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Water scarcity - and the need to act

Disclaimer: Please note that the views expressed in this and all my blog entries are my own personal views and not representative of Ashoka, ADEW or any organisation with which I am affiliated, unless otherwise stated.

The 22^nd March was World Water Day – dedicated as such in 1993 by the UN General Assembly.

Ashoka Arab World has focused on environmental protection since our inception and long recognized the importance of finding and supporting leading social entrepreneurs working in this area. Seeing the water crisis our region is facing is a further reminder of the urgent need to take action.

This week I am in Dubai, meeting with a number of prospective partners, and engaged in exciting talks and plans to bring Ashoka Arab World’s groundbreaking Arab World Social Entrepreneurship Program (ASEP) to life. ASEP is an integrated program which brings together key stakeholders from the social sector, business sector, government and academia to address three pressing regional challenges, one of which is water scarcity.

With President al-Sisi of Egypt having just signed an agreement with Ethiopia and Sudan to allow for the building of the Grand Renaissance dam in Ethiopia – due to be completed in 2017 and to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity – the question of water supply and availability is once more coming under the spotlight in my country.

For two years, the Ethiopian dam has been the subject of great controversy within Egypt and many have posed the rhetorical question of whether the dispute between the three countries involved would remain verbal. However, as Sisi said, “We have chosen cooperation, and to trust one another for the sake of development.”

Water scarcity is clearly not a regional phenomenon, but a global concern. The UN World Water Development Report “Water for a Sustainable World”, released just in advance of World Water Day, laid out in stark terms the urgent water shortage being faced globally and the need to find integrated and sustainable solutions as soon as possible. Total global demand for water is expected to increase by 55% by 2050, with the demand for water by industry alone expected to increase by 400% between 2000 and 2050.

Water is needed for consumption, sanitation and development in the broadest possible sense. UN statistics indicate that, to produce just two steaks, you need 15,000 litres of water. A water shortage will affect every aspect of our lives – impacting the amount of clean air we have to breathe, the food we can eat, the diseases we may contract or prevent, our ability to source renewable energy and industrial growth, to name but a few issues. It is all interconnected.

And current predictions indicate that our planet will face at least a 40% shortfall in water by 2030, if we don’t take immediate action to curb our consumption and focus on sustainability.

With the very real threat of severe water shortages becoming ever more evident, it is clear that only a comprehensive and unified global effort can help to reduce the negative impact that will be felt, especially by the world’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens.

As Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), emphasized "The impacts of our increasingly stressed global water resources can be felt by almost everyone, in the form of food insecurity, disease, degraded ecosystems, biodiversity loss, loss of economic productivity, endangered marine life, loss of tourism and more."

"What this means is that the remedy to these ills cannot be administered in a piecemeal and fragmented form. An integrated approach is key because solutions that address the environmental challenges, if they are to be effective, must also address the economic and social ones. "

Within the Middle East and North Africa region, our levels of environmental waste and a widespread lack of sustainable development practices are alarming. But our greatest fears should perhaps centre on the area that is arguably our most thriving from an economic and social perspective: the Gulf region.

Not only is the Gulf (which encompasses Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates) at a geographical disadvantage when it comes to water availability, having collectively only 1% of renewable water resources and very low rainfall, its residents are among the highest per capita water users in the world. Research undertaken by experts at the Ashoka Arab World regional office indicates that the average consumption range of Gulf residents is 300-750 litres of water per day.

Unfortunately, measures taken by governments in the region to ensure access to water for all – measures which may have been seen as necessary for social development – are proving detrimental to sustainable water consumption. To begin with, water consumption throughout the Gulf is heavily subsidized, with consumers paying no more than 10% of the real cost of the water – meaning that there is very little incentive for them to save water. Furthermore, much of the water consumed has to be treated through a desalination process as there are few natural water reserves; as the demand for water grows, so is this desalination process becoming increasingly costly and financially unsustainable.

