A new podcast searching for the sources of the Nile

The Nile Water Lab features a new podcast on media, science and water diplomacy: The Sources of the Nile. In the past, searching for the sources of the Nile was a major geopolitical venture to ensure colonial control of downstream countries. Our concern is different of course! We will be searching for a very specific source of the Nile: the sources that media use to communicate about this river.

Every month we will talk to journalists and researchers from different Nile countries to discuss the media coverage of hot topics like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. As researchers, we have a particular interest in understanding the role that scientific communication plays in these debate. But we will also invite film makers, musicians and communication experts to learn more about how the Nile is portrayed in popular culture, arts and different media. One river and one basin, but many countries and peoples that call the Nile with different names and have different perspectives on how to share its waters. A specific section of the podcast, “Voices of the Nile”, will try to give a flavour of this plurality.

In the first episode Zaki Shubber introduces the concept of water diplomacy, a quite new term to deal with a very old problem: conflicts over shared waters between different political entities at various scales – local, national, regional. In the second part, Yasir Mohamed  reflects on his experience as hydrologist working in Sudan and on the role that science plays in Nile hydropolitics. I hope you will enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording!

This podcast is an initiative of the project Open Water Diplomacy. Media, science and transboundary cooperation in the Nile basin supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Global Parthnership for Water and Development. This is the first podcast in the history of IHE Delft (!) and also my first experience in hosting one. So your feedback and suggestions will be much appreciated.

There are several people to aknwoledge for making this possible. First of all Emilie Buist, Master student in Science Communication and Water management at TU Delft, who followed all the process, from initial planning to the final editing. We would also like to thank The Nile Project for allowing us to use their music and for their inspiring work, as well as Nicholas Walton, Molly Quell and Ewoud Kok for their useful tips about the world of podcasts!

…and the journey continues: stay tuned on Soundcloud and the Nile Water Lab!

Featured image: “Nile” by Игорь М licensed under CC BY 2.0