Bottom Up – Education

Regional

EcoPeace Young Professionals in Italy


Fourteen EcoPeace Water Diplomacy Young Professionals from Jordan, Palestine and Israel, from the program’s second cohort, travelled together to the MEPP (Middle East Peace Process) Forum hosted by the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Milan. The young diplomats discussed with their European peers challenges and possible solutions to environmental problems in the region all with a view to advancing regional cooperation on the climate crisis.Green Social Entrepreneurship: 1st Regional Workshop 
The first regional workshop of our new Green Social Entrepreneurship program took place in October, connecting passionate eco-entrepreneurs from Jordan, Palestine and Israel. The national groups gathered in person, but came together virtually, to allow participants to connect and create interest based groups that will work together throughout the program on projects expected to have a positive environmental impact on the region. 2nd Regional Forum Event Our October Regional Forum hybrid event brought together forum members, including decision makers from our region, to meet physically in each territory (Jordan, Palestine, and Israel) and virtually on a regional level. The event discussed the dire situation in Gaza and was followed by a regional discussion on the Green Blue Deal and the need for regional cooperation. The highlight of the first day was the Gaza Panel which explored the situation in the Gaza Strip in relation to water, sanitation, and energy issues and the challenges posed to health, livelihoods, and to broader stability. The second day varied nationally but included tours, discussions, and workshops about the information learned on the first day.

This activity was generously supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung). JordanGuest Lectures – JordanTwo guest lectures were held at Al-Mafraq school where 2 alumni from the water diplomacy program gave 60 odd students between 15 and 17 presentations on water realities and innovation. Three additional virtual guest lectures were given to a group of 15 students on youth activism.Investment Roundtable
Last Month, the EcoPeace Amman office held a meeting attended by a number of investors and financial advisors, and the Director of Agriculture in the Northern Valley and Director of Investment in the Ministry of Agriculture, to put forward possible investment opportunities in the Jordan Valley in the tourism, agriculture, energy and water sectors. EcoPeace Regional Investment Manager, Nasser Al Moughrabi, focussed on 6 projects that aim to meet the challenges in these sectors, and have a positive impact, from reducing the cost of electricity, water and energy consumption, to serving farmers in the Jordan Valley and rehabilitating the agricultural sector and food security.Eco Tour


Eighteen students from al Mafraq enjoyed an Eco Tour starting at King Abdullah Canal near Adasiya village, and continuing on to the Adasiya Diversion Dam to see the Yarmouk River, to allow students to learn about shared water management. The group then headed to Irrigation water pump No. 10, located west of North Shouneh (Al-Baqourah Association for Irrigation Water Users), to demonstrate how irrigation water is distributed to farms. The tour ended at the Jordan Eco Park where students learned about greywater treatment systems, the wastewater treatment system (green filter) and experience the biodiversity and other aspects of sustainability  in the Eco Park.  Nexus Arab Future Summit 2021Last Month, EcoPeace Jordan Director, Yana Abu Taleb and Regional Investment Manager, Nasser Al Moughrabi, attended the Nexus Arab Future Summit 2021 which was held in Aqaba, Jordan, and lasted for three days. The summit focused on investment opportunities in Jordan and was attended by leading next generation philanthropists, impact investors and social entrepreneurs.Palestine“Plant Palestine Day”
On October 23, 150 Palestinian youth took part in EcoPeace’s Youth Climate Action Day, together planting 260 seedlings of citrus, olive, acacia, ziziphus, and papaya trees at Kurza Secondary School for Girls in Hebron, Al-Nasser neighborhood street Municipality Street, and Al-Awsaj village north of Jericho.National Teachers TrainingEcoPeace’s Ramallah office held a successful national teacher training in October for the 15 new teachers that recently joined our Good Water Neighbors program from different schools in Palestine. The workshop provided training on EcoPeace’s environmental education materials. Three of EcoPeace’s former teachers led a session of the training about water realities in Palestine and water management issues.IsraelIsrael Water Conference

EcoPeace Israel Water Officer, Nadav Tal, presented our GBD at the Israeli Water Association’s conference, an important conference of the water sector in Israel. It was attended by people from the government, academia, private and nonprofit sector.Israel Climate March