Ashoka Arab World has identified water scarcity as being a challenge that is essential to address at the regional and the global levels and as such have chosen to make it one of the three ASEP focus areas. We are using our expertise to seek the most effective and impactful social innovations pioneered by entrepreneurs who are creatively addressing the issue of water scarcity, with our particular focus being on those individuals resident in and local to the Gulf region. We will then connect these local social entrepreneurs with global social entrepreneurs and business experts, who will advise them on scaling up their initiatives and help them create comprehensive business plans to increase the impact of their work, to maximum effect.

Bringing together the social and the business sectors is a crucial part of tackling this urgent problem effectively and so we are partnering with Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises and Managing Director of the Crescent Group, to bring ASEP to the Gulf region. We are thrilled to also have the support of valued partners at PepsiCo and General Electric.

As the world is waking up to the importance of addressing the issue of water scarcity, there is no better time to engage as many of the region’s movers and shakers as possible – both business leaders and social innovators – to bring about sustainable water consumption for the good of all.

International Women's Day 2015

Disclaimer: Please note that the views expressed in this and all my blog entries are my own personal views and not representative of Ashoka, ADEW or any organisation with which I am affiliated.

The struggle to empower women has always been my struggle – not just because I am a woman, but because it has always been my vocation and my need to lend my own voice to those whose voices have been silenced or restricted. I cannot see injustice without feeling compelled to speak out against it.

In the time leading up to and following this year’s International Women’s Day I have been gratified to see how many more people and organizations are joining us in raising their voices about the need to promote equal opportunities for women in every sphere of life – sending a strong message that this status quo where women have reduced access to opportunities cannot continue.

Acknowledging women’s right to full empowerment and freedom from violence and discrimination should not be about paying lip service to a trend of political correctness. Allowing harmful practices and stereotypes that perpetuate gender inequality weakens us all. Opening up a space for women and men to operate as equally valuable human beings – not confined by outdated gender norms – offers new opportunities for every one of us.

This is an urgent need and I am so glad to see how many prominent voices in the mainstream media, large international organizations and both male and female advocates seem finally to be recognizing this urgency.

The movement for full equality is not a reductive one. Too many people seem to view the desire for equal rights as being limited by the economics of scarcity. The short sightedness of this view astonishes me. People who misunderstand or deliberately misappropriate the precepts and language of feminism, or so-called “Men’s Rights Activists”, speak with palpable fear of men becoming redundant, of women having more rights than men do (a laughable idea) and of men becoming persecuted and unable to speak out on any issue.

What the fears of such people blind them to is the fact that true empowerment breeds empowerment, creating a virtuous cycle of open collaboration, based on new rules – rather than adhering doggedly to an old and outdated system.

For I would argue that it is not just women who are enslaved by archaic patriarchal ideas. Men too are constrained by this idea that it is only acceptable for them to act in a certain way.

I want to see a world where we are all judged on our abilities – not our gender; and where both men and women are encouraged to be strong and assertive when the situation requires it; flexible and conciliatory when that is a more appropriate response.

We live in an era where traditional norms are being broken down, where new professions are evolving and flexible working approaches,organizational restructuring and regular career changes are recognized as an important part of diversification and breathing new life into our working environments. We need to regard a shift in attitudes and the creation of new skill sets as being an integral part of navigating our changing world and a big part of this is reevaluating and reexamining long-held ideas about gender.

I would like to see it become completely normal to have women working as engineers and scientists, for men to work as social workers and caregivers. I wish for a world where a woman who openly prioritizes career advancement is not denigrated for her strength or attacked by insecure male colleagues; and where men are not judged solely on their ability to earn large sums of money and be breadwinners or providers.

We are stronger if we create a world where each person is supported to find and nurture her or his own individual skills and talents. If this means empowering a woman to be assertive and driven, she should not be criticized for being “bossy” or have her femininity questioned. Likewise, a man who is in tune with or governed by his emotions, empathetic and sensitive to the needs of others, should not have to defend himself against accusations of being unmanly. Why should either have to conform to an outdated stereotype, diminishing their unique skill sets and undermining what they have to offer the world?

