Lazos de Agua seminars, conferences and on-site and virtual events

August 22nd - 2023

SIWI World Water Week 2022
Securing Universal WASH Services Through Effective Governance and Social Innovation

This session focused on innovative behaviors and successful experiences in adapting WASH programs for sustainable service provision in vulnerable areas, such as informal settlements, peri-urban and rural areas. It also explored the role of innovative policies and regulations to ensure quality and resilient services. 

With the participation of:

• Ernenek Duran, Senior Director of Programs, Latin America, One Drop Foundation
• Germán Sturzenegger, Water and Sanitation Lead Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank
• Florencia Rieiro, Programme Officer SIWI
• Gisela Murrugarra, Country Director for Perú, Water for People
• Alejandro Jimenez, WASH Department Director, SIWI
• Sunny Guidotti, LAC Regional Office, WASH and CEED
• Leonellha Berreta Dillon, Regional Director, CEWAS
• Isabelle Viens, Senior Expert, Social Art for Behaviour Change, One Drop Foundation
• Eva Manzano, Senior Manager, WASH Services, Latin America and the Caribbean, CAWST
• Pedro Ogando Dos Santos, WASH & CEED Specialist, UNICEF Venezuela
• Edrulfo Gutierrez, Program Officer, JICA Nicaragua

August 20th - 2023

SIWI World Water Week 2022
The Story and Success of an Innovative WASH Program in Latin America

An immersive experience that explores the past, present and future of Lazos de Agua, an innovative WASH Program that recently surpassed nearly all its objectives in Latin America. Discover the many forms that social innovation can take within the framework of sustainable WASH initiatives!

With the participation of:

• Ana Laura Elizondo, Head of Water Security Projects, Femsa Foundation 
• Anamaría Nuñez, Communications Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank
• Ernenek Duran, Senior Director of Programs, Latin America, One Drop Foundation

March 23rd - 2023

Be the Drop that Shapes the Wave

In the framework of the United Nations 2023 Water Conference, Lazos de Agua Program partners co-hosted an official side event: "Be the Drop that Shapes the Wave". Participants in this session immersed themselves in the Social Art for Behaviour Change™ (SABC) approach of the One Drop Foundation as part of the unveiling of an art installation centred on the theme of water. The installation, created jointly over two months, brought together artists from the Latin American region and New York-based artist Inma Barrero, as well as stakeholders from various sectors of action.

As part of this event, FEMSA Foundation, the One Drop Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank announced their commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6, through the development and support of programmes such as Lazos de Agua, which will enable sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for more than 1 million people across Latin America by the end of 2030. In announcing this ambitious goal, a call to action was made for more organisations to join the ongoing initiative to improve living conditions in the area.

November 28th and 29th - 2022

Lazos de Agua Program Culmination Event

August 24th - 2022

SIWI World Water Week 2022
Enabling development through the power of Water and Art

Access to water is essential for development; yet for it to happen, people need to be at the centre of every action. Very often, WASH programs centre their efforts on infrastructure and capacity building using traditional methods. By contrast, Lazos de Agua co-creates solutions with/by/for the community, considering their culture and uniqueness, thereby enabling development through the power of water and art.

By giving a voice to different stakeholders of the Lazos de Agua Program, this session showcases the value of its systemic approach, its results, and the relevance of cross-sector collaboration to demonstrate that things can be done differently. Using creative and unique soundscapes, the session sets the atmosphere for the audience while explaining the framework of the session: Inspire, Activate, & Sustain.

With the participation of:

• Ana Laura Elizondo, Head of Water Security Projects, Femsa Foundation 
• Isabelle Viens, Social Art for Behaviour Change Expert, One Drop Foundation

Pre-recorded (among others):

• Sergio Campos, Chief, Water and Sanitation Division, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
• German Sturzenegger, Water and Sanitation Lead Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
• Carlos Hurtado, Manager of Sustainable Development, Femsa Foundation
• Andrea Mota, Sustainability Director Latina America, The Coca-Cola Company
• Ernenek Duran, Senior Director of Programs Latin America, One Drop Foundation

August 30th - 2022

SIWI World Water Week 2022
Maximizing the development value of water

Adequate access to water as well as an adequate level of service are key for human and economic development. However, rural and other vulnerable populations in LAC face challenges, including last-mile challenges, that prevent the full materialization of the benefits associated with access to WASH services. This session explores different tools and mechanisms to increase the impact and sustainability of water and sanitation investments, such as water tariff schemes that ensure sustainable service provision, systemic incentives for household sanitation, innovative and participatory behavioural change approaches, and tools to transform communites' perceptions of good hygiene practices, adequate water use, etc. Evidence-based cases were presented during the session.

