Final AfriAlliance Conference: Innovation Bridge Event - Climate-proof IWRM Session Recording

In case you missed the Final AfriAlliance Conference, or want to re-watch some of the sessions from the event, all recordings of AfriAlliance sessions are being uploaded for you to look back on!

Below please find the recordings (in English and French) of the Innovation Bridge Event - Climate-proof IWRM session, held on 29 October 2020, 13:00 - 15:00 CET.

The purpose of AfriAlliance Innovation Bridge Events (IBE) is to serve as a matching platform for universities, science councils and companies in water and climate change with potential collaborators, funders and investors to facilitate commercialisation, awareness and better uptake of their innovations. The topic of the Innovation Bridge Events follows from the overarching theme of the AfriAlliance project which is to foster social innovation related to climate change and water. Social Innovation in AfriAlliance means tackling societal, water-related challenges arising from climate change by combining the technological & non-technological dimensions of innovation. 

Social innovation consists of new combinations (or hybrids of existing and new) products, processes and services. In order to succeed, social innovation needs to pay attention to technological dimensions as well as non-technological dimensions: 1) technology, 2) capacity development, 3) governance structures and 4) business road map. As such, these four dimensions of the social innovation process cut across organisational, sectoral and disciplinary boundaries and imply new patterns of stakeholder involvement and learning. The AfriAlliance Innovation Bridge Events are specifically designed to facilitate the dialogue across these boundaries in order to foster social innovation for water and climate.

This 5th edition of the AfriAlliance IBE addressed social innovation and its four dimensions gathering diverse stakeholders across all levels of government and the sectors of climate, water, environment, sustainability and innovation, inter alia. The session consisted of technology exhibitions and demonstrations and a follow up plenary discussion on fostering technological innovations for further development, uptake and commercialization.