So my hope for this year’s International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month is that we are seeing the beginning of a new phase of partnership as we move towards equality. My vision is that we can open up a spectrum of possibilities of behavior and values that are non-gendered and widely accepted within society: women can be decisive and forceful and men can be driven by emotion.

Only if there is space for both can we find and build on the opportunities that will enable everyone to thrive in our societies. Only by opening up such a space can we pave the way for genuine talent and skill to emerge from all areas and be nurtured to their fullest. 

Youth Employment in North Africa (2/2) - my latest interview with the Fair Observer magazine

Disclaimer: Please note that the views expressed in this and all my blog entries are my own personal views and not representative of Ashoka, ADEW or any organisation with which I am affiliated.

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Here is my latest interview with Manuel Langendorf and Abul-Hasanat Siddique from the Fair Observer magazine on Youth Employment in North Africa - Part Two of a two-part series. http://www.fairobserver.com/region/middle_east_north_africa/iman-bibars-youth-employment-in-north-africa-47327/

With the second youngest population in the world, what confronts youth in North Africa’s job market? [Read part one here.]

The dire economic situation in North Africa moved into the spotlight when Mohammed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian fruit vendor, set himself alight on December 17, 2010, sparking revolts that shook dictators from Algeria to Yemen. While causes behind the uprisings were complex, encompassing decades of authoritarianism, corruption and human rights abuses, economic factors were and still remain a crucial element in North African society and politics.

In 2012, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) saw the highest youth unemployment rate in the world, with approximately 25% of 15-24 year olds out of work. High population growth rates plague the region, with half of its citizens under 25. The MENA region has the second youngest population after sub-Saharan Africa. As noted by Abul-Hasanat Siddique and Casper Wuite: “The youth population, aged 15 to 24, is growing explosively — it increased by nearly 44 million between 1980 and 2010.” Given these demographics, fostering youth employment strategies has to be a top priority for North African policymakers, civil society and business leaders.

To talk more about youth employment in North Africa, the challenges ahead and the role of social entrepreneurship, Fair Observer’s Manuel Langendorf and Abul-Hasanat Siddique continue their discussion with Iman Bibars, the regional director for Ashoka Arab World. Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,000 fellows in 70 countries.

Manuel Langendorf: Following the Arab Uprisings of 2011, Egypt has seen its ups and downs. Despite his popularity among large parts of the population, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi faces a number of hurdles in turning Egypt’s economy around, especially when it comes to youth unemployment. What does the government need to do in order to help young Egyptians find work?

Iman Bibars: Sisi and our new government do indeed face many challenges in kick-startingEgypt’s economy and, particularly, in tackling the issue of youth unemployment, which was one of the major catalysts of the uprisings in 2011.

The issue of unemployment cannot be separated from the other social problems that Egypt faces — many of which I outlined in our earlier discussion. Poverty, population growth, health problems and a bloated and inefficient public sector all contribute to the steady increase of unemployment. Likewise, the political unrest and security problems of the last three years have had a devastating impact on the Egyptian economy — both because they have adversely affected investment from international partners and corporations, and because, as a result of security concerns, tourism has dwindled. The tourism sector, accounting for roughly 9% of Egypt’s GDP [gross domestic product], has seen a decrease in tourism by approximately 20.5% in the last year.

The government, therefore, needs to adopt an approach with multiple dimensions if it is to tackle unemployment and economic recovery, effectively. Much as Franklin D. Roosevelt helped to catalyze economic recovery through his New Deal, focusing on the creation of the Public Works Administration, President Sisi should establish national projects that will tackle multiple problems. For example, investing in Egypt’s infrastructure — both in terms of building safer roads, renovating schools and hospitals, reclaiming agricultural land, or reviewing and restructuring Egypt’s public service sector in order to make it more efficient — will help to address the problems of unemployment, poverty and health issues, as well as attracting overseas investment. Ideally, I would love to see the government focusing on creating an enabling environment for social entrepreneurs, because I really believe that social entrepreneurs are best placed to address all social problems, including those that are specifically related to unemployment and underemployment.

And in a linked way, education is absolutely key, for so many reasons. By teaching skills that will empower youth to seek opportunities, and to capitalize upon the opportunities they do come across, we will help to transform them into people capable of effecting change. This is the most empowering thing any government can possibly do for its citizens.

No president, and no government, will be able to change Egypt’s economic situation overnight — there are too many contributing factors to address. But by focusing on what we can do, we can make a good start. The Egyptian government has already raised the minimum wage and reduced subsidies in order to kick-start the economy. They have made it a priority to tackle security issues, which is absolutely essential in terms of ensuring that we attract foreign investment. Security is also very important in terms of building up any initiatives — whether grassroots projects for income generation, nationwide programs or initiatives such as those started by our social entrepreneurs, designed to tackle social problems. Without a measure of stability, such initiatives can never run smoothly or be sustained.

Abul-Hasanat Siddique: Looking at the entire region of North Africa, who is responsible for changing the system — the state, private sector, nonprofits/nongovernmental organizations, tribes, villages, family or young people themselves?

Bibars: We are all responsible for transforming our system in the ways I mentioned in our discussion, and it is absolutely essential that we recognize this and that all stakeholders are willing to work together in a complementary and collaborative way. One of the real problems I see in Egypt — and the whole region — at the moment is the desire among so many people for our government to provide a quick-fix solution to our problems. The brain drain that you identified in our previous discussion is indicative of this; so is the political apathy we are seeing in many youth, but so is the cynicism with the new government that we see in others.

If we do not collaborate and make efforts to work together and to see what works, our economic — and, by extension, our political and social — situation can only get worse. This is the spirit of social entrepreneurship: You see a problem and you make an effort to address the underlying cause of the problem, so as to find a solution that works. We need nations of entrepreneurs — literally, risk takers — who are willing to work together in a complementary way, if we want to provide opportunities for our young people and for us all.

Langendorf: In reference to the previous question, how can they do it? How do they ensure that young people have the critical skills to find and create employment opportunities?

Bibars: In my opinion, our first priority should be to reform our education systems to enable educational institutions to focus on — and be supported in — nurturing an entrepreneurial drive in young people. This involves teaching students to think analytically about how to effect change; proactively take control of their lives, even when they face challenges or obstacles; moving away from rote learning, repetition and memorization; and focusing on critical, or interrogative, thought. Educationsystems need to shift toward students being encouraged or even required to proactively seek knowledge from a variety of sources, question concepts and examine multiple viewpoints.

Sisi and our new government do indeed face many challenges in kick-starting Egypt’s economy and, particularly, in tackling the issue of youth unemployment, which was one of the major catalysts of the uprisings in 2011.

Ashoka has identified the need to recognize and cultivate changemaking skills as being absolutely integral to establishing societies populated by individuals with the motivation and ability to address key challenges. To create an Everyone a Changemaker society, in which every inhabitant has a deep conviction of his or her ability to effect meaningful change and is able to translate this into action, we must start at an early age and operate through a sound education system. Valuing changemaking skills as a fundamental part of a young person’s education and development, and integrating such skills into educational curricula is an important part of nurturing changemakers — well-equipped to seek employment opportunities, to acquire the skills they need to be desirable to prospective employers, and to create opportunities themselves if they do not immediately find them.

By fostering the creativity and innovation of students — either overtly, through teaching more courses on social entrepreneurship; or covertly, through encouraging them to be active and engaged learners, critically examining what they are taught — educational institutions can provide substantial assistance in building an ecosystem conducive to addressing social issues, and tackling unemployment and disaffection among young people. Likewise, through cultivating qualities such as empathy in children, young adults and their parents, we can enhance the leadership and team-building skills needed to drive positive social change, and address all the social and economic impediments creating and contributing to unemployment in our region.

*[Continue the conversation in a Webinar and concurrent Twitter chat convened by Ashoka’s Future Forward initiative, in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation. The initiative finds, supports and accelerates innovative solutions for youth employment in Africa, and will be holding a live panel conversation and concurrent Twitter chat on October 9 at 12:30pm (ET) using the hashtags #AfricaYouthFwd and #SocEntChat.]