As a part of my Master’s program at the University of Colorado Boulder in Environmental Engineering and Certificate in Engineering for Developing Communities, I must complete an internship and am currently half-way through my three-month position internship with the African Water Association (AfWA). AfWA aims to promote the exchange of new methods and best practices between operators in the water and sanitation sector that are appropriate in African contexts.

I applied to work with AfWA for the opportunity to work on their Knowledge Management and Sharing Platform. This platform will serve as the one-stop shop to disseminate results from projects implemented by AfWA members over the years, maximizing their eventual impact on the sector overall. This is of special interest to me because when we learn about Sustainable Development in class, it is exactly these organizational Lessons Learned that change how we implement and define successful projects.

To operationalize the platform, I have been familiarizing myself with similar knowledge sharing platforms. I have been working with AfWA’s Communication and Knowledge Management Specialist, Olivier Konan, in planning an upcoming workshop with industry experts to determine what they identify as essential information in knowledge products, or documents that will be uploaded to the site over time. This is a highlight of my research because I am able to explore how people want to consume information in the digital age and are already doing so. Once we finalize the format for the knowledge products, I will be summarizing leading industry papers and projects to highlight best practices, lessons learned, and success stories to kick-start the platform.

I am also working with AfWA’s Programs Department to research e-meeting and e-learning options for AfWA and its members to strengthen AfWA’s educational opportunities. This will include content that may be attractive to African sector professionals, such as online workshops hosted on a video conferencing platform and advertising previously available relevant free online courses.

During my first month, I have been busy writing and editing articles for AfWA’s monthly newsletter and preparing for our June publication of the Share Water magazine. My French skills are quickly improving as I relearn technical vocabulary, translate documents, and speak French every day for the first time in years!

When I am not in the office I have had the opportunity to explore the amazing art scene in Abidjan and have been extended incredible hospitality by my colleagues. I have already met so many amazing new people here at AfWA and in the sector overall - I cannot wait to see what will happen before I have to leave at the end of August!