Biography Caroline Figuères

Caroline Figuères (Msc, National School for Water and Environmental Engineering (ENGEES), Strasbourg, France, 1985), from 1985 to 2002 has been working for a number of French and Dutch consulting companies, eventually moving to The Netherlands in 1989. Thanks to her involvement in short missions and projects in developing countries and in Europe, Ms Figuères gained an invaluable insight into international water and environmental problems. She has a broad experience in projects as advisor, including policy making, feasibility studies, project outlining and preparation, master planning, monitoring and evaluation, project development and financing, up to the strengthening of institutional capacity. 

In 1996 Ms Figuères founded IWACO-France, the French branch of the Dutch IWACO consulting company, and till 1999 she developed its corporate strategy. From 1999 to 2002, she has been working at Netherlands Engineering Consultants (NEDECO) as marketing manager and water expert. In 1999 she was chosen to participate in the next round of a water leadership programme. From 2002 to 2007 Ms Figuères has been Head of the Urban Water and Sanitation Department at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (Delft, The Netherlands) and member of the management team. She has been involved in various education and capacity building programmes in water and environmental sectors. She has implemented workshops and trainings in several countries mostly in Africa and Asia. Currently, Ms Figuères is Managing Director of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) based in The Hague, The Netherlands.