The first Cairo Water Week (CWW) will take place in Cairo, from 14 to 18 October, under the theme "Water Conservation for Sustainable Development". The CWW is organised by the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources. The week will be attended by a number of water leaders, experts, and decision makers representing over 100 countries, coming together to discuss, and share their ideas on prominent water-related issues. The CWW will promote water awareness, foster new thinking about pressing water-related challenges, and take actions towards integrated water resources management and conservation for sustainable development, according to an announcement from the Ministry. Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty, said that the week will cover five interrelated topics: ‘Water Management for Sustainable Development', ‘Climate Change and Environment', ‘Transboundary Water Governance and Benefit Sharing', ‘Water Scarcity, Health, Sanitation Challenges and Opportunities,' and ‘Science, Technology, and Innovation' accosting to CWW's official website agenda. Abdel Aty added that the MENA is the world's most water-scarce region, and that the situation is worsening due to the impacts of climate change. He further explained that the CWW will provide an excellent platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, technologies, and ideas to promote sustainable development through different methods of water conservation, all while adding benefits for participants as well. As part of the week, the Ministry, in cooperation with the EU, will honour the winners of the National Competition for Water Conservation. The competition aims to support strategic national efforts and initiatives to protect and conserve water resources, and is conducted among three groups that are vital to the achievement this objective: youth, farmers, and the press.
