TWAS–ARO 12th Annual Meeting Sustainability in Food and Water: An Arab Viewpoint 18–19 December 2016

Under the Patronage of HRH Prince El-Hassan bin Talal,

Sunday, 18 December 2016 9:00–10:00 Registration

Opening Session

 Welcome Note: Mohammad Hamdan, TWAS Vice President for the Arab Region; Senator in the Upper House of Jordan’s Parliament; and Senior Advisor, Arab Open University (AOU) (Jordan) 10:00–11:30  Yehia Zaky, Technical Adviser to Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina representing Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt)  Mohamed El-Faham, Scientific Advisor, Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt) representing TWAS Arab Regional Office (TWAS–ARO)

 Keynote Speech: HRH Prince El-Hassan bin Talal (Jordan) 11:30–12:00 Group Photo and Networking Break Session 1: Food Security and Poverty Reduction

Chair: , Chancellor, ; and former Prime Minister of Jordan (Jordan)

 Mohamed Farag, Alexander von Humboldt Fellow; and Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University (Egypt) 12:00–13:30 “Plant Growth Promoting Soil Bacterial Volatiles: A Novel Formula for Sustainable Agriculture”  Ayman Suleiman, Professor of Crop and Agricultural Water Modeling, Faculty of Agriculture, The (Jordan) “A Modern Method for Computing Crop Water Requirements”  Mahmoud Duwayri, Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Jordan; and former Minister of Agriculture (Jordan) “Sustainable Food Production in Dry Regions”

13:30–14:30 Lunch Break

* This program is subject to change. The organizers reserve the right to alter session topics, timings and speakers.

TWAS–ARO 12th Annual Meeting Sustainability in Food and Water: An Arab Viewpoint 18–19 December 2016

Sunday, 18 December 2016 Session 2: Water Scarcity... The Great Challenge

Chair: Sabah Al-Sulaiman, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University (Sultanate of Oman)

 Abdin Salih, Professor, Water Research Center, University of Khartoum (Sudan) 14:30–16:00 “Prospective of Water Harvesting in G-WADI Actions”  Hani Abu Qdais, Professor of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) (Jordan) “Environmental Impacts of Mega Desalination Projects: Red–Dead Sea Conveyor”  Anwar Battikhi, President, The University of Jordan, College of Agriculture, Jordan Society for Scientific Research (Jordan) “Water Resources in the Arab World: Past and Present” 16:00–16:30 Networking Coffee Break Session 3: Climate Change: Current Status and Future Prospects

Chair: Salma El-Kindy, Dean, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University (Sultanate of Oman)

 Adel El-Beltagy, former Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and Chairman, International Drylands Development 16:30–18:00 Commission (IDDC) (Egypt) “The Impact of Climate Change on Food Production and Water Availability in the Dry Areas in the Arab World”  Salah Soliman, Professor of Pesticide Chemistry & Toxicology, Alexandria University; and Senior Expert, Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt) “Interactions of Rising CO2, Temperature and Climate Change on Food Safety with Special Focus on Pests and Pesticides”  Hussein El-Atfy, Secretary-General, Arab Water Council (AWC); and former Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources (Egypt) “Regional Cooperation and Coordination Towards Water and Food Security in the Arab Region”

18:00–19:00 YAS Prize Committee Meeting (by Invitation Only)

* This program is subject to change. The organizers reserve the right to alter session topics, timings and speakers.

TWAS–ARO 12th Annual Meeting Sustainability in Food and Water: An Arab Viewpoint 18–19 December 2016

Monday, 19 December 2016 9:00–11:00 TWAS–ARO Closed Meeting (Members and Young Affiliates Only) 11:00–11:30 Networking Coffee Break Session 4: Engaging Society… Public Awareness and Human Wellbeing

Chair: Mohammad Hamdan, TWAS Vice President for the Arab Region; Senator in the Upper House of Jordan’s Parliament; and Senior Advisor, Arab Open University (Jordan)

 Yousry El-Gamal, former Minister of Education and Board Member, Consultant, Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport (Egypt) 11:30–13:30 “Role of ICT to Promote Sustainable Food Systems”  Yehia Zaky, Technical Adviser to Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt) “Public Health and Human Wellbeing”  Ramy Aziz, Professor and Chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University (Egypt) “Improving Human Health From the Inside-Out: Genomics and Metagenomics in Public Health and Precision Medicine”  Muntaser E. Ibrahim, Head of Unit, Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum (Sudan) “In Defining the Natural Domain of the (Arabic): A Revisit of the Metaphor” 13:30–14:30 Lunch Break Closing Session: Strengthening the Food and Water Sustainability: A Policy-Maker Perspective— Open Discussion

Chair: Mohammad Abu Qudis, Director, Arab Open University (AOU) Jordan

 Mohammad Hamdan, TWAS Vice President for the Arab Region; Senator in the Upper House of Jordan’s Parliament; and Senior Advisor, 14:30–16:00 Arab Open University (Jordan)  Adel El-Beltagy, former Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and Chairman, International Drylands Development Commission (IDDC) (Egypt)  Hussein El-Atfy, Secretary-General, Arab Water Council (AWC); and former Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources (Egypt)  Mahmoud Duwayri, Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Jordan; and former Minister of Agriculture (Jordan)  Abdin Salih, Professor, Water Research Center, University of Khartoum (Sudan)

* This program is subject to change. The organizers reserve the right to alter session topics, timings and speakers.