On May 9th, Alexandria University team organized and executed the 1st NEL workshop with the title “Societal solutions for Ecosystem Problems in wadi Nagamish” in El-Fursan Hotel in Marsa Matrouh (Egypt). The goal of the workshop is to mobilize and engage the NEL Stakeholders for creating awareness about the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus challenge in their location and to initiate a discussion for co-defining a WEFE-Nexus common vision and transition plan, and to prepare them for collaboration in the coming NEXUS-NESS NEL workshop(s) and activities.
The workshop was held in the framework of the NEXUS-NESS project and of the application of the NEL Innovation Ecosystem Approach. Twelve participants were recruited based on their expertise and interest in the NEL Challenge. The workshop has engaged farmers’ associations, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Egyptian Environment Affairs Agency (EEAA), and local Bedouins as NEL stakeholders in a participatory debate to examine the WEFE-NEXUS Challenge(s) and to co-define WEFE-Nexus ideas for co-creation of a transition WEFE-Nexus vision, plan, and actions. The half-day-long workshop was facilitated according to the World Cafe method in 3 rounds with 4 participants at each table. This method allows for integrating contributions from individuals with diverse views, backgrounds, and perspectives through a process that is structured, inclusive, and collaborative.
During the workshop, the participants formulated 23 statements of WEFE-NEXUS actions based on the triggering question: societal solutions for Ecosystem Problems in wadi Nagamish. These statements were grouped into 4 groups named water, energy, food, and ecosystem. The host at each table presented the statements and these were discussed among the stakeholders and voted.
