In 2015, I was selected to represent Sudan at the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) for three years. This gave me a chance to meet young people from more than 71 countries. The aim of the parliament is also to help forge stronger links between young people and experts. The parliament facilitates cooperation between young people and local authorities, taking part in political decision-making and consultations
I was also able to participate in the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), a programme launched by the former president of the United States, Barack Obama, as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders. This helped in honing my leadership skills.
After finishing my master’s studies in Germany, I founded the Sudan Youth Parliament for Water (SYPW) which has since grown to more than 300 members who are aged between 18 and 35 years old. These members have been able to engage in water activities in dozens of Sudanese communities. One of the key activities was promotion of hygiene amongst 1,500 children in a refugee camp in Western Sudan. Being able to do this in a country where female presence in development work is weak was not an easy task, but I was determined to do it so that Sudanese youth could play a critical role in solving their country’s water woes.
My biggest dream is to make an effective and scalable contribution to the SDGs, by empowering young people in Sudan to implement water solutions in their communities. By 2030, I aspire to empower at least 1,000 young leaders, with young women comprising at least 50 per cent, to realize their water solutions in their communities so that at least one million people can have access to clean water and sanitation.
economy is achieving a balance between the mixed uses of the ocean and aquatic environment. The industries presented in the blue economy incorporate diverse sectors that include coastal tourism, energy and mineral production, fisheries, boat building, shipping, and ports activities; as well emerging industries like wave and tidal energy; marine renewable energy technologies for wind; aquaculture; ‘blue carbon’ (carbon storage in mangroves, seagrass and saltmarsh); desalination and bioproducts (pharmaceutical and agrichemicals).
What is the blue economy?
The blue economy includes economic activities in areas such as fishing; shipping and maritime transport; coastal tourism; marine energy including both fossil and renewable, such as wind and tidal power and energy derived from marine microbial fuel cells; pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries; genetic resources; general sea-based products; and blue carbon trading opportunities. For activities to be considered as elements of the ‘blue Economy’, they should have social and economic benefits for present and future generations, and ensure the protection and management of the diversity and productivity of marine ecosystems. The blue economy approach offers the prospect of sustained, environmentally sound, but also socially inclusive, economic growth based on small-island strengths in the coastal and marine sectors (UNECA 2014).
SYPW's three female engineers leading a field visit in River Nile State
4.6 Blue economy and blue jobs
The African Union calls it the "new frontier of African renaissance" (UNECA 2016) and has placed a high premium on the blue economy as the new economic frontier to create employment and income, including for youth. The main challenge implementing a blue
The blue economy concept was initially established by the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which have always relied mostly on the ocean for their development. Therefore, they wanted to promote economic growth through the sustainable use of environmental resources to improve human well-being and social equity (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs [UNDESA] 2014). For oceanic activities to be considered as elements of the ‘blue Economy’, they should have social and economic benefits for present and future generations, and ensure the protection and management of the diversity and productivity of marine ecosystems; clean technologies and renewable energy should be used to reduce waste, and materials should be recycled (World Bank and UNDESA 2017).
Africa is endowed with abundant coastal and aquatic resources and their sustainable innovative development can create socio-economic transformations (UNECA 2018). There are 38 African States with a collective coastline of over 47,000 km and about 64 per cent of the
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Our Water, Our Life Force
Amna Omer
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