibility criteria for Chair and Vice-Chair

The candidate is an individual

The candidate must belong to an organization which is a GWOPA institutional member or submit the institutional membership application not later than
9 September 2024.

The applicant must be willing to collaborate actively with the Secretariat and the Steering Committee of the Alliance.

Attributes of a Chair

As a WOP champion, the Chair would advocate for utilities and WOPs, mobilizing support and decision-makers around the work of GWOPA in the common cause of global solidarity between peers through WOPs. He/She/They should have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by water and sanitation operators around the world, be fervent advocates for the SDGs and have a proven track record of engagement and support to peer-to-peer solidarity mechanisms between operators. He/She/They will collaborate actively with the Secretariat and the Steering Committee of the Alliance, which will support him/her/them in their mandate of 2 years (until the next Assembly).

Candidates are invited to provide a short narrative by 15 September 2024 showcasing their ability to fully embrace their mandate. Eligible candidates will be notified on 17 September.

As a global alliance, we encourage applications from all countries. Women are currently underrepresented in the GWOPA Alliance governance and are strongly encouraged to apply.

Vote for your favorite candidate!

The list of candidates will be published on 17 September 2024.
The electronic voting will be open between 18 September 2024 and 29 September 2024.

The results of the polls will be announced here on 1 October 2024, and all candidates will be notified via email. Organizations willing to vote but not yet members of GWOPA should submit an institutional membership application not later than 9 September 2024.

Learn more about the
2024 GWOPA Assembly!

Check out the programme