Shreya Gyawali, Senior Program Officer, Australian Water Partnerships
“Our work directly impacts people’s lives. Knowing that my day-to-day contributions at work could positively influence someone’s life is a significant motivator to keep going.”
It is this kind of thinking that makes eWater Group an exceptional place to work. Our people – like Shreya Gyawali – bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our organisation but it is the willingness to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable people and their communities that is truly exceptional.
We are an organisation dedicated to delivering water management expertise and tools in Australia and internationally through our three divisions – the Australian Water Partnership, eWater Solutions, and Mekong Water Solutions.
The Australian Water Partnership (AWP) is a key part of Australia’s support for sustainable water resources management in South Asia, the Mekong region, and the Pacific. Working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AWP supports a range of activities that draw on Australian expertise to respond to assistance from our international partners and governments.
In her role as AWP’s Senior Program Officer, Shreya has a whole raft of responsibilities including managing and engaging on international and national events for AWP but just as important, if not more, leading the Gender, Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (or GEDSI) portfolio within AWP.
Shreya works with the AWP program team to better integrate GEDSI across all activities, as well as lead on internal policy reviews and implementation processes. It is one of our critical roles within AWP.
“AWP’s commitment to advancing Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in partnership with different organisations in Australia and overseas is a significant reason of why I work at AWP.”
Water has always played a big role in Shreya’s life. Having worked in the development sector in her hometown of Kathmandu, Nepal, prior to moving to Australia to complete her Master’s in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University Shreya participated in field visits to see first-hand the impacts of water stress on women and girls.
“Issues like water insecurity disproportionately impacts women and girls. It impacts their education, hygiene, and safety, and as they usually have the responsibility of fetching water- also impacts their time. These issues are embedded within cultural contexts and social norms and become further exacerbated in the face of climate change as well as in crisis scenarios.
“Water issues are personal issues for women and girls. Creating change in this space will mean having the ability to influence people’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour – which is what I would like to do, and being in this sector is a great platform to meet like-minded people and create momentum for that change.”
Now working at AWP for nearly two years, Shreya has represented AWP at major national and international events, including SIWI World Water Week 2022 in Stockholm where she collaborated with water leaders from Australia and the region to share knowledge and successes. She is on her own leadership journey as one of AWP’s Young Water Professionals and brings her passion and unique perspective to her work every day.
“Being a Nepali woman with my own cultural experiences and having seen the lived realities of people back home, I am aspiring to be a change agent and champion for people in my community, and I see this as a step towards making that happen.”
“There is a crucial need to recognise and accept the different forms of knowledge that inform solutions to the challenges of climate change; cultural, Indigenous, technical, and local knowledge and find ways to better integrate them together.”
It is this commitment to changing how we engage with communities, develop policies and programs on water management, and think more strategically about our water resources, which remains central to the work of AWP and eWater Group.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
