2015 UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference. Water and Sustainable Development: From Vision to Action. 15-17 January 2015

B. Fazila Dahall, Executive Producer/Presenter programmes (English/French), Johannesburg, South Africa

B. Fazila Dahall, Executive Producer/Presenter programmes (English/French), Johannesburg, South Africa

What water-themed work have you been working on (reporting, editing research)?

I have done many programmes on the issue of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for the past decades. Below are some of the themes.

  • What is Africa doing to accelerate water security for its socio-economic development?
  • Human rights to water
  • The limitations to meeting 2015 target for water/sanitation
  • Challenges of environmental/social impacts for water infrastructure
  • Water Security, a key factor for reducing poverty and ensuring socio-economic development in Africa
  • The 1st African Water week
  • Diseases and productivity linked to water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Impact of Water/sanitation on women and girls’ education, health, livelihoods and dignity.
  • Energy/Water, inseparable resources for sustainable development.
  • Water as a platform for growth
  • Small changes to reduce the outbreak of waterborne diseases
  • Education with a culture of good habits

What areas of your work in water have generated the most significant public response?

My work involves the following: conception, research, script, conduct interviews, produce, edit and present. So, it’s all those components that make a good finished product. My work has been acknowledged by my peers in the form of awards and both English and French programmes generate public response.

What barriers are there to reporting on environment and sustainable development issues in your region (eg. lack of public interest, censorship, pressure from advertisers etc)?

There are no barriers in reporting on environment and sustainable development issues in my region. We do not depend on advertisers as we are an External Service.

What is tough to sell to editors in water/sustainable development/environment? Why do you think this is the case? Please detail with specific examples from your experience.

As an Executive Producer, I can decide on which story/theme I want to work on for my programmes. The only problem is funding because of competing priorities. As long as I have a sponsor there is no problem.

What do you feel has been successful and unsuccessful in your work in this area? Please detail with specific examples from your experience.

There have been no resources to follow up on the stories I did. I have been unable to attend very important events on the topic because of lack of funds and that translates into less exposure/publicity on this critical issue. Also, there is a lack of manpower. I would love to be able to run a desk dedicated solely to water/sustainable development/environment with a social media savvy team.

Please present your proposals for communications and media projects. This is your chance to pitch the UN.

In order to be able to make an impact and get the information across, the use of multi-media platforms should be maximised. I propose a Travelling Talk show, a platform for interaction with the actors involved in the sector using all the social media tools.

The Talk Show will get the discussion flowing instead of being only event related. Make an inventory of NGO’s working on these issues. Example, the show visits the water stressed countries.....talk to the people (what are their problems), bring in the experts to advise, question the government and ask for solutions.

It will explore home grown solutions and showcase success stories where little investments have had an impact or small initiatives are making a huge difference. Get public and private sector together.

The show shall take an in-depth look at what is working or not working and what can one country learn from another. There will be a variety of relevant topics from the use of technology to the link to food security. It will bring to the forefront the difference that some organisations are making.. ..showcase their work and the impact it is having on the livelihoods of people.

Bearing in mind that the show will be broadcast on several platforms, people will be prompted to ask questions and be involved in the discussion. A panel of experts will have to be on hand to answer questions that will be generated via social media.

A short segment of the Talk Show will be on education. When the show goes to a country, an event will be organised involving the community (to be discussed further). We shall partner local stations to maximise visibility. It will also provide an opportunity for awareness campaigns.

The Talk show will be made available free of charge to other radio and television stations in two or more languages. Journalists from all over who specialise in water/sustainable development/ environment will be invited to contribute to the blog.

You are expected to produce some work at the conference. What do you plan to do?

“The Future of Water”.....Looking back on the past decade, taking stock and the way forward!

Anything to add? Suggestions for questions to add to the debate would be welcome.

A hands-on Water Goodwill Ambassador.

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About the Conference

>> Conveners and partners
>> Objectives and expected outcomes
>> Conference flyerPDF Document
>> AgendaPDF Document
>> StructurePDF Document
>> ParticipantsPDF Document

Logistics

>> Accommodation
>> Travelling to Zaragoza
>> Your stay in Zaragoza
>> Map

The vision

>> Rio+20
>> Water and sustainable development
>> Global commitments on water
>> A post-2015 global goal for water
>> Water and the Open Working Group (OWG)
>> The role of actors involved

The action

>> Capacity development
>> Financing and economic instruments
>> Governance frameworks
>> Technology

Action on…

>> Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
>> Water Resources Management
>> Water Quality
>> Risk management

14 January: Pre-Conference Side events and Technical Visits

>> Technical visit: La Cartuja
>> Technical visit: The Ebro River Basin Authority and its Automatic System for Hydrologic Information (SAIH)
>> Technical visit: Expo + Water Park
>> New sources: Wastewater reuse
>> Local level actions in decentralized water solidarity towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
>> Water Footprint Assessment
>> Technological advances and Water Policy
>> Cultivando Agua Boa Programme
>> CODIA and water and energy in LAC
>> The fulfillment of the human right to water and sanitation

15 January: Setting the scene and the context

>> Achieving sustainable water for all in LAC
>> Achieving water security for Asia and the Pacific
>> Ensuring implementation of the water-related SDGs in Europe
>> Setting the scene

16 January: Whose action?

>> Academia
>> Business
>> Civil society
>> Governments and local authorities
>> Media and Communicators

17 January: Integrating knowledge and the way forward

>> Multi-stakeholder dialogue on tools for implementation

Resources

>> Cases
>> Conference daily
>> Conference Communications ReportPDF Document
>> Discussion forum
>> Information briefs on Water and Sustainable Development
>> Interviewing conference participants
>> Overview Papers
>> Presentations from participants
>> Session Reports
>> Tool Papers
>> Toolbox
>> Twitter Activity Report
>> Video recording of sessions
>> Video interviews with conference participants


Promotional materials

>> Conference banners
>> Conference posterPDF document