13 2016 More projects inIndia withthe VicenteFerrer Foundation More than 800 families from the state of Andhra Pradesh will benefit The We Are Water Foundation signed in 2015 a new collaborationagreementwiththeVicenteFerrerFoundation tofinancetwocooperationprojectsinthestateofAndhra Pradesh.Thepurposeofthefirstoneistheconstruction ofeightnewdrinkingwaterwellsintheareasofGooty, Rapthadu,PamidiandB.K.Samudram,alloftheminthe B.K.Samudramregion. Thankstothiscollaboration,themostdisadvantaged communitiesoftheseareasarebenefitingthroughthe excavationofwellsandtheinstallationofeighthandwater TheWeAreWaterFoundationfinancestwocooperationprojectsinthestateofAndhraPradesh. pumpsforthe drawing ofdrinking water.Each of them provideswatertobetween75and100families,whichirrigation systems that work using solar energy. The project will Narpala,locatedintheB.K.SamudramandKadiriregions. correspondstoapopulationofbetween300and400 becarriedoutinthesamestateofAndhraPradesh,aregion Solarenergyalsopresentsseveraladvantagesinthese people. Intotal,thewellswillsupply824families. wheretheVicenteFerrerFoundationworks.Dripirrigation ruralareas.Solarenergyplantsusethesun’senergy, Thelackofaccesstodrinkingwaterisaseriousproblem consistsofirrigatingplantsdripbydripclosetotheroot,a connectingittothepumpsthatextracttheunderground insomeareasofIndia. InthestateofAndhraPradesh, methodthatreducesthelossofwaterduetofiltrationand waterandallowthedripsystemtobeactivated. theriversPennar,HagariandChitravathiremaindryforevaporation. It also allows fertilisers to be mixedwith the water, Thecreationofinfrastructurethatprovidessmallfarmland months,especiallybetweenJuneandNovember,dueto achievinggreatereffectivenessandbetterresultsinthequality ownersaccesstoirrigationwaterisfundamental,asit thescarcerains.Furthermore,thegroundwaterandthe oftheharvests.All inall,thissystemallowsawatersavingof allowsasupplyofworktobecreatedthatissufficientfor rivershaveahighlevelofcontamination. upto75%comparedwithtraditional irrigationsystems. themostdisadvantagedfamiliestoremainintheirvillages Thegoalofthesecondproject,whichhasthecollaboration Thisfacilitywillbenefitfamiliesofpeasantsdedicated andnottofeelobligedtoemigratetothelargecities. oftheWeAreWaterFoundation, istheinstallationofdrip tohorticultureintheareasofGooty,Nallacheruvuand TheWe Are Water Foundation awardeda prizebytheEuropean Meteorology Society Honourable mention for its communication strategy The fifth annual meeting of the European Meteorological Society (EMS)and the12thEuropeanConferenceon MeteorologyApplications(ECAM)tookplaceinSeptember 2015inSofia,Bulgaria. Inthiscontext,theprizesfor MeteorologicalCommunication2015wereawarded.The EMSawardedtheWeAreWaterFoundationanhonourable mentionforitscommunicationindifferentactivities.Among them,theWeArtWaterFilmFestivalstoodoutasaproject forraisingawarenessamongthepopulationoftheproblem GroupofattendeesatthefifthannualmeetingoftheEuropeanMeteorologicalSociety(EMS)andthe ofwaterintheworld. 12thEuropeanConferenceonApplicationsofMeteorology(ECAM). Themeeting,heldfrom5to11September,welcomed aroundtheworldmettodebatetheimprovementofthe Amongotheraspects,themeteorologistsgatheredinSofía around500participantsfrom40countries.Underthe predictionofmeteorologicalphenomenaandbetteralerting presentedmodernNWP’s(NumericalWeatherPredictions), slogan“Highimpactweatherandhydrologicalhazards: governments,theagenciesinvolvedandthepopulationin digitalmodelsthatareusedtoprovidepredictionsorto fromobservationtoimpactmitigation”,scientistsfrom ordertomitigatethepossibledamagestheycancause. optimiseobservations. 19