Building on the success of its previous two editions, the Cairo Water Week 2020 was held for the third time in a hybrid format in the period 18-22 October 2020. Under the overarching theme Water Security for Peace and Development in Arid Regions - The Road to Dakar 2021, it brought together key institutions from the Arab world, Europe and Africa, and more than 1200 participants from across the globe.
To read about the 2nd EU-UfM Water Governance & Business Forum, click here.
To read about the on Women in Water Diplomacy in the MENA session, click here.
Building on the success of two previous Fora (in 2018 and 2019), the 3rd Af-YWPF was hosted at the Cairo Water Week 2020 and brought together 61 Young Professionals from across Africa. The three-day (19-21 October) closed event included the Forum meeting, training workshop and convergence with activities of the Cairo Water Week 2020 to give Young Professionals the opportunity to engage with experts and stakeholders in the water sector through interactive sessions, hands-on training workshops as well as seminars/sessions.
In this framework, GWP-Med led the organisation of Session 5 on October 20 (14:30-16:00 CET), aiming to mobilise African Young Water Professionals towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on addressing gender issues in water management. This closed session benefitted from dedicated expert presentations and concrete case studies from within the Af-YWPF network, while interactive discussion explored ways to support the engendering of the Young Professionals’ work. The session drew largely on the gender transformative approach for climate resilient water investments in Africa of the Water Climate and Development - Gender (WACDEP-G) programme that also financially supported the session.
Having attracted more than 2800 members from all African countries, the African Young Water Professionals Forum (Af-YWPF) has become an important platform on the African continent for capacity development of Africa’s future leaders in water-related sectors. It was set up by the decision of the African Regional Working Group (AFRWG) of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) aiming to young water professionals. GWP-Med has been a partner to the Af-YWPF since its establishment in 2018, hosted during the 1st Cairo Water Week.
