Date
28 Oct 2020
Location
Beirut
After Amman (2016) and Barcelona (2018), we have initially decided to host our third edition of AMWAJ Forum in the Lebanese capital: Beirut. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing global health crisis, we had to adapt and innovate our program to become a digitally-immersive learning experience spanning over 2 days on October 28-29, 2020.
Join us in building the Mediterranean water and energy community by empowering the next generation of journalists, researchers and entrepreneurs for a more sustainable world. This shared geographic space comprises the 43 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and is at the crossroads of three continents bringing together hundreds of millions of people. The Mediterranean is the most water scarce region in the world facing tremendous demographic and socioeconomic challenges.
Happening in parallel to the event, AMWAJ partnered with CEWAS Middle East to organize a Water and Energy Mediathon. The Mediathon is specifically designed for journalists and communications experts to come up with innovative campaigns to raise awareness and increase demand for sustainable water and energy solutions. Following discussion panel 2 on October 29, the teams will be pitching to a jury panel, who will decide on 2 winning teams to be awarded the sum of $5,000 as seed funding for their projects.
AMWAJ focuses on promoting knowledge exchange, enabling challenging discussions, and strengthening partnerships and networks through capacity building workshops. To communicate accurately and effectively the value of water and to influence policy-making constructively, AMWAJ offers the following agenda:
Discussion Panel 1 | Regional Cooperation on Water and Energy in the Mediterranean
October 28, 14:00-17:30 CET
The Mediterranean region is at a crossroads. The water and energy sectors are linked by an indisputable bond, which shapes and influences every aspect of our existence. Water scarcity presents fundamental challenges to stability and resilience in the context of climate change while expanding renewable energy is crucial to ensuring the region’s clean energy future. With multiple challenges facing the region such as air pollution, dependency on fossil fuels, rapid urbanization, and population growth, the need for cross-border integrated efforts is imminent. Achieving joint sustainability in both sectors can be a key vector of cooperation and integration, in a region that is in dire need of new management models for sustainability. Thus, governments and stakeholders must amplify the implementation of reforms and develop gradual harmonization of policies and regulatory frameworks between countries. Specifically, the region must adopt a series of mitigation and resilience-building measures to face the challenges created by climate change.
Discussion Panel 2 | Innovative, Youth-driven Solutions for Water and Energy in the Mediterranean
October 29, 9:30-11:30 CET
Water and Energy entrepreneurship provides localized and affordable services to underserved communities, typically left out of the WASH and energy markets. Through continued training, formalization, and investment, entrepreneurs can better link community demand to the private sector supply. Such synergies could provide the startup ecosystem with the support it needs to create a long-term sustainable impact that is driven by innovation on the fronts of clean and renewable energy, water conservation and management, infrastructure, and many more.
*The official list of speakers and moderators will be publicly announced at a later stage.
As part of AMWAJ Live, the organizers are planning a tree-planting activity in Beirut in November which will soon be open for volunteers and donations.
Register today