The Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, in partnership with the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and the WASH Advocacy Initiative, sponsored a workshop on “Actualizing the Upside of Water: Development, Diplomacy, and Defense,” for a select group of government and civil society leaders.
The day-long conference not only examined the national security implications of water scarcity, but also looked at the resource as a positive driving force behind economic growth, improved public health, education, gender empowerment, and stability across the globe.
Those speaking or facilitating dialogues at the event, held at GWU’s Linden Commons, included Marcus King, associate director of research at the Elliott School; John Oldfield, managing director of the WASH Advocacy Initiative; J. Peter Pham, director of the Ansari Africa Center; Major General (ret) Rich Engel, director of environment and natural resources at the National Intelligence Council; Chris Holmes, global water coordinator at the US Agency for International Development (USAID); John R. Lyman, director of the Atlantic Council’s Energy and Environment Program; Ambassador Harriet (Hattie) Babbitt, former deputy administrator of USAID; Ambassador Richard Roth, senior advisor in the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs; and Aaron Salzberg, special coordinator for water resources in the State Department.