With the participation of:

• Ernenek Duran, One Drop Foundation / Lazos de Agua
• Anna Zisa, One Drop Foundation / Lazos de Agua
• Yusuke Teraoka, Japan International Cooperation Agency
• Edgar Fajardo, UNICEF, Guatemala
• Gisella Murrugarra, Water For People, Peru
• Myriame Dorfeuille, DINEPA, Haiti
• Esther Martínez Bahena, CONAGUA

March 11th - 2022

Colorado Wash Symposium 2022
Stories beyond numbers

Virtual session "Stories beyond numbers" where the mission of the foundation and the particular approach of Social Art for Behavior Change (SABC) applied to Lazos de Agua Program were shared, in which outcomes (increased WASH service to households and increased practice of important behaviors) and mid-term outcomes were measured globally, with particular focus on how community members were interviewed to measure the outcomes they believe took place in their lives from participation in SABC activities using the Sprockler tool.

The session was attended by:

• Anna Zisa , Manager Evaluation, Monitoring, Research and Learning, One Drop Foundation

August 25th - 2021

SIWI World Water Week 2021

The stories behind the numbers: the importance of monitoring

Virtual session "The stories behind the numbers" analyzed the importance of monitoring programs implemented from a systemic perspective, where evaluation is also a challenge due to multiple variables, .

With the participation of

• Ernenek Durán, Lazos de Agua Program director.
• German Sturzenegger, water and sanitation specialist and leader at the Inter-American Development Bank.
• Sheila Torres, specialist in monitoring models at the Moisés Bertoni Foundation in Paraguay.
• Raïsa Mirza, director of innovation and knowledge studies at the One Drop Foundation. 
• Lorena Guillé-Laris, FEMSA Foundation director.

March 12th - 2021

Colorado WASH Symposium 2021

"Handwashing and social art, a response to covid-19."

The Quiche Program presented at the Colorado WASH Symposium the session "Handwashing from a Social Art for Behaviour Change (SABC) Approach - A response to covid-19".

Emilio Gómez, SABC consultant at the One Drop Foundation and former SABC coordinator of Lazos de Agua initiative in Guatemala, outlined some of the actions it implemented between 2015 and 2020 to mobilize communities around hand-washing with soap and water at key moments.

The social art processes have been timely to counteract covid-19, as they have laid the foundations in the communities to take on challenges such as those presented during the pandemic.

March 12th - 2021

Colorado WASH Symposium 2021

"Strengthening community Leaders of Change through social art in Mexico".

Cinthia Cornejo, coordinator of Guanajuato project, presented a poster on how this initiative mobilizes community leaders through the Social Art for Behavior Change approach, contributing to the adoption of healthy habits and the sustainability of access to water and sanitation services in rural populations in Guanajuato.

December 3rd - 2020

Facilitating Sustainable Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Rural Guatemala

On the occasion of Lazos de Agua initiative in Guatemala closing, we talked about key points for the execution of WASH projects and the successful implementation of the Quiché Program.

By sharing lessons learned and strategic actions, this webinar will address:

• Before and now of communities participation.
• Integration of implementation and sustainability models.
• Coordination and participation of local authorities.
• Behavior change through social art.
• Integral operations and sustainability: access to water and use of non-conventional systems.

July 8th - 2020

Communicating good behaviours during pandemic times

The director of the Lazos de Agua Program along with experts from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Sesame Workshop, spoke about good water and hygiene behaviors during pandemic times from an academic, community and children's education approach in this seminar organized by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Ernenek Duran, director of the Lazos de Agua Program, described how Social Art for Behavior Change activities have been adapted in Lazos de Agua and showed two of the artistic creations developed with communities during the pandemic.

November 2019

Lab for Change

One Drop Lab for Change, a special edition of Lazos de Agua, took place in Mexico, where the Lazos de Agua Guanajuato Project is being developed. This project, aligned with the priorities of the state and national governments, and integrated into the state's rural water and sanitation program, will benefit 45.000 people.

A week working together to contribute to the fulfillment of SDG 6, focusing on increasing the sustainability of our projects and leveraging the Social Art for Behavior Change approach.

Partners from 13 projects on three continents, including the five Lazos de Agua initiatives, met in Mexico to strengthen the synergy between the Model A•B•C for Sustainability and their own models. 

This is an opportunity to learn more about the SABC approach, to take a critical look at our methods using concrete field experiences and to explore other innovative solutions to increase the sustainability of our projects.

A participatory learning experience in which Lazos de Agua implementation teams and other One Drop partners, (one of the Program founders), shared knowledge about creating effective solutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Discover how we innovate with the power of

Social Art for Behaviour Change^TM (SABC)