project

WASH – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All !

Earth Forever in its role as a national WASH focal point for Bulgaria (National Coordinator - Mrs. Mariana Stoilova), and a regional WASH focal point for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Regional Representative – Mrs. Diana Iskreva) initiated a number of WASH activities and campaigns and participated in various WASH events all over the world.

Mr. Joseph Idigo (Program Manager) is a member of the globally elected Board of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, Geneva which is the global WASH leader.

The campaign is a major tool to put water and sanitation on the top of political agenda. The first steps of the WASH Campaign turned it into one of the basic focuses of the Earth Summit in Johannesburg 2002. EfE organized an exhibition in Water Dome in Johannesburg focused on School Sanitation and Youth Involvement.

School WASH

In Bulgaria, Earth Forever, in collaboration with Bulgaria Youth Red Cross targeted the first phase of the campaign on school sanitation involving 69 schools from 31 settlements in 14 Oblasts of Bulgaria.

Later on the campaign evolved to involve experts from various ministries, utilities, local governments, trainers and educators, NGOs and media at local and national level.

Core Group Meetings

Earth Forever organized and hosted two core group meetings of key partners from Europe and Central Asia. The first meeting aimed to inform, raise awareness and mobilize partnerships with key partners from Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine. Partners from Switzerland, Great Britain and Japan also attended. It took place in July 2002 in Stara Zagora.

Planning and mobilization was made to reach the priorities of the Iguacu Action Plan and WASH; successful interventions for the Ministerial Meeting of the ministers of environment and water in Kiev, 2003 and third World Water Forum, Kyoto, 2003.

The second Core Group meeting (participants from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan) took place in late autumn 2004 as a step for the final preparation of the national WASH coordinators for their presentation, planning and mobilization for the Global WASH Forum, Dakar, 2004.

Participation in large water and sanitation international events

• World Forum for Sustainability, Johannesburg, 2002. Earth Forever was the only Bulgarian NGO that got the right to present a stand at the Forum. Earth Forever chose to present its youth activities for water and sanitation in the Water Dome.
  
  
• Focus Central and eastern Europe, Bern, 2002. The executive director of Earth Forever – Mrs. Diana Iskreva, was invited to make a session for water supply and sanitation – Water for All. At All Price? The Focus event is annually organized by DEZA and SECO of Swiss government. The goal is to introduce a number of issue and information to the Swiss experts, scientists and citizens.
• Third World Water Forum, Kyoto, 2003. The organization was presented by its Executive Director – Mrs. Diana Iskreva, and Program Manager – Mrs. Mariana Stoilova, at the Forum in Japan. Mrs. Diana Iskreva made a presentation at the workshop Operation and Maintenance of Water and Sanitation invited by O&M Japan, and participated in the expert forum in the workshop of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.
  
  
• CSD 12, UN, New York, 2004. Mrs. Diana Iskreva was invited to make a presentation at the high UN forum for water and sanitation, representing the specificity of water supply and sanitation sector of Central and eastern Europe and Central Asia.
  
  
• European Ministerial Meeting Environment and Health, Budapest, 2004. The organization participated both in the Ministerial Meeting and in the parallel NGO Health Forum with exhibitions about WASH in Bulgaria, Central and Eastern Europe and globally.
  
  
• Global WASH Forum, Dakar, 2004. Earth Forever had three representatives at the Forum. Mrs. Diana Iskreva made a presentation about the development of the Resource Center initiative.
  
  
• WASH Weeks. Earth Forever participates regularly in all WASH Weeks up to now with exhibitions and presentations (WASH Week, 2003; WASH Week, 2004).