On July 10th and 11th, 2023, MENAWARA team participated in the final MEDWAYCAP conference titled "Water Strategies for the Mediterranean - Promoting Non-Conventional Water Solutions", which took place at the Barcelona Chamber Building "La Llotja del Mar" in Spain.

The event was organized by the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME) and the Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations (CEEB), in collaboration with all project partners in Barcelona, with the support of The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the PRIMA programme.

The conference served as a platform for various stakeholders, policy experts, technical specialists, and representatives from the private sector hailing from Spain, Italy, Greece, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Cyprus, Portugal, Lebanon, and Palestine. Their goal was to discuss and exchange best practices regarding non-conventional water (NCW) reuse and strategies for scaling-up such solutions.

One of the key highlights of the conference was the official launch of the MEDWAYCAP Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Roula Khadra from CIHEAM-Bari in Italy, one of the project partners, aiming at establishing an alliance for long-term capitalization strategies towards urban-rural integrated development of NCW resources at the Mediterranean level.

During the roundtable " Living Labs – Capitalized projects’ " Dr Alberto Carletti presented the milestones of the MENAWARA project and, in particular, the project innovations such as the FIA system in Arborea (Italy) and the constructed wetlands in Carrion de los Céspedes (Spain).

"In MENAWARA, demonstration sites acted as "Living Labs" and learning spaces for youths, technicians, water users' associations and farmers. A participatory and knowledge sharing approach has been adopted with relevant stakeholders including National Authorities, Water Agencies and associated partners to identify constraints/opportunities for a productive use of treated wastewater, design, equip and put in operation the demo sites and finally, evaluate the innovative irrigation trains' impact" says Alberto Carletti.

All projects capitalized by MEDWAYCAP started to collaborate as CLUSTER at first, joining later MEDWAYCAP.

MENAWARA project manager Alessandra Paulotto commented:

"Being there was like being among friends. Addressing the same topic of non conventional water has given us the opportunity to get to know each other, to work together, to share experiences and strenghten ties, just like that Community of Practice that MEDWAYCAP has allowed us to build. MEDWAYCAP has been enriching, both professionally and personally."

In conclusion, the two-day conference served as an essential platform for exchanging ideas, fostering potential partnerships, and identifying new avenues for technology transfer and innovation in the sustainable water sector across the Mediterranean region, proving that if we work together, a positive change and advancement in Mediterranean water management practices is possible.