The “New Narratives about the Value of Water” workshop took place on 28 June, during the Water Innovation Europe Week with next to all EJWP participants, three speakers: Oriana Romano from OECD, Gonzalo Delacámara from Water Europe and Naomi Timmer. Multiple new narratives were presented, and they even became more valuable with the intergenerational dialogue that followed on the value of water.
The workshop kicked off with “Unveiling the Value of Water” presentation by EJWP2 which the result of their first project within the journey of two-year EJWP. The idea behind the narrative they created is not only to illustrate how wine and water are interlinked, but also the complexity of the importance of awareness about the water value, irrigation as the main consumer for water, and the varied needs of water between regions. EJWP2 used the storytelling concept as a tool to present their ideas which increased the added-value of this presentation.
Next on the agenda was “Water in Our Daily Life” video by EJWP1 participants which showed our daily activities which contribute to not only a higher consumption of water but also water contamination. The video featured the daily routine of three EJWP1 participants where they linked our daily activities with water consumption. Following this video, a brief discussion between EJWP1 participants took place where they discussed the necessary actions to recognize and embrace the value of water in our society.
Oriana Romano, Head of Unit, Water Governance and Circular Economy, CFE, OECD, commented on EJWP presentations and new narratives as inspiring. She supported the principle of act better than react because they demonstrated that we need to start working on finding solutions to water issues before we are going to be impacted significantly. Also, she pointed out the key role of youth and young professionals, so we need to work on their engagement and make a difference in everyone’s life.
Gonzalo Delacámara, Leader of the Vision Leader Team Value of Water, Water Europe, pointed out that we need to find a more optimistic approach where we focus on solutions rather than problems, with taking the complexity into consideration. He also reflected on the presentations which they explained well the value of water and utilize different tools to demonstrate that.
Naomi Timmer wrapped up the workshop with the importance of staying positive and keeping on working on illustrating the value of water and engaging young water professionals.
Click here for the full Value of Water presentation on YouTube
