Workshop “Fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work (SDG#8) through ICT job creation tools for ensuring water security (SDG#6)”

On September the 30th 2016 in Paris at the UNESCO premises, jointly organised by UNESCO and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (FREEWAT Coordinator) in the occasion of the FREEWAT project mid-term meeting, it was held the  workshop “Fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work (SDG#8) through ICT job creation tools for ensuring water security (SDG#6)”

In September 2015, the EU Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to end poverty and promote prosperity for all while protecting the environment and addressing climate change. The aforementioned document  has, among many others,  water and sanitation at its core, with a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation with clear linkages to other Goals relating to health, food security, climate change, resiliency to disasters and ecosystems.

In this light, the workshop focused its discussion mainly on how Information and Communication Technology tools (ICT) in the water sector may help in reaching the SDG6 related targets with an emphasis on creating synergies with the EU HORIZON 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.

Additionally, the meeting explored how UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme’s (IHP) Hydro Open-source software Platform of Experts (HOPE) plays a concrete role in achieving the SDGs by providing a free and open alternative to the commercially specialised engineering software in the field of hydrology such as Conjunctive Water Management etc.

Moreover, the event encouraged linkages between Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all and SDG#8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all with a focus on fostering Innovative Job Creation and building the capacity of Young Water Professionals to facilitate improved adaptation to global change.

The speakers highlighted which are the main and most relevant targets that could benefit by adopting  ICT tools and which ICT tools are available to particular sectors of water management. The needs of new ICT tools were also addressed. Through project activities and results presentations it was possible to examine the state of the art with particular attention to open source and public domain software. The discussions faced also on how the ICT sector in water management may create opportunities for innovative job creation and for young water professionals.

The workshop was in English

Here is the programme