The project was launched at an event held in the presence of representatives of the project partners, namely the project donor, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Morocco’s State Secretariat for Water and National Office for Water and Electricity (ONEE), the companies, EON Reality and FESTO Didactic, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

H20 Maghreb will help address some of the factors contributing to unsustainable water management practices in the region, such as the lack of knowledge of the current workforce; the lack of employment opportunities; and the lack of industry professionals skilled in the latest water management technologies.

The project will thus focus on the development of new curricula for water management-related skills – including the most recent technological innovations such as adaptive virtual reality and automation technology – and of a demonstration and training hub at ONEE’s training centre. The training will upgrade the skills of 10 trainers and 100 water professionals and youth from Morocco in order to help increase their employability.

As a pilot project, H2O Maghreb also aims to promote sustainable water management practices as well as to facilitate its replication in the other countries in the region, thereby contributing to solving water management challenges at a regional level.

This new public-private development partnership will be linked to UNIDO’s global knowledge sharing platform, the Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF). The project will be implemented over a period of two years with a budget of USD 2.7 million.

For further information, please contact:

Ulrike Bletterie

Industrial Development Officer/H2O Project Coordinator

UNIDO Agro-Industries Technology Division

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