15 science and policy experts from various southern countries and 4 Dutch young professionals worked together on water-related climate change adaptation issues during a one-week workshop from 18- 23 June 2011. Delta Alliance hosted a session about climate tools and methods on the 18th of June. Six presentations were given, including an introduction about Delta Alliance by the program manager, Mr. Wim van Driel. Various hydrological models were presented as well as impact models on freshwater resources and strategic environmental assessment methodologies. The need for detailed climate change impact analysis in order to come to sufficient mitigation and adaptation policies was emphasized during the session.

The visit was organized by the Knowledge Network on Sustainability, Climate and Energy, an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the dialogue was threefold:

1. To perform a “peer assist” in which Southern colleagues and young and upcoming professionals review the relevance of Dutch knowledge on water-related climate change adaptation for developing country needs whilst engaging in a dialogue and mutual exchange
2. To create a better understanding and match of supply and demand of knowledge on water-related adaptation, and 
3. To broker three-way relations on water-related climate change adaptation among young professionals and academics from developing countries, professionals and institutes in The Netherlands and bilateral development programmes

Master classes in the morning and participatory workshops in the afternoon were organized in order to come up with recommendations on knowledge exchange. The participants from Mozambique, Ghana, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kenya, Indonesia and The Netherlands identified the following focus areas for knowledge exchange based on their experience during the workshops:

• Support networks. Partnerships need to be established not only between southern and northern countries, but also between southern countries
• Awareness raising. Both national governments and citizens need to be informed about risks of climate change, solutions, adaptation and mitigation options and the connections between water, climate and food issues
• Knowledge development. Development of climate change scenario models, tailored models for vulnerable areas and data gathering in data scarce areas
• Knowledge sharing. Information needs to be shared about available climate data, impact and risk assessment models, funding strategies and cost-effective adaptation measures

As Delta Alliance aims to exchange knowledge on delta-related issues in order to improve the resilience of the worlds’ deltas, the recommendations following the north-south dialogue confirm the need for a worldwide network of knowledge exchange.