Experience: Is it the Best Teacher?
Asia P3 Hub Newsletter, August 2018 Issue
What is experiential learning and why does it matter?
You can’t learn to ride a bike by just watching people or pulling up a YouTube video; you have to actually get on the bike, fall a few times, adjust your technique, and try over and over again. Yes, we are stating the obvious: this is experiential learning. It describes the process of learning through experience and the reflection on those experiences.
Experiential learning is important in all aspects of life, especially when engaging in multi-sector partnerships to tackle complex challenges. We can’t solve problems affecting specific communities without going to the frontlines and seeing for ourselves what’s going on. We can also share our experiences and learn from the experiences of others. This is why multi-sector partnerships are so important. The knowledge, insights and lessons learned from people of diverse backgrounds has the potential to solve a problem more efficiently.
We don’t only learn from successes, we also learn from failures. When we fail, we reflect and improve ourselves so we don’t make the same mistakes again. Just like when you first learned to ride the bike, you don’t quit on your first tumble!
In this month’s newsletter, we focus on experiential learning — in creating innovative technology for a better future, in communities we seek to help, in the workplace and in the networks we cultivate.
HAPPY 53rd BIRTHDAY, SINGAPORE!
Singapore National Day: NEWater Case Study
This month, we celebrated Singapore’s 53rd birthday! Its National Day is August 9 and this year’s theme was ‘We Are Singapore’, which “defines the Singapore Spirit, invoking the strength and resilience which built Singapore and empowers Singaporeans to overcome future challenges and adversities together.” Particularly, Singapore’s NEWater symbolises the collective spirit of Singapore and provides interesting lessons in learning by doing and highlights opportunities for multi-sector partnerships in the water sector.
[Read the full article]
INTERVIEW WITH THE EXPERT
Part Three of Our Conversation with Professor Joy Fitzgibbon: Humility in Network Partnerships
And the last part of our conversation with Professor Joy Fitzgibbon, a fellow and Assistant Professor of Trinity College in University of Toronto and the Associate Director of the prestigious Macmillan Trinity One Program, is here! We learn so much, yet again, this time from her experiences on-the-ground and also through her insights from the experiences shared by her colleagues and how this all relates to the concept of humility in partnerships.
[Read our conversation with Professor Fitzgibbon]
MULTI-SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS ON THE GROUND
Ford-World Vision Multi-Sector Partnership in Kaddumurivu: A Simple, Replicable and Innovative Solution to Increase Water Coverage
Find out more about World Vision’s partnership to bring water to the village of Kaddumurivu in Sri Lanka! Though water coverage (defined as the proportion of the population having access to water supplies from piped water systems, protected wells or rainwater systems) is at 85 percent on the national level, the number is disproportionately lower in rural areas of Sri Lanka. In the case of Kaddumurivu before the project started, water coverage was at 30 percent. The solution? Mixing rainwater with groundwater and distributing it strategically throughout the community. Through this experience, World Vision Lanka now can easily repeat this process in other rural projects to help Sri Lanka reach it’s universal water coverage goal by 2025!
[Read the full article]
CREATING CONNECTIONS
Inside Look: TBN Asia Conference 2018 — Fighting Poverty Through Enterprise
From 1–3 August 2018, Asia P3 Hub’s Senior WASH and Partnership Advisor, Phearak Svay attended the TBN Asia Conference 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia as a panelist for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues. The event was a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge, make connections, learn about the latest innovations and engage with inclusive and high impact enterprises making a positive difference in the lives of people in Asia Pacific. Get an inside look and read Phearak’s commentary of the event!
[Read the full article]
UNDERCOVER STUDENTS
Angelyn Empalmado and Blaise Hanson
We were privileged to welcome Angelyn and Blaise, both high school students, who worked with us for two weeks! At Asia P3 Hub, not only do we firmly believe that we should nurture our future generation, but also we value the knowledge and perspectives of these young changemakers. Angelyn and Blaise reflect upon the things they learned about work-life and multi-sector partnerships during their short but well-spent time at Asia P3 Hub.
[Read Angelyn’s blog]
[Read Blaise’s blog]
ASIA P3 HUB AT WORK
Good Business and Social Impact: Generating Innovative Solutions to Achieve Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration
How can one collaborate successfully with others? Asia Leaders’ Forum convened a Collaboration Bootcamp and Co-Creation Workshop, hosted by Cargill and facilitated by Asia P3 Hub. Participants from business, research institutions and not-for-profits debated and reflected on the importance of purpose, sustainability, innovation and the power of collaboration. Asia Leaders’ Forum is building a space to explore different approaches within a safe community through their initiative called Wiser Work. Find out more about the workshop and Wiser Work in this article.
[Read more about the workshop]
OPPORTUNITIES
Cap-Net Virtual Campus Course on Water Integrity: Principles and Concepts
Apply for this free online course before September 14th | Course runs from October 1 to November 16, 2018
The Cap-Net Virtual Campus is an innovative platform to support water capacity development. Many free courses are being planned and will be announced soon in partnership with Skat, UNICEF, UN Environment — DHI Centre on Water and Environment, RWSN, GWP, Water for People, etc. This particular course, called Water Integrity: Principles and Concepts, aims to create awareness and strengthen water governance through increased knowledge on how to improve transparency and accountability.
