During the 28th meeting of the African Regional Working Group (AFRWG) held in Mexico City, Mexico, in October 2017 it was decided to establish the African Young Water Professional Forum (Af-YWPF) and the first meeting of the Forum was held in October 2018 during the First Cairo Water Week. The objective of the Af-YWPeF is to bring together Africa’s future leaders from the private sector, research and government institutions around the central theme of water conservation for sustainable development. The water professionals would get an opportunity to showcase their knowledge and contribution to sustainable water management in an international setting, discuss what they learned from their experiences, and broaden the mind and thinking of new and experienced water professionals.

The Af-YWPeF was established as a dedicated Group on the LinkedIn platform aimed at building the capacity of young professionals and creating a new generation capable of facing future water challenges, mainstreaming youths towards the abundant lucrative opportunities in irrigation agriculture. This Forum is now an international platform for young irrigation and drainage professionals with more than 13000 members.
 

The scope of the activities includes: (a) Encourage and promote a high standard of professional development amongst the African young professionals in the field of irrigation, drainage, and flood management; (b) Provide an international platform for young irrigation and drainage professionals; (c) Expose young professionals to ICID's activities; (d) Facilitate the wider dissemination of knowledge and information amongst the young professionals; (e) Maintain and enhance links with national and international youth having interests in water-related subjects or the activities, relevant to ICID objectives; (f) Strengthen National Committees (NCs) through the participation of YPs in their national and regional irrigation and drainage networks; and (g) Creating an international network where young professionals within the water sector can mutually learn from each other by sharing their experiences. 

Membership A person desirous of becoming a member of Af-YWPeF will have to fulfil the following eligibility criteria: Any professional from the water sector below the age of 40 years; Working or pursuing studies in the area of agricultural water management, rural development, environment, technology development and/or flood and drought management disciplines; A Young Professional’s membership in the Forum will have to be endorsed by their respective organization/academic institute where pursuing higher studies/an ICID National Committee/an International ICID Partner Institution/a direct institutional member of ICID; NCs are encouraged to nominate YPs from their countries using a diversity-based approach. Af-YWPeF will essentially be an e-Forum. Members would have the opportunity to interact with each other through a LinkedIn Group (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12143964/) moderated by experts. The network will be different from other such platforms as the active members of the Forum would have the opportunity to interact face to face with each other during ICID events and training programs. The activities of the Forum will be monitored and overseen by Chair AFRWG and national activities will be coordinated and managed by the coordinator and one or two joint coordinator(s) for a period of one year.

• Concept Note (2022)
• Af-YWPF LinkedIn Group
• African Young Professional's Coordinators (2022-2023)
• ICID Young Professionals' e-Forum (IYPeF)