Nairobi, Kenya : almajdnews
The Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO), part of the Nile Basin Initiative, concluded its regional workshop held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, under the title: “Water Diplomacy, Media, and Gender,” with the participation of representatives from the Eastern Nile countries, along with experts in media, gender, and transboundary water issues. The three-day workshop aimed to enhance regional dialogue and build the capacities of participants on ways to manage shared water resources by linking water diplomacy with concepts of development media and equality.
The workshop featured the presentation of several papers and interactive sessions, most notably: a paper on “Media Ethics and Communication Principles” presented by media expert Faisal Mohamed Salih, which discussed the role of media in shaping public discourse on water issues; in addition to a presentation on the “Concept of Water Diplomacy” delivered by Engineer Feki Ahmed, former ENTRO director, which focused on tools for dialogue and conflict resolution between basin countries. A paper on “Gender in the Context of the Nile Basin” was also presented, along with a practical workshop on negotiation techniques and integrating gender into the project lifecycle of transboundary water initiatives, supervised by Ms. Elin Hagman.
The workshop also included group discussions on experiences of cooperation between basin countries and the challenges facing trust-building and information sharing, as well as working sessions through which national teams were formed to follow up on the implementation of the workshop recommendations and document successes under the “Enhancing Climate Resilience in the Eastern Nile Basin” project (NCCR). Participants came out with recommendations to strengthen information systems and improve data collection and analysis in support of fair and sustainable water resources management.
This workshop comes as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen regional integration among Eastern Nile Basin countries and to incorporate media and gender perspectives into water-related policies and programs. The Eastern Nile Basin includes four countries: Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. Cooperation among them is considered a key pillar in achieving water security and sustainable development in the region.
It is worth mentioning that Sudan participated with a delegation headed by Dr. Salah Hamad, Head of the Technical Agency at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Eastern Nile Council of Water Ministers, along with a number of experts and specialists from the Ministry. Also participating as part of the workshop’s consulting team was Professor Ahmed Musa Siyam from the UNESCO Chair for Water at Omdurman Islamic University. The Sudanese delegation presented a distinguished vision during the discussions regarding the workshop topics, reflecting Sudan’s aspirations for renaissance, peace, and reconstruction.
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