DATE / TIME:

2020/12/07    09:30 - 2020/12/12    17:00

Location:

Online

Organisers: IAV Hassan-II Rabat (Morocco), University of Carthage/INRGREF and ESA Mograne (Tunisia), American University of Beirut (Lebanon), University of Kassel (Germany)

Speakers

• Prof Andreas Thiel, PD Dr Christian Schleyer, PD Dr Thomas Kluge, Dr Sören Köpke, Dr Ariane Götz (University of Kassel, Germany)
• Dr Hadi Jafaar, Dr Martin Keulertz (American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon)
• Dr Olfa Mahjoub, Dr Ayoub Fouzai (University of Carthage (UCAR)/National Research Institute for Rural Engineering, Water, and Forestry (INRGREF) and High School of Agriculture of Mograne (ESA Mograne), Tunis, Tunisia)
• Prof Si Bennasseur Alaoui, Prof Lamiae Ghaouti, Prof Rachid Hamimaz, Dr Ouiam Lahlou (Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II (IAV Hassan II) Rabat, Morocco)

IAV Hassan-II Rabat (Morocco), University of Carthage/INRGREF and ESA Mograne (Tunisia), American University of Beirut (Lebanon), and University of Kassel (Germany) hold this joint virtual Winter School to bring together graduate students and early-career researchers from Germany and participating MENA countries for the following purposes:

• To initiate exchange about the structures of research and higher education systems in participating countries with particular reference to Master and PhD programmes in interdisciplinary food system analysis, transdisciplinarity, and institutional and governance analysis;
• To complement the qualifications of excellent students with policy-relevant skills to improve their employability through interdisciplinary social-ecological agro-food system analysis;
• To foster intercultural and interdisciplinary exchange among students and lecturers and to promote junior researchers in a gender-balanced way;
• To promote a sound basis for strategic and long-term cooperation among the partners.

Seyed Taha Loghmani Khouzani, Senior Assistant represents UNU-FLORES as a full participant at the winter school. He currently works on designing a PhD proposal related to governance over the nexus of resources.

Background

Food and water security are inextricably linked. Water for food poses one of the main bottlenecks for human wellbeing and future economic development. This is especially true for the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) Region, where population growth, urbanisation, climate change, and migratory flows further add to the pressures owed to water resources scarcity. Changes in diets, policies concerning national food security, and investments into production of cash crops linked to global agro-food chains exacerbate pressures on water resources in the MENA Region. The entire region will require more food and more water for cities, agriculture, and industry.

Besides significant biophysical constraints that the region faces concerning improving sustainable food and water security for its population, there is a whole series of institutional and governance-related issues that affect water management and water provision for agriculture and beyond. Hence, the sustainability of agri-food systems in the MENA Region is a rich and complex topic that requires an inter-and transdisciplinary analysis. Active participation in such research processes by early-career researchers with a background in agricultural sciences, environmental policy, human geography, and economic development is of utmost importance.

Relevant Website:
Event website