MRR talk: Open hour

Top experts and practitioners talking about human rights at local level

Practitioners from Bangladesh to Ghana and from India to Kenya have questions on human rights and valuable experiences to share. MRR talk: Open hour is your space to connect with experts and your peers. Join us live every other month, because we need to talk!

Next Open hour: 15 December

Two experts will be there for you in each MRR talk: Open hour.

Voice your opinion. Ask your question. Listen in.

In “MRR talk: Open hour”, a panel of renowned experts on working with rights is there to engage with you – and you can exchange with your peers too.

On 31 October, connect with:

Tseguereda Abraham, Senior WaSH Manager Governance, Rights and Accountability WaterAid UK (WaterAid UK)
Bikash Kumar Pati, Technical Specialist Water at WaterAid India (WaterAid India)

Our experts waiting for you

Sareen Malik, Executive Secretary, African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW).

Lajana Manandhar, Regional Coordinator Freshwater Action Network South-Asia (FANSA) and Executive Director, Lumanti.

Mohamad Mova Al’Afghani, Director, Center for Regulation, Policy and Governance (CRPG).

Alana Potter, International Coordinator, End Water Poverty (EWP).

Malesi Shivaji, CEO, Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network (KEWASNET).

Tseguereda Abraham, Senior WaSH Manager Governance, Rights and Accountability WaterAid UK (WaterAid UK).

Bikash Kumar Pati, Technical Specialist Water at WaterAid India (WaterAid India).

Hannah Neumeyer, Coordinator, Make Rights Real consortium (MRR).

Laura van de Lande, Manager, Make Rights Real consortium (MRR).

About MRR Talk: Open hour

Practitioners working in civil society organisations from Bangladesh to Ghana and from India to Kenya are aware that water and sanitation are internationally recognised human rights. Many use human rights in their work, invoking rights with government, lobbying for policy change, or activating people to claim their rights.

However, human rights often remain an abstract concept that’s difficult to apply to the complex mix of challenges:

Government officials can be reluctant or unable to live up to their duty.
Change is slow and this creates frustration. International human rights seem meaningless when marginalisation is based on age-old social norms.
Or there may simply not be a budget for duty bearers to work with.

We are all aware that water and sanitation are internationally recognised human rights. MRR talk: Open hour provides a space for learning and exchange on the questions and challenges of working with rights – and the positive experiences that have contributed to real change.

What to expect

Talk, discussion, questions! Working with human rights makes a difference, but at the moment, this remains hidden. By connecting people with similar experiences, questions and challenges across countries and contexts, we can learn from each other. Don’t be shy and join us to make MRR talk: Open hour as lively and useful as it can be!

Who can join?

The talks will be interesting for anyone working in civil society organisations – whether you are already using human rights in your work or are interested in doing so (more). For those working with human rights at a more international level, it can be a valuable space to hear about the challenges of applying rights in practice. In any case, everybody with an interest in the practical use of the human rights to water and sanitation at local level is welcome to join!

How to join

MRR talk open hour will be live on Zoom every second month. There is no set agenda – simply join at any time and listen in, ask a question, share an experience. Don’t be shy! We all have questions all the time! Every Open hour will host two of the experts from our panel and discussions will be moderated by Hannah and Laura. There is no need to register in advance, simply click the Zoom link to join.

Recent MRR talk: A healthy environment as a human right - what difference does it make?

Recently, countries recognised the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. In this MRR talk, we explored the relevance of this human right for the WASH sector. Our guests Sushmita Mandal and Maria Sapatu-Kennar shared their knowledge on the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and the role of civil society in finding solutions.

Listen to the recording of MRR talk episode 5 to find out more: