WEFE NEXUS in Egypt and the Mena Region Conference
- TIC UNESCOSOST
- Mar 19
- 3 min read
Updated: May 30
With the participation of Prof. Dr. Hani Sewilam, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, in the opening session, the WEFE Nexus in Egypt and the MENA Region Conference—held under the theme “Exploring and Bridging Nexus for a Sustainable Future”—took place on 13–14 May 2025 in New Cairo, Egypt.
Organized by the SURENEXUS project, funded by PRIMA, and coordinated by the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain), in collaboration with PDS in Egypt and INRA from Morocco, this key event will convene a diverse group of researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and practitioners from across the globe to tackle the growing challenges and emerging opportunities presented by the Water-Energy-Food-Environment (WEFE) Nexus.
With a total of 161 registered participants—105 attending in person — from 23 different countries, the International Conference proved to be a highly engaging and dynamic event, fostering rich exchanges of knowledge, showcasing innovative practices, and strengthening international collaboration around the WEFE Nexus and sustainable development goals. The final program featured 21 invited speakers and included the presentation of 23 selected abstracts, chosen from a total of 38 submissions. These were distributed across the three thematic pillars of the conference: 14 from Pillar 1, 5 from Pillar 2, and 4 from Pillar 3, reflecting a balanced and multidisciplinary engagement with the core themes of the event.
On the second day, a panel of seven keynote speakers engaged in an in-depth discussion on key technological and governance challenges related to the implementation of the WEFE Nexus in the MENA region. The session highlighted the need for integrated policies, cross-sectoral coordination, and innovative technologies to address resource interdependencies and support sustainable development in the face of climate and socio-economic pressures
During the closing ceremony, the SureNexus WEFE Award was presented, showcasing an innovative methodology for project preselection based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). This process combined four GenAI tools and followed a set of criteria previously established by SureNexus partners. The multi-step selection process initially identified the 100 most representative projects, from which 10 were shortlisted. The final award winners will be officially announced at the UNESCO event in Paris, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP).
In today’s interconnected world, the intricate and interdependent relationships between water, energy, food, and the environment are more evident than ever. This reality is reflected in strategic frameworks and key policy documents from influential organizations such as the European Commission (EC), PRIMA, the United Nations (UN), UNESCO's Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). While these frameworks acknowledge the importance of the WEFE Nexus, the gap between strategic objectives and real-world implementation remains significant. Practical experiences that successfully translate these strategies into actionable solutions are still limited and not widely recognized. It is within this critical context that the WEFE Nexus Regional Conference emerges, designed to delve deeply into the challenges of implementing the WEFE Nexus.
The conference explored innovative strategies that bridged this gap, aiming to make the Nexus more than just a theoretical framework, but a dynamic tool for sustainable development. Through a combination of transdisciplinary discussions, sharing of practical experiences and collaborative efforts, participants worked to identify concrete solutions that integrated diverse stakeholders, including gender-focused approaches, effective governance frameworks, and disruptive technologies. Ultimately, the goal was to forge new pathways and create enabling environments that harness the full potential of the WEFE Nexus.
Conference Structure
The conference focused on three key pillars, each addressing a critical dimension of the WEFE Nexus:
Pillar 1: WEFE Nexus Solutions – The conference highlighted both innovative solutions and ancestral resource management systems, including traditional water, energy, and agricultural practices rooted in ecological knowledge and community governance. Discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities of applying these approaches to sustainable resource management. Participants explored a wide range of solutions, from cutting-edge innovations to time-tested techniques, along with the role of AI tools in assessing WEFE metrics.
Pillar 2: WEFE Nexus in Governance – This pillar explored policy frameworks, institutional arrangements, and decision-support systems essential for the integrated governance of WEFE resources.
Pillar 3: Gender and WEFE Nexus – Sessions under this pillar explored the gender aspects of WEFE resource management, emphasizing women's empowerment and the integration of gender considerations into policies and programs.
Keynote Speakers
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