Public institutions, universities and international bodies gather to boost developing nations' water management capacity

Korea Water Resources Corporation, known as K-water, hosted the 4th Songsan Global Cooperation Forum on Tuesday at Seoul Square Building in Jung-gu, Seoul, drawing more than 50 representatives from public institutions, universities and international organizations.

The forum was organized to discuss education and cooperation strategies for strengthening developing countries' capacity to manage water resources and respond to climate change, amid growing complexity in water management driven by the climate crisis and digital transformation.

Beyond core member institutions, the forum brought together international cooperation and policy experts from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Seoul Policy Centre.

Participating organizations shared priorities for official development assistance (ODA) projects and key international cooperation challenges, and discussed ways to collaborate on resolving water and climate-related issues facing developing nations.

With the forum approaching its second anniversary, participants also outlined a medium- to long-term direction for its operations.

The plan calls for expanding membership to international organizations based in South Korea and private companies, and elevating the forum into a global knowledge-exchange platform by linking it to major international conferences such as the Korea International Water Week (KIWW) and the Asia International Water Week (AIWW).

K-water said it plans to continue expanding its international education programs and sustaining close cooperation and program operations with partner institutions.

Ko Yeong-gong, head of K-water's Human Resources Development Institute, said that as the climate crisis and water challenges become increasingly intertwined, building self-sustaining response capacity in developing countries requires a combination of field experience, education and international cooperation. "We will continue to expand an effective global cooperation model, drawing on K-water's accumulated educational expertise and the strong inter-agency networks we have built," he said.

K-water has trained more than 6,600 international education graduates from 125 countries since 1997, and has been expanding its multilateral cooperation network through the Songsan Global Education Center, which opened in 2022. Since launching the Songsan Global Cooperation Forum in November 2024, the corporation has held the forum once every six months, building a foundation for collaboration with key member institutions — including the Korea Rural Community Corporation's Human Resources Development Institute, the University of Seoul, Hanyang University's ERICA campus and the UNESCO International Centre for Water Security and Sustainable Management (i-WSSM) — to pool expertise in education and policy.