Water will be the defining resource in our urban future as it will determine how and where we live, our economic successes and failures, and our growth. This session will deep dive into building water resilience in African cities, what this means and how we collectively catalyze action. This will be followed by the launch of the African Cities Water Adaptation Platform (ACWA Platform), a pan-African coalition working in concert with the new ACWA Fund. The launch will feature a presentation on the vision of the ACWA Platform and the offer of support it provides to cities, including hearing from city stakeholders and key technical assistance partners and lessons learned during the Platform’s development. Finally, a call to action will be stated to garner momentum and bring other voices into the launch of this open initiative.

The ACWA Platform is a growing coalition of 21 endorsing partners (including cities, research institutes, civil society actors, development agencies, national governments, businesses, private sector investment groups, national banks, professional consultancies and associations) joining forces to advance urban water resilience in Africa. The ACWA Platform has been developed through deep engagement with a diverse group of institutions and individuals, resulting in broad consensus on a set of strategic priorities, principles (as identified in the 2030 Joint Agenda for Urban Water Resilience in Africa) and a strong call for implementation.

Speakers:

  • Kobie Brand, ICLEI Africa
  • Rogier van den Berg, World Resources Institute
  • Aklilu Fikresilassie, World Resources Institute
  • Dana Omran, Resilient Cities Network
  • Themba Gumbo, CAP-Net UNDP
  • Jane Weru, Akiba Mashinani Trust

Location in Blue Zone:

Location of Multi-Level Action Pavilion in COP27 Blue Zone

Cover image by: Erlend Ekseth/Unsplash