Marie Aislinn Cabriole awarded Vera Thiess Fellowship for Women

26 Sep Marie Aislinn Cabriole awarded Vera Thiess Fellowship for Women

The International RiverFoundation has awarded the latest Vera Thiess Fellowship for Women to Marie Aislinn Cabriole of the Philippines.

Marie Aislinn Cabriole currently works in the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Philippines, as its Operations Engineer, contributing to the country’s irrigation development by monitoring and evaluating the status of the region. Marie studied a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, and after graduating from university, she soon experienced the way female engineers were not given the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

Through the Vera Thiess Fellowship, Marie wishes to empower women in the water sector by collaborating with the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC, Philippines) to strengthen the role of women in the rehabilitation and management of Pasig River. Activities will be focused on community involvement, gender mainstreaming, water leadership, and sustainable river/urban communities, and Marie will collaborate with several other Thiess International Riverprize finalists in Australia, the USA, UK and Europe, to learn more about successful river management projects.

The Vera Thiess Fellowship gives women the opportunity to gain valuable work experience through the International RiverFoundation and its partners, with the goal of advancing women’s participation in water and river management. This fellowship goes not only towards supporting a scholar, but towards continuing the important work of bridging the gap in women’s participation in river basin management. It honours the late Vera Thiess, a long-time supporter of the International RiverFoundation.

Marie received the award at the Riverprize Gala Dinner held in Brisbane in conjunction with the 20th International Riversymposium and Environmental Flows Conference.