Idrica Water Security Day Middle East
Water is definitely a strategic resource for Middle East countries, and water security is becoming a growing concern among key stakeholders in the region.
In this online meeting, international experts discussed the challenges facing the region, which have increased in the current COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the role that technology can play.
The meeting took place on May 4 and was moderated by Sarmad Qazi, one of the leading communication experts in the Persian Gulf. The following speakers took part in the event:
- Jaime Barba, CEO Idrica and a water technology expert
- David J. Kilcullen, one of the world’s most important global thinkers, specializing in counterinsurgency and water.
Expert Talks
According to David Kilcullen, one of the leading indicators of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will be conflicts over access to water in certain areas of the world.
In this context, Jaime Barba argues that the pandemic has shown us the need to increase the use of technology in the management of water systems.
Both experts discuss security issues in the post-COVID-19 world. In their interviews with Sarmad Qazi they reflect on the following aspects:
- How is water connected to the crisis?
- What information can water give us to manage the coronavirus pandemic?
- How can technology help citizens and governments?
- Is critical water infrastructure at risk?
- What measures can we take to prevent cyber attacks?
Play Video
Play Video
Idrica Water Security Day: Resources
Check out the speakers’ presentations and discover the challenges facing the Middle East in this new scenario.
- «Water security and technology in times of Covid-19», Dr. David Kilcullen.
- «Technology and water security in a crisis context», Jaime Barba.
You ask the questions
What do we need to know on the road towards digital transformation? Are there specific technologies available for the post-coronavirus world? Is global water security threatened? The global leaders answered participants’ questions during the event.
Watch the video
During Idrica Water Security Day Middle East, one of the world’s prominent military experts, Dr. David Kilcullen, talks to Jaime Barba about water and conflict in the post COVID-19 Middle East.
Global thought leaders share their views on how to combat water-related risks.
About the speakers
Dr. David J. Kilcullen
- Dr. Kilcullen has been named as one of the world’s top 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine, the world’s leading international policy journal.
- Dr. Kilcullen is renowned for his TED Talk on the future of coastal cities.
- He is considered the world’s leading expert on counterinsurgency. His latest book, Dragons and Snakes, was published last month, receiving reviews in the global and printed edition of the Financial Times.
- All his public appearances receive worldwide media coverage. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, he was contacted by international media sources, such as the Washington Post, Bloomberg and The Australian, to explain the upcoming problem. He has been repeatedly interviewed by Charlie Rose, one of the most important television journalists in the world, on his TV show.
- He served in Baghdad as a member of the Joint Strategic Assessment Team, and as Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor, Multi-National Force Iraq in 2007, before becoming Special Counterinsurgency Advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2008.
- He was the U.S. State Department’s representative on the 2008 Lute Review of Afghanistan-Pakistan Strategy and lead author for the U.S. Government’s Counterinsurgency Handbook.In Afghanistan, he founded the ISAF Counter-Insurgency Advisory Assistance Team in 2009, served as an advisor to the ISAF Commander, and was a senior research scientist in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) country program for Afghanistan.
- He has taught at universities and military schools in the United States and Europe, making academic contributions to guerrilla warfare theory, insurgency and counter-insurgency, future conflicts, human geography, urban studies and the problems of access to water resources.
- He holds a BA with Honors in Politics and English from the University of New South Wales, an MA in Management from the University of Canberra, a Graduate Diploma in linguistics from the Australian Defence Force School of Languages and a PhD from the University of New South Wales.
- His books, The Accidental Guerrilla and Counterinsurgency, are used by universities, policymakers, the military, intelligence services and development agencies around the world. The Accidental Guerrilla was a Washington Post bestseller.
- See profile
Jaime Barba
- Global CEO of Idrica, one of the world leaders in technology applied to water resource management. He has a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (Spain).
- Barba has over 20 years’ experience in the water industry. Throughout his professional career in the world of water resources, he has held positions of responsibility for over a decade, including CEO of GoHub, the open innovation hub for deep tech, industry 4.0 and smart cities, Director of Digital Transformation at Global Omnium and Director of Information Systems at Grupo Aguas de Valencia, a 130 year-old company that manages the water network in 400 municipalities in Spain.
- He is considered one of the most relevant figures in the water world, and a leader in the digital transformation of the industry.
- See profile
Moderator: Sarmad Qazi
- Qazi is one of the most relevant international journalists and experts in the region.
- He has worked directly with companies such as the Qatar First Bank, the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development, Qatar Rai, Al Khaliji Bank, Etihad Airways, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar Fuel Additives Company, Qatargas, HSBC, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, the Qatar Green Building Council, Qatar Solar Technologies and Qatar Shell.
- Qazi was educated in the United States, worked for five years in Europe and currently lives and operates out of Qatar.
- He studied at the Rome Business School, the University of Punjab and Austin Community College.
- See profile
Discover all of the Water Series events
Climate change, pollution and population growth challenge the availability and quality of water worldwide. In this context, which is magnified by the current situation, innovative technologies such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence can play a very important role.
In the Idrica Water Security Series, internationally renowned experts discuss the future of technology and water security around the world.
