As a woman who has been working for women's rights for more than 20 years and participated in hundreds of training sessions, meeting and round tables, Mirela Arqimandriti has met women from all over Albania who work in industry, service sector or public sector – such as women workers in textile and shoe factories, agriculture, health, education etc. She says that having safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation is central to human rights and the personal dignity of every woman, man and child on earth. A collaborator of GWP Mediterranean, Mirela celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD2020) by sharing her story.
Kholoud Al-Ajarma is a Programme Manager for Lajee Center in Palestine, a Winner of the Water Heroes Contest, and collaborator to GWP Mediterranean. “My interest in water started from a human rights perspective. I believed that water is not only a science concern, but to have a better future in water management, all segments of society should collaborate to ensure water access to everyone and to raise awareness about water management and consumption among local communities,” she says. Today, her main motivation in is to ensure environmental justice for everyone. She shares her story in celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD2020).
The “1st Nexus Roundtable in the MENA and wider Mediterranean” will be held on 26-28 November 2018, in Beirut, Lebanon, at the Hilton Beirut Metropolitan Palace, under the auspices of the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water and in partnership with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP MAP).
Building on their long-lasting cooperation, the Global Water Partnership Mediterranean (GWP-Med) and the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources & Fishery (MARHP) signed a framework MoU to promote and facilitate the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) with a strengthened participation of water stakeholders in Tunisia, both at local level, national and transboundary level.
The crucial role of water ecosystems -and especially coastal wetlands- in Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and the policy options on how to best protect and valorize them through a Nexus approach were discussed at a session co-convened by the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med) and Wetlands International during the recent World Water Week in Stockholm (27-31 August 2018).
The World Water Week, held every year in Stockholm, is considered the major global annual event dedicated to water issues. More than 1200 speakers and presenters together with hundreds of participants more, will take part in its almost 300 sessions. The theme of this year’s Week (26-31 August) is “Water, Ecosystems and Human Development”. As in previous years, GWP-Med serves as the overall coordinator for the “MENA Focus” sessions dedicated to water-related issues in the Middle East & North Africa Region.
A set of structured and operational meetings took place on 3-4 May 2018, in Brussels, in the premises of the European Commission, with the aim to progress on the work of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Water Agenda and its Financial Strategy.
Aiming to make the youth’s voice heard in view of integrated water resources management, climate change adaptation and sustainable development, GWP-Med facilitates a youth dialogue entitled “Tunisia Youth mobilized for water and climate”. The dialogue started with a first workshop on 26th December 2017 and is continuing with a second workshop on the 25th May 2018, Tunis, Tunisia.