PepsiCo and Partners to host first edition of AMWAJ 2016 Sustainability and Entrepreneurship Forum in Jordan on Monday

In collaboration with several of its partners, PepsiCo– the global food and beverage company – is hosting the first edition of the AMWAJ Forum, an international sustainability and entrepreneurship forum. Organized in Jordan by PepsiCo and Revolve Media, as well as entrepreneurship-building organizations Ahead of the Curve and Wamda, the Forum aims to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and drive a sustainable future for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The AMWAJ Forum is taking place at the Amman Rotana Hotel on 28 and 29 November, 2016. It brings together decision makers from the private and public sectors, thought leaders in environmental sustainability, media and social entrepreneurs to offer socially-innovative ideas, share best practices and find practical solutions to environmental, health and societal priorities, with a goal of building inclusive societies for a sustainable future in the MENA region.

Named after the Arabic word for waves, the AMWAJ Forum underscores PepsiCo’s recently-launched global ‘2025 Sustainability Agenda’, designed to foster continued business growth in a manner that responds to changing consumer and societal needs. As part of this agenda, PepsiCo has called on governments, communities and the private sector to work together on common solutions for problems faced by the region and the world. The ‘2025 Sustainability Agenda’ continues PepsiCo's decade-long commitment to delivering its pioneering vision, Performance with Purpose.

The Forum also underscores Revolve Media’s commitment to catalyzing action to create more environmentally-aware societies that are conscious of resource conservation and the importance of water resource management. At the opening of AMWAJ 2016, a report by Revolve will be unveiled, showing the growing link between water and energy and the critical importance of addressing water scarcity in the MENA and the Mediterranean regions.

The first day of the Forum will see Ahmed El Sheikh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of PepsiCo’s Egypt and Jordan Commercial Unit, deliver welcome remarks. He will be followed by Ahmad Al Hindawi, a Jordanian national serving as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, who will give a keynote speech on the role of youth in driving the UN SDGs: Opportunities for youth in MENA. Other prominent keynote speakers include Ambassador Andrea Matteo Fontana, EU Delegation to Jordan, and Dr. Tarik Yousef, Director of the Brookings Doha Center on the Political, Social and Economic Landscape of the Arab Region. The remainder of the day will be split into two streams: Sustainability and Entrepreneurship, each with its own set of activities, media workshops, debates and field trips to a wastewater treatment plant and an innovation and incubation center for youth.

The second day will feature several prominent Jordanian speakers taking part in panel discussions, including Kamel Al Asmar, Chief Communications and Community Officer at Wamda; Ruba Al-Zu’bi, CEO of Energy, Water and Environment (EDAMA); and Walaa Hamdan, Managing Director of CSR Watch Jordan, an organization raising awareness about the importance of CSR in Jordan and beyond. The panel discussions will cover a wide range of topics comprising Connecting and Investing in Water and Energy Projects, the Role of the Media in Driving Sustainable Development Challenges in MENA, Women Entrepreneurs as Engines of Economic Growth, Youth and Unemployment in MENA, and Technology and Entrepreneurship. In addition to roundtable discussions and interactive sessions, Nicolla Hewitt, Middle East Advisor for Girl Rising, will present a keynote speech on the power of girls, education and entrepreneurship.

Culminating the two-day Forum, the winner of the PepsiCo Social Impact Competition will be announced during an official gala dinner. Organized in partnership with Wamda, the competition aims to promote, reward and celebrate social enterprise startups from the Arab World that deliver sustainable profit, as well as those that develop innovative solutions that extend beyond profitability to also include social responsibility and environmental impact.

“PepsiCo is honored to be hosting the first-ever AMWAJ Forum in Jordan. We designed AMWAJ to create a shared understanding of sustainable development. In a region severely affected by issues like water shortages, youth unemployment, and education and skills gaps, all stakeholders must be part of the solution. The Forum aims to generate real, innovative solutions that help build a more sustainable future in line with the UN SDGs,” said Ahmed El Sheikh of PepsiCo.

“PepsiCo in Jordan, for example, has successfully implemented the Positive Water Impact initiative, as well as several other water projects in cooperation with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the Jordanian Water Authority. We look forward to sharing this best practice at AMWAJ 2016, which can be replicated in other countries, and is a testament to the importance of public-private partnerships to address key development challenges like water scarcity,” El Sheikh added. “These types of projects not only correspond with the goals of our own sustainability agenda, but also reaffirm the importance of partnerships between governments, communities and the private sector, a concept we aim at reiterating during the Forum. I look forward to the start of AMWAJ and welcoming our esteemed speakers and partners to Jordan.”

In turn, Stuart Reigeluth, Founder of Revolve Media, commented, “Connecting companies with journalists and civil society to communicate increasingly around the importance of water is at the core of our efforts to bring a sustainable future to the MENA region. Strategic partnerships are the key to maximizing outreach and social impact.”

Additional information about the AMWAJ Forum is available on www.revolve-water.com/forum.