World Water Week 2006, Stockhollm, Sweden

Sir Richard Jolly Lecture Series, Second Edition

Venue: Stockholm World Water Week, Conference City Centre, Room 307
Time: 23rd August, 17h15 - 18h45

Presentation by: Ms. Hilde F. Johnson

Co-convener of the Women Leaders for WASH and Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank, Former Minister of International Development of Norway

The WSSCC established the Sir Richard Jolly Lecture Series in 2004, in honor of its former Chair who is still fighting for "Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for ALL" as the Honorary Lifetime Patron and Ambassador of the Council. The inaugural lecture was held in April 2004 during the 12th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York, by the then Honorable Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry of South Africa, Mr. Ronnie Kasrils. This year's speaker is Ms. Hilde Frafjord Johnson, co-convener of the WSSCC initiative 'Women Leaders for WASH'.

Ms. Johnson is presently Senior Adviser to the President of African Development Bank and the former Minister of International Development of Norway, a post she held twice from 1997 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2005.

Ms. Johnson is Co-chair of the Global Coalition for Africa and has been a key facilitator in the Sudan peace negotiations. Ms. Johnson has also served on advisory groups in the World Bank, and in 2003, she was awarded the "Commitment to Development Award" by the Center for Global Development and Foreign Policy in Washington, D.C.

Her commitment to highlight the challenges and issues related to water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facing millions of women and girls in developing countries, is inspiring and her enthusiasm and leadership compelling. In her lecture, she will not only share some of her personal experiences, but will also set out the linkages between WASH, gender, and the Millennium Development Goals.