From 2 to 4 November 2026, Marrakech will bring together academics, researchers, students, young professionals, public institutions and partners from the twenty-two countries of the Arabic-speaking world. This first Summit aims to make water the starting point for lasting cooperation connecting knowledge, territories and generations.
The Arabophone world brings together twenty-two countries united by a language, a history and multiple heritages. In the face of today’s challenges, this shared language can become a powerful lever for scientific, educational, cultural and human cooperation.
Just as the Francophonie built a space around the French language, the Arabophonie carries the ambition of creating a space where universities, institutions, territories, researchers and young people can meet differently: to share knowledge, give rise to useful projects and build common responses.
The Marrakech Summit will be its first founding act. Water was chosen as the first field of action because it connects peoples, crosses borders and compels dialogue, solidarity and responsibility. Starting from water, the Arabophonie is intended to open, in the future, other fields of cooperation in the service of populations.
Connect universities, research centres and institutions so that knowledge circulates and becomes solutions.
Preserve and celebrate water heritage, ancestral knowledge and the role of the Arabic language in sharing knowledge.
Give young people the opportunity to understand the issues, engage with decision-makers and build projects with their peers.
A vital resource, a matter of sovereignty and a common good, water brings together shared challenges: scarcity, climate change, urban growth, resource quality, access to services, heritage preservation and the need for new skills. The Summit will bring scientific knowledge, local experience and young people’s perspectives together to generate practical cooperation initiatives.
As someone of Lebanese heritage, I bring a deeply personal perspective to this initiative. Across the Arabophone world, several countries are currently scarred by war, displacement, division and uncertainty. Behind the institutions and the programmes, I think of the academics, researchers, students and young professionals whose projects are interrupted, but whose will to contribute remains intact.
The creation of the Arabophonie responds to a simple conviction: we must preserve and multiply the spaces where our countries meet differently. Our ambition is to prepare peace by organizing cooperation — through science, education, culture, youth and projects that serve communities.
We hope that, in the future, when Arabophone countries are mentioned, people will speak more of cooperation, innovation and shared development than of war. Water was chosen as the first field of action because it knows neither political borders nor religious differences. It compels dialogue, solidarity and responsibility.
The Marrakech Summit must enable the delegations of the twenty-two countries to lay together the first foundations of this Arabophonie of cooperation. I invite you to join us in making this gathering not one more conference, but the beginning of a shared history.
The Summit will unfold in three stages: young people will open the dialogue; academic and institutional stakeholders will share their experience; and participants will shape the next steps for Arabophone cooperation on water.
Young Moroccans will share the work carried out on the Sebou and Tensift basins. Workshops will allow the delegations to discover the UMJAE–STRATEAU approach, to compare their experiences and to prepare the Marrakech Appeal of the Young Water Ambassadors. Student projects, educational initiatives and forms of collective presentation will give this day a concrete and creative dimension.
After the official opening ceremony, the young people will present their conclusions. Academics, public institutions, river-basin agencies, experts and partners will hold a dialogue around water, culture, civilizations, heritage, governance, science and decision-support tools. The experiences of Arabophone countries will be highlighted in a spirit of cooperation and knowledge-sharing.
The final day will look to the future: pooling of proposals, dialogue on the Arabophone academic water network, preparation of a roadmap and identification of academic, territorial and institutional cooperation. The Summit will lay the first foundations of a dynamic meant to continue after Marrakech.
The World Union of Young Water Ambassadors (UMJAE) places students and young professionals at the heart of the dialogue on water. With their professors, institutions and local actors, they learn to observe, understand, debate and propose.
Morocco is the pilot country for this initiative. On the Sebou and Tensift basins, the approach brings together universities, young people, river-basin agencies and experts around local realities. STRATEAU, a decision-support tool developed by the Cerema, provides a common language to explore resources, uses and possible choices.
In Marrakech, this experience will be shared with the delegations of the Arabophone world. The aim is to help each interested country adapt it to its own institutions, universities and challenges.
Develop the Marrakech Appeal of the Young Water Ambassadors.
Build lasting connections among universities, higher-education institutions, research centres and partners across the Arabophone world.
Turn the Summit’s exchanges into cooperation priorities for 2026–2027.
Give rise to scientific, educational, cultural and territorial collaborations.
Support the gradual adaptation of the UMJAE–STRATEAU approach in interested countries.
Make arabophonie.com the common space for information, networking and follow-up after Marrakech.
The First Arabophone Academic Water Summit is an initiative of the Ambassade de l’Eau, co-organized with the Mohammed VI Museum for Water Civilization – AMAN in Marrakech. It brings together an academic, institutional, scientific, cultural, technical and financial ecosystem around a common ambition: to make cooperation an instrument of peace and shared development.
Universities, public institutions, international organizations, foundations, companies, river-basin agencies and professional networks can support a delegation, share expertise, support a programme session or contribute to the follow-up after Marrakech.
Support a delegation, share expertise, support a programme session or contribute to the follow-up after Marrakech.
Academics, researchers, students, young professionals, public institutions, international organizations, river-basin agencies, associations, foundations and companies: join us in Marrakech for a gathering where knowledge, cultures and generations come together to build a shared future.
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