Creative media can have considerable impact in a didactic or policy practice. For the 5th World Water Forum, held in Istanbul in 2009, we collaborated with different Southern Water Networks to script and stage a quiz, which we called the “Mister Hydrocrat Show”. A white, elderly male engineer hosted this game-show in which three female water professionals from different regions participated to test their water knowledge.

This led up to a dramatic and humorous confrontation, after which the male expert authority had to descend from his game throne and all-knowing position and reintegrate himself on more egalitarian grounds into a debate on regional, interdisciplinary, and gendered approaches in water education and policy advocacy.

The audience of water professionals and policy makers applauded, cheered and gave us love.