On October 29, we joined thousands of people in Tel Aviv for the annual climate march – the largest ever sending a clear message that the public wants the Israeli government to commit to 50% emissions by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050. The day started at Rabin Square, where, alongside other environmental organizations, we had a stand and EcoPeace staff, including our new Israel Education Manager, Dana Lev (pictured here), relished the opportunity to meet and engage with enthusiastic children and adults alike. Good Water Neighbors ToursIn October, our education team facilitated a virtual tour with Shimon Peres High school for Innovation and Excellence – Ort Yokneam and a physical tour to the Jordan Valley with Multidisciplinary Science and Arts School – Amal Nahariya.
Top Down – Advocacy 
HRH Price Hassan Bin Talal and HRH Princess Sarvath El Hassan Visit Jordan Eco Park

We were honoured to host HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal and HRH Princess Sarvath El Hassan at the Jordan EcoPark, where they viewed the site’s facilities and services, and commended us for our efforts in leading environmental education in the Jordan Valley. A tour of the park was followed by an open discussion with the EcoPeace Jordan team, in which HRH Prince Hassan emphasized the importance of sustainable development in the Jordan Valley and spoke about the challenges facing the water sector in Jordan, particularly considering the impact of climate change. We were very grateful for this special visit and encouraged to continue to promote sustainability in the Jordan Valley.Meeting with Dutch Democrats Delegation A national meeting was held with a delegation from Democrats 66 (D66), a social liberal political party from the Netherlands, who visited our Amman office as a part of a fact-finding mission in the Middle East. We had an opportunity to share our work, particularly focusing on the Jordan Valley, along with our education programs and the GBD. The delegation included members from the Dutch Parliament, including Alexander Hammelburg and Jeanet Van Der Laan.National Meeting with the Canadian Ambassador On October 27, EcoPeace Jordan Director, Yana Abu Taleb, met with HE Donica Pottie, Ambassador of Canada to Jordan, Canadian Ambassador to Israel and the Canadian representative in Palestine, to discuss recent regional developments and present EcoPeace’s GBD. This was also an opportunity to review the possibility of a wider application of our Water Energy Nexus project.EcoPeace Meets with Finnish Ambassador to Israel
This past month EcoPeace’s Israel Director, Gidon Bromberg, and Israel Deputy Director and Development Director, Dalit Wolf Golan, had an important meeting with the Finnish Ambassador to Israel, Kirsikka Lehto-Asikainen. Discussions included climate change and environmental issues in Israel, and the region, and our proposed GBD.
EventsLeading up to the Climate Summit in Glasgow, EcoPeace staff have been heavily focused on presenting the Green Blue Deal for the Middle East to a wide audience of decision makers. Events this month, included:

October 31: EcoPeace International Advisory Committee member, Fredric Andes, represented EcoPeace at Temple Rodef Shalom’s (Virginia, US) Symposium – The Israeli/Palestinian Dilemma: Moving Beyond Who’s Right and Who’s Wrong, 

October 28: Stockholm International Democracy Talks, where Israeli Director Gidon Bromberg participated in a panel discussion with HE Per Olsson Fridh, Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden.

October 28: International Water Strategic Session “Russian Water Diplomacy under Systemic Transformation: Global and Regional Dimension” where all three EcoPeace Directors highlighted the opportunity that the GBD presents to advance water diplomacy. The event was organized by HE Ambassador Andrey G. BAKLANOV, professor of the Moscow Higher School of Economics and Deputy Chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats.

October 16-18: Parliament of the World’s Religions, “From the Jordan to Ganga: The Power of Faith to Protect our Rivers” where EcoPeace’s efforts to rehabilitate the River Jordan were highlighted.

October  14: Cyprus Climate Conference
2nd International Conference “Climate Change in the Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East” which was organized in the framework of the Cyprus Government Initiative for Coordinating Climate Change Actions in the Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East (EMME Region). You can watch the presentation of EcoPeace Israel Director on the water energy exchange here.

October 7: EcoPeace Palestine Director, Nada Majdalani, spoke at the Berlin Climate and Security Conference on a panel titled ‘Learning From Climate Security Practices & Bringing Them to Scale’. Nada highlighted the EcoPeace ME Green Blue Deal initiative. She outlined recommendations including mediation efforts to create the political will of our governments in the region, technical capacity building, and funding projects on the ground to support local community resilience.

October 3: Presentation at a Hashomer Hatzair (Australia) and Meretz Australia event where both Israeli Minister of Environment Tamar Zandberg and Gidon Bromberg spoke together.

The above activities are part of the Good Water Neighbors (GWN) project, which is generously supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).