Geneva Peace Week 2020 – Intergenerational Dialogue on the Role of Water in Environmental Peacebuilding

On November 6, we participated in the entirely virtual version of Geneva Peace Week 2020. This normally face-to-face event brought together thousands of participants and 38 international organizations for discussions and presentations on the role that everyone has to play in conflict resolution and peacekeeping.

In partnership with the Geneva Water Hub and the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, we organized an intergenerational dialogue session on the role of water in environmental peacebuilding.

With over 100 participants, panelists discussed the role of water as an instrument of peace and how youth can be a driving force for change in local communities.

The objective of the session was to highlight the serious challenge of water management in the coming years as climate change, increased water use, and a growing world population will only exacerbate water stress.

The inclusion of youth in addressing these challenges is fundamental to our success, as societies, in meeting these challenges that we can already anticipate. This intergenerational dialogue session was thus a platform to explore the role of youth in the development of global and local water policies.

The participants:

Moderator: Diana Rizzolio, Coordinator, GEN/UNEP

Panelists:

François Münger, General Director, Geneva Water Hub

Joyce Mendez, World Youth Parliament for Water

Carl Bruch, Director of International Programs at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and Founding President of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Quentin Parent, Young Expert, Geneva Water Hub

Alvaro Umaña, Former Minister of Energy and Environment of Costa Rica, OAS

Flamay Ahiafor, President of the National Youth Parliament for Water of Togo,

Jean Bosco Bazié, General Director, Eau Vive Internationale

Laurie Fourneaux, Youth Programs Coordinator, International Secretariat for Water

Many thanks to our partners, Geneva Water Hub, Environmental Peacebuilding Association, World Youth Parliament for Water and Blue Peace, and to Geneva Peace Week for organizing the event.