Forums
2018
WORLD WATER FORUM - Brasilia, brazil
In 2016, the Foundation was nominated as Vice-Chair of the Citizen Forum and a member in the International Steering Committee (ISC), in the 8th World Water Forum which was held Brasilia, Brazil. The foundation elaborated the concept of inclusive governance in water management.
The Forum moto was “Sharing”, the foundation emphasized on sharing human values, sharing responsibilities, and sharing cooperation between stakeholders, focusing on shifting the thinking from economic driven to social driven, and taking into consideration that the well being of the people is intrinsically linked to the well being of nature.
2030 agenda for Sustainable Development urges that no one will be left behind. The Goals and Targets of the SDGs are for all segments of society.
In this context,, the foundation strive since the first phase of the preparation of the forum to highlight the active civil society’s role within the forum, to ensure that people’s voice is heard, focusing on those most left behind.
And this for many reasons among which, because we believe that inclusion and empowerment are needed to change the current pattern of rising inequity and that engaging people to become agents of transformation in society is crucial to shape a peaceful world in harmony with nature.
This process was implemented in the Citizen Village Space, which was free of charge for the people, the People’s Voice short films which were screened in the formal thematic sessions, the hydro café space, where dialogues on controversial views were established between different sectors and segments of society. Moreover, the themes selected for the Process sessions were very informative, dynamic to find together solutions for the water challenges humanity is facing. And the Citizen process succeeded in giving the opportunity for civil society to be present and participate in all other sessions of the Forum.
2017
in the forum preparation process, the foundation attended several regional meetings to present the vision of the 8th forum CITIZEN PROCESS
EVENTS IN KOREA:
- 2017 Chuncheon Global Water Forum organized by Chuncheon Global Water Venue, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province.
The foundation, a co-chair of the citizen process, was invited to participate as a plenary key note speaker in the 2017 Chuncheon Global Water Forum. The presentation entitled The Global Water Governance through the 8th World Water Forum.
The foundation presented an overall review on global water governance, and described how the 8th Forum is tackling this issue through its central theme “Sharing Water”, and through its vision, its preparatory processes and activity programs. - Korea International Water Week (KIWW) organized by Korea Water Forum which is an annual water event, as a follow up after the 7th World Water Forum.
Venue: Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Convention Center.
The foundation participated in the Korean NGO Network Forum as an event integrated in the KIWW. The presentation entitled: the 8th World Water Forum Citizen Process, tackled a detailed description on the structure of the Process, its vision, objectives, program proposals, the pre-forum activities, the sessions axes, the engagement mechanism of the Korean civil society organizations into the process, and gave a detailed description the Citizens’ Village concept conceived by the Citizen Process. - The Ecological River and the future of the Millennium city, Gyongju organized by the Korean Watershed Environment Society.
The Foundation’s presentation entitled: Citizens’ participation through “IWRM” described the concept of IWRM, tackled the momentum of engaging the citizens through the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, the concept of Social Capital.
2018
Pre Forum event in Central asia
Central Asia towards Brazil 2018
The foundation, as co-chair of the Citizen Process, attended the preparatory citizens forum “Central Asia towards Brazil 2018” in Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan on 14-15 of February 2018.
The main message conveyed, was the commitment to call upon the creation of an enabling environment for the civil society inclusive and meaningful contribution to the sustainable use and management of our precious water resources.
The foundation highlighted the process close contact with UN-HLP for water regarding MSH Partnership for inclusive and participatory water governance, striving to include civil society engagement in water management in the final recommendations of this high level panel on water.
The foundation strongly believes that it is important to include local stakeholders in all stage if water resources management, as they know their environment and the changes in their area, and they understand the community and their needs.
They also guarantee the sustainability of projects and their integration into policy and assimilation in the community itself.
The foundation emphasized on the social Capital which can be defined as: the internal social and cultural coherence of society, the norms and values that govern interactions between people, and the institutions in which they are embedded, establishing a specific session on this concept in Citizen Process Program.
The foundation highlighted the citizens role showing how much the civil society groups are much needed to fulfill their role as watchdogs, to strengthen the ethical components and advocacy for the rights of the ones that have been, till now, left behind.
2018
Mediterranean Water Forum
The foundation, as co-chair of the citizen process, participated in the 3rd Mediterranean Water Forum. help in Cairo on the 22nd of January until the 24th of January 2018, under the theme “Water Sharing & Cooperation: Future of the Mediterranean” under the coordination of IME and the Secretariat of Union of the Mediterranean, with the support of the National Water Research Center from Egypt.
The results of the work groups’ activities, the panel and other events served to significantly enhance the regional Mediterranean report prior to its presentation during the 8th World Water Forum.
The foundation participated in the working group on “Finance for sustainable development” presenting the key messages from the citizen process with 2030 agenda for sustainable development to strive on all of society engagement and partnership. The foundation highlighted the benefits and challenges of the inclusive governance and the mechanisms of public engagement in water management.
Emphasize was also set on the Social Capital and its added value in water management decisions, and called upon a new vision of IWRM to be more effective only if we reduce the emphasis on the economic component and focus on sustainability and social justice considerations. The most effective way will be through public-citizen / public community partnerships.
The foundation called upon a strong transformation and empowerment of the civil Society groups, and expressed the importance of securing the necessary funds to establish a transparent mechanism for social inclusion in water management, awareness campaigns and capacity building for all social groups on water issues and challenges, including climate change.