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| August 2012 |
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Joint Teacher's Workshop
Friends of the Earth Middle East's Good Water Neighbors project hosted a "Teacher's Seminar" in Amman from July 15-17, bringing together 80 people - Field Staff and teachers from the GWN communities in Israel, Jordan and Palestine - for comprehensive feedback sessions on lessons learned through practical implementation of FoEME's Water Education Resource Guide.
The goals of the workshop were to empower Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli teachers as well as our own Field Staff with the teaching tools and methods to help them deliver the messages of FoEME, including "Water Has No Borders" and "Fair Share of Water for All", as well as breaking down stereotypes of "the other" and to give staff and educators tools for conflict resolution over water issues. Feedback from the workshop was overwhelmingly positive. Read more on our blog. | |
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FoEME keynote presentation to the Sister Cities International Conference
The 56th annual Sister Cities International Conference was held from July 12th-14th in Jacksonville, FL. The conference provided training for citizen diplomats from around the United States and from over 20 other countries in tools to connect effectively with their sister cities and to empower international partnerships.
FoEME staff co-presented with Citizen Diplomacy Initiative in a keynote session on the first day of the conference about tri-lateral twinning. FoEME staff outlined the Good Water Neighbors (GWN) model of matching communities from Palestine, Israel, and Jordan over shared water resources. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions about programming, the dynamics of three-way partnerships, and the challenges of working across conflict boundaries. Throughout the conference, attending cities were invited to partner with FoEME’s existing GWN community matches in order to forge partnerships that will increase international knowledge of Middle Eastern water issues abroad and potentially provide technical and financial support to GWN priority projects. | |
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Building the Water Agenda: Policy responses to water scarcity and shock.png)
This conference, held at Chatham House in London on July 9th and 10th, addressed the need for governments and businesses to prepare for long term water scarcity, and for short-term shocks.
FoEME Israeli Director presented FoEME's approach to these issues at the session entitled "Reframing Transboundary Water Politics", answering such questions as 'What does transboundary water play in relationships between states?'; 'Where are the potential flashpoints for transboundary water conflicts?'; 'What factors contribute to conflict or cooperation?' and 'What policies and institutions can lead to agreements?' The bottom up approach of FoEME’s GWN project was highlighted as a critically needed approach that could be applied in other parts of the world. Much interest was expressed in FoEME’s work and the GWN model.
The Good Water Neighbors project is supported by USAID, SIDA and the EU Partnership for Peace program. | |
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FoEME's SHE Park in Jordan is visited by U.S. students.jpg)
On the 12th of July, a group of students from Columbia University visited the Sharhabil bin Hassneh (SHE) EcoPark for three days, as part of their summer educational environmental program. The students participated in many environmental educational training activities, led by Abdel Rahman Sultan, the SHE EcoPark Director.
These workshops had students practicing eco-building techniques such as mud building, herb spirals, and geodesic dome construction. Sultan also led the students on a biodiversity tour of the EcoPark grounds, where students learned about the animals and the plants that live in the Park, and discussed local environmental issues such as water scarcity, and the need for renewable energy. The students were very inspired, with one of them proposing to launch a U.S. chapter for American Youth Water Trustees to support FoEME. FoEME welcomes the involvement of students in the US and looks forward to developing a partnership. | |
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FoEME Directors speak at Wembley Mosque in London
Sheikh Shehab, Imam of the well-known Wembley Mosque in London, invited FoEME’s Jordanian and Israeli Directors on July 12th to address a crowd of not only Muslims -- but also Christians and Jews -- who gathered in the mosque to hear about FoEME’s work in relation to regional water issues, and particularly the Jordan River.
The invitation to Wembley Mosque was a follow up to an earlier visit that took place along the Jordan River valley by an inter faith group that included leading members of different faiths from the greater London area. Discussions were held on how the participants could continue to support both the work of FoEME and the messaging involved in our work.
The Jordan River Rehabilitation Project is supported by the Swedish International Development Agency, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Global Nature Fund / Ursula Merz Foundation and the Osprey Foundation. | |
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'Protecting Ground Water' completes GIS training course
A 48-hour course in GIS-Hydrogeology, held at the Auja Environment Education Center over 11 days, came to a close this month.
The training included several topics on GIS software for use in groundwater protection, including an introduction to GIS, mapping, coordinating, visualization of spatial data, and an introduction to geo-processing. The second part of training covered topics such as an introduction to Hydro-geology, environmental hazards mapping by using both protective and infiltration factors in the surveyed areas. The target group of 13 trainees included engineers, water specialists, health specialists, and community activists from five participating project communities in the West Bank.
The " Protecting Ground Water" project is supported by the European Union’s ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. | |
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FoEME is looking for a Intern to work on our Protecting Groundwater (PGW) Project, based in our Bethlehem office):
Special Requirements:
1. Enrolled in or graduated from a degree program related to water, wastewater, water engineering and/or hydrology.
2. Applicants must be hard-working, positive, open-minded, reflective and willing to learn.
3. Applicants must commit to 3 – 6 months, to be mutually agreed.
4. English language is mandatory, Arabic is advantage but not required.
Position Description:
A. Help in preparation of HRP, Water management, wastewater management courses.
B. Help in preparation of upcoming tour visits.
C. Write blogs covering project activities/ events.
D. Help the PGW coordinator to write reports/ publications.
E. Support the PGW project's upcoming conference in Amman (support in receiving scientific papers, review, etc.)
F. Develop content for PGW website and brochures.
G. Supervised by PGW project coordinator in Bethlehem.
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