Dear Readers,
In the 1st Quarter of 2015, the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD) has been engaged in mainly three areas, namely: (i) Stakeholder Mapping of the NBD/NDF member CSOs/NGOs, their partners and community in Cluster I countries of Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia (ii) Cooperation on the Nile; and (iii) Capacity building of NBD/NDF member CSOs/NGOs, partners and community on climate risk management. The NBD conducted its first national stakeholder mapping exercise in Khartoum – Sudan on February 23rd 2015.

The mapping in the three countries was coordinated and facilitated by a team of experts drawn from the NBD Secretariat and the respective National Discourse Forums. The Mapping exercise was launched in Sudan as a cost-effective mechanism by combining staff travel to and fro with the regional Nile day celebrations that took place in Sudan from 21-22 February 2015.

In a day-long stakeholder workshop, the NBD was able to perform and deliberate on three interrelated issues:

• First, undertaking the stakeholder mapping exercise, in order to understand their interests, relationships, capacities and communication modes.
• Second, creating a discussion platform on the issue of cooperation on the Nile, in collaboration with the NBI, to enhance public awareness and emphasize benefits of Nile cooperation to the basin communities
• Third, building the capacities of NBD/NDF member CSOs/NGOs, partners and community on climate risk management with the aim of engaging CSOs in social and climate change resilience

Over 100 stakeholders drawn from the Nile Discourse Forums (NDFs) comprising of current and potential member CSOs/NGOs, members from communities, together with partners from the government, private sector, universities and development partners were all in attendance during the stakeholder mapping and capacity building exercises.

In this quarter, NBD keenly participated in activities related to cooperation on the Nile, where it joined the NBI and the rest of the Nile riparian states for the celebrations of the 9th Nile day that took place on 21st and 22nd February 2015 in Khartoum, Sudan.

In addition, NBD contributed to the process and discussions towards the Nile Basin media awards slated to take place in Dodoma –Tanzania in June 2015. In collaboration with NBI, GWP-EA, GIZ, DW Radio, NBD confirmed that at the June 2015 media awards, it planned to award one of the winners in radio media.

NBD ear-marked the radio media as it enhances access to grass root communities in the Nile basin that neither have the luxury of reading news papers, nor have total access to them, but only access local radio broadcasts.
"The wave length of a radio in a room reaches every ear that can hear"

Happy reading! 

Dr. Hellen Natu, NBD Regional Manager

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