Geneva Peace Week

At the Geneva Peace Week, we organized, with our partners an “Intergenerational Dialogue on Water and Peace”. More than 70 participants came to the Palace of Nations in Geneva to share ideas on the theme of water as a vector of conflict but also, and most importantly, dialogue and cooperation

The event followed a format of three interactive dialogues between young professionals from the sector of water and experts, punctuated by exchanges with the public.

Imagine Blue Peace

As an introduction, our executive director, Sarah Dousse, presented the winner of the contest “Imagine Blue Peace”, which was possible through our partnership with our organization, the Geneva Water Hub and the World Youth Parliament for Water. It aimed to build on the fresh and innovative ideas of youth on the role of water as a tool of peace.

More than 130 submissions were received from across the world under a multitude of formats such as poems, dances or videos. The winning project “Water and Peace 2.0 Youth Outlook, 2019/ by Nataliya Chemayeva (Turkmenistan) was selected for its collaborative spirit between Central Asian youth and its positive message in a context in which water is truly a source of tension.

 

Intergenerational Dialogue

Under the format of interactive dialogues, three topics were covered. We made available our network of youth committed to water by mobilizing for this event, Amrita Gautam (Nepal) and Imad Antoine Ibrahim (Libya), both members of the World Youth Parliament for Water.

The first dialogue “Local and inclusive water management practices for conflict prevention” gathered Amrita Gautam and François Muenger, director of Geneva Water Hub. They discussed the importance of integrating youth and women in water resources management et underlined that this collaboration is essential to the establishment of sustainable solutions.

The second dialogue “Water in contemporary warfare from a civilian’s perspective” counted on the rich contributions from Elodie Feijoo Seara (Graduate Institute and member of the World Youth Parliament for Water) as well as Ronald Jaubert, professor at the Graduate Institute. The goal of the dialogue was to address the role of water access in the “new wars” and the impact of the weaponization of water on civilians.

The third and final dialogue “Fostering Transboundary Water Cooperation” gathered Imad Antoine Ibrahim as well as Mara Tignino, professor in International Water Law at the University of Geneva. The speakers explored the issues pertinent to water-related international law and the role of technology in water governance.

 

To learn more about Blue Peace: https://www.thebluepeace.org/

Thank-you to our partners:

World Youth Parliament for Water, Geneva Water Hub, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Blue Peace, Swiss Water Partnership, Université de Genève,   Geo Expertise