The EuroMediterranean Water Forum 2026 (EMWF) takes place from September 29 to October 2, 2026, at the La Nuvola Convention Center in Rome. It is the first edition of the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, organized by the One Water Committee Italy in partnership with the Mediterranean Water Institute, the Union for the Mediterranean, and other institutions.
The Forum is not only a technical conference. It also includes exhibitions, culture, communication, and knowledge exchange. The screening “Films from the Short Water Film Prize – Arid Lands & Ancient Hydro-Technologies” uses cinema to address one of the Forum’s central challenges: how societies living in arid regions have historically learned to capture, store, transport, and use water.
LTAW short films provide a historical and cultural perspective that complements the EMWF’s contemporary discussions:
scarcity → adaptation → technology → traditional knowledge → current innovation.
This connects with T1 (water scarcity), T5 (water–energy–food–ecosystems), and T7 (droughts, desertification, and climate change).
The central objective is to discuss how to ensure water security in the Mediterranean by 2050 and beyond, bringing together governments, international organizations, universities, businesses, experts, and civil society.
The Forum addresses what it calls the “water trilemma”:
- too little water → droughts and water scarcity;
- too much water → floods and extreme events;
- poor-quality water → pollution and degradation of water resources.
Delegations from approximately 40 countries are participating, covering not only the Mediterranean but also the Balkans, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula.
The 11 main themes
The program is structured around 11 thematic sessions:
- Water scarcity and non-conventional water resources — water reuse, desalination, and efficiency.
- Corporate water footprint and the value of water.
- A new European vision for water.
- Water financing and investment.
- The water–energy–food–ecosystems nexus.
- From source to sea — integrated management of the entire river basin.
- Extreme events and climate change — droughts, desertification, and floods.
- One Health, One Water — the relationship between water, people, animals, and ecosystems.
- Water governance — cities, river basins, and different water users.
- Technology, digitalization, and artificial intelligence applied to water.
- Hydrodiplomacy — water as an instrument for regional cooperation and stability.
The EMWF 2026 is a major international forum addressing how the Mediterranean can confront water scarcity, climate extremes, pollution, and growing water demand.
LTAW contributes a cultural and audiovisual dimension, showing that some solutions for the future may be found in the hydraulic knowledge accumulated by civilizations of the past.
