Wednesday 30 / October / 2024
Muscat: The Middle East Desalination and Research Centre has marked the occasion of World Water Day by adopting the motto of ‘Leaving No One Behind’.
World Water Day is celebrated globally on March 22 every year. The UN initiative aims to remind people of the importance of water and has a different theme each year.
This year, the focus will be on the plight of the more than 2.1 billion people across the world who live without access to safe drinking water (WHO/UNICEF 2017) and how this crisis impacts upon their lives and the development of their communities.
MEDRC Centre Director, Ciarán Ó Cuinn said, “Water is critical for energy and agriculture, for social and economic development. Today we highlight that water lies at the core of sustainable development. It is the precious foundation for all human progress”.
Ó Cuinn and Ahmed Al Mazruai, CEO of MAJIS Industrial Services Company (MAJIS), signed an MoU, signifying the intentions of both parties to collaborate on water research projects. Both organisations will work together this year on a new project funded by The Research Council (TRC) which will explore the potential of reclaiming discarded reverse osmosis desalination membranes and modifying them for reuse in the water treatment industry.
MEDRC also announced the renewal of their partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Oman to deliver the 'Young Omani Water Researchers' Award in 2019. The award, which is now in its third year acts as a platform to showcase high quality water research being conducted in country, while encouraging researchers to focus on water related topics that would be of benefit to Oman’s water sector.
A new initiative - the MEDRC Eco School Prize, was launched at the event. The inaugural inter-school competition, sponsored by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is designed to build greater water and energy use awareness among school children in Oman. Competing schools will draft and enact a school conservation policy, measure and record improvements in usage and spread a message of conservation to their communities through a social media campaign.
