IWA is pleased to announce that a delegation of its Young Water Professional members will attend a high-level UN Water Conference in Tajikistan.

The Second International High-Level Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, will be held on 6-9 June 2022 in Kokhi Somon, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Organised by the Government of Tajikistan with the support of the United Nations and other partners, the Conference, which is part of the so-called “Dushanbe Water Process”, is one of the main events towards the upcoming UN-Water Conference in New York (22-24 March 2023).

The Second Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference will also serve as a platform to discuss how to engage youth in the water sector. The “Youth Water Forum” focuses on youth and its role in the implementation of the water agenda. The objective of the Forum is to mobilise young people from across the world, giving them a platform to advocate for the future of WASH. Given the strong focus on youth engagement, the International Water Association (IWA) will have a youth delegation attending the event with the aim of shaping the future of the water sector.

Commenting on the opportunity, Daniela Bemfica, IWA Director of Strategic Programmes and Engagement, adds: “this initiative reflects how IWA invests in young water professionals, considering them as the future water sector leaders“.

Emily Ryan, Jacob Amengor and Dr Farokh Laqa Kakar, young water professionals (YWPs) and members of the current IWA YWP Steering Committee, will attend the event alongside Isabela Espindola, IWA Membership Engagement Officer responsible for the YWP Community.

Emily Ryan, current chair of the IWA YWP Steering Committee, says that she is “thrilled that IWA YWPs have the opportunity to represent our work in the sector and to collaborate with other important youth groups and organisations in the water sector. Our participation in this conference is an essential step towards shaping a cohesive youth agenda in water“.

To Jacob Kwasi Amengor, the 2018 IWA Young Leadership Award Winner, “the Youth and Children Forum preceding the Dushanbe Water Process comes at a time that the voice and skill of the young generation are critically needed to create inclusive and sustainable interventions towards achieving universal access to clean water and safe sanitation. I look forward to sharing the impact that the IWA YWPs are making both locally and globally, and finding common interests for possible collaborations”.

To Dr Farokh Laqa Kakar, “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential in each sector, and the participation of children and youth from across the world in the Dushanbe Water Conference is an excellent example of working towards DEI. Advocating for the same matter, I am thrilled to share my experience about the importance of youth engagement in water at a local level”.

More information about the conference can be found here.

If you have any questions regarding the IWA YWP Community, please contact Isabela Espindola, IWA Membership Engagement Officer.

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