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In support of the government’s vision for a healthier Jamaica, the JN Foundation will be staging an international water summit under the theme, “Water is Life,” spanning a two-day period, May 13-14, 2021.
Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, said the summit will take the form of a “Phygital” experience, a combination of both physical and digital activities. She underscored that the event will also be up to par with the standard of UN conferences in respect of its look and feel.
She said that the two-day Climate Change, Sustainability, and Innovation Summit, aims to present climate smart solutions geared to impact residential and/or commercial industries and also provide general solutions to address climate resilience, with a special category focused on water adaptation.
Other aims of the summit are to present businesses that help to solve a climate related challenge and overall, promote increased climate resiliency, particularly in residential industries; energizing and exciting persons who are currently involved in this line of business and/or considering entry.
The summit will also provide specific avenues for women and youth-led climate resiliency businesses, to participate. It will also seek to identify the needs of international stakeholders operating the field of the climate resilience.
It is free and open to everyone and will incorporate speakers both locally and from across the Caribbean, who are experts in their field; and who will provide the well- needed knowledge for attendees.
“The Summit will give participants the flexibility to register online for workshops based on their interest; allow networking – with the opportunity to obtain funding, or capital for their businesses; and showcase water adaptation best practices or technology; as well as, highlight the progress of the entrepreneurs, who have been funded by the JN Foundation,” Cornelia Walters-Jones, project manager of the Water Project, outlined.
The University of Technology, Jamaica, will present some of its latest research. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with the university to offer a course in Rainwater Harvesting and Greywater Harvesting under its Faculty of the Built Environment. Mrs Walters Jones stated that the key takeaways from the summit will be to foster entrepreneurship in climate resilience; support the uptake of water efficiency measures in the housing sector across Jamaica and to obtain commitment from the government, to maintain focus and action water conservation strategies.
Through its Water Adaptation Project, the JN Foundation has cemented its objectives to bridge the gap between Jamaica’s already limited water supply, due to climate change and population growth, urbanisation, environmental degradation- among other factors- by encouraging the use of water adaptation technologies by developers and householders.
The project, which was launched in 2017, and is a joint collaboration between the JN Bank, the JN Foundation, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is approaching its final stages of completion, but promises to leave a lasting impact on both the environment and the Jamaican people.
For more information about the summit, visit the Water Project’s website, at www.waterprojectja.com.