• Colorado State University

Water for the People: Gender, Human Rights, and Diplomacy

Explore how access to water relates to gender and human rights with this online course.

4,573 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    3 weeks

  • Weekly study

    3 hours
Overview
Requirements
Educators
Try it
More courses

Other courses you might like

This course isn't running right now. We can email you when it starts again, or check out these other courses you might like.

University of Leeds
New

Sustainability in Business: Building a Greener Future

3 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
University of Leeds

Environmental Challenges: Scarcity and Conflict in the Natural Environment

4.8 (12 reviews)

2 weeks

5 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
Deakin University
New

Getting Started with Sustainability and the Circular Economy

2 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more

Browse more in Nature & Environment and Science, Engineering & Maths

View all courses

Find the right course for you

See your personalised recommendations based on your interests and goals.

Get started

Understand the complexities of access to water

We all need water every day, yet 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water. For many, obtaining water for their families is a difficult, time-consuming task, falling heavily on the shoulders of women and girls. There is widespread agreement that people have a basic human right to the water needed to sustain life, yet this right has not been realized for nearly 1 of every 7 people on earth.

On this course you will learn about the issues of gender inequality and human rights in relation to water, and the diplomatic efforts that are helping to improve access to water.

Download video: standard or HD

Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds We all need water every day. For most, obtaining water is as simple as turning on the tap, but for hundreds of millions of people not served by water distribution systems, fetching water can be an arduous chore that consumes hours each day. The burden of this chore typically falls disproportionately on women and girls, who make sacrifices in other areas of their lives in order to focus on water. Is access to clean safe water a basic human right, or is water a commodity to be bought and sold for a profit? How do nations that share water resources negotiate equitable agreements to allocate that water among them?

Skip to 0 minutes and 52 seconds These are some of the topics we’ll be addressing in this course, Water for the People, Gender, Human Rights, and Diplomacy. We hope you’ll join us.

What topics will you cover?

  • Gender inequality in relation to water: How and why do women and girls bear the brunt of water scarcity?
  • Is water a human right? How has the human right to water been defined? What is the reality?
  • Is water a commodity to be bought and sold for a profit?
  • How has globalization affected access to water for the people?
  • How do nations work together to forge bilateral or multi-lateral agreements promoting access to water?

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explore how water has been regarded as a human right
  • Discuss bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts to improve access to water.
  • Discuss the impacts of globalization and privatization on access to safe drinking water.
  • Describe how the impacts of water scarcity fall disproportionately on the female gender.

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone interested in learning about human rights, access to water and diplomacy. You don’t need any past experience.

Who will you learn with?

Glenn Patterson

Hi! I'm a hydrologist, with a recent Ph.D. in watershed science from Colorado State University, and a previous career with the U.S. Geological Survey where I worked on water quality and quantity.

Who developed the course?

Colorado State University

Colorado State University, a land-grant institution and a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive, is one of the United States’ leading research universities.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Get a taste of this course

Find out what this course is like by previewing some of the course steps before you join:

2.7
article

The Trend toward Privatization of Water Utilities

3.7
article

International Non-profits and Water

3.11
article

Latin America

Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...

You can use the hashtag #FLwaterforthepeople to talk about this course on social media.