Call for Experts: Empowering Women in Water Diplomacy for Peacebuilding in the MENA Region
Call for Experts
Virtual Expert Roundtables | 9 September and 13 October 2026
In conflict-affected settings across the MENA region, water is more than a resource: it is a lifeline, a leverage point, and a pathway to peace. Yet women remain critically under-represented as water professionals, negotiators, and decision-makers in two historically male-dominated sectors: water resource management and diplomacy.
It is time to change that.
The Geneva Water Hub, a Centre of Competence on Water for Peace, in collaboration with the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med), is convening two virtual expert roundtables to reposition women in conflict-affected MENA contexts not only as affected populations, but as diplomatic actors, agents of change, and leaders of peacebuilding.
Roundtable dates
Roundtable 1 — 9 September 2026
Focus: Global and regional water agenda
This discussion will address key policy processes, including the UN Water Conference Interactive Dialogues, the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, and the World Water Forum process.
Roundtable 2 — 13 October 2026 — to be confirmed
Focus: Women, Peace and Security Agenda
This session will explore linkages with water and climate.
Who should participate?
We are seeking expressions of interest from:
- Water professionals and experts working in or on conflict-affected MENA settings;
- Decision-makers from public institutions;
- Negotiators, mediators, and practitioners working on climate and security;
- Researchers working on water diplomacy, feminist political ecology, Women, Peace and Security, and climate action;
- Women-led networks and representatives of regional and global organisations.
Why participate?
Participants will have the opportunity to:
- Contribute to a joint Geneva Water Hub–GWP-Med analytical paper feeding into the UN Water Conference 2026, the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum in Rome, from 29 September to 2 October 2026, and the 11th World Water Forum in Riyadh, from 21 to 25 March 2027;
- Engage in a safe discussion space under the Chatham House Rule;
- Gain visibility through Geneva Water Hub and GWP-Med communication channels, with acknowledgement in the final policy brief;
- Help shape a cross-regional, practice-grounded contribution on gender, conflict, and water diplomacy.
Format
- By invitation
- En ligne
- English
- Approximately 120 minutes per roundtable
Expressions of interest
The deadline for expressions of interest is 27 August 2026.
Self-nominations and nominations of colleagues are welcome.
Please contact:
