INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

What: ECOSOCC Civil Society Pre-Summit on the 2026 African Union Theme of the Year: "Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063."

Who: Organized by the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) in partnership with TrustAfrica; African Renaissance; INCLUDE Platform; Pan African Lawyers Union; Reform Initiatives; Amani Africa; All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC); Federation of African Journalists and Afrobarometer.

When:  9th February 2026.

Where: Abay Hall, Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Africa faces a profound water and sanitation crisis, with over 400 million people lacking access to basic drinking water and more than 700 million without safely managed sanitation. The 2026 AU Theme of the Year emphasizes sustainable water availability and safe sanitation as essential to achieving the AU’s Agenda 2063, fostering economic growth, social development, and climate resilience. Addressing Africa's water and sanitation challenges demands the comprehensive, integrated, and people-centered approach that defines Agenda 2063's philosophy of African ownership and African solutions.

Program of Events:

• 9 February: Main Pre-Summit featuring interactive plenary sessions, panel discussions, and structured dialogue focused on the 2026 AU Theme of The Year.
• 10 February: High-Level Breakfast Meeting to review progress on the 2025 AU Theme of The Year, identify lessons learned, and inform the implementation of the 2026 Theme. (Venue: Hyatt Regency).
• 12^th February: Networking Event in collaboration with INCLUDE Platform. (Venue: Hyatt Regency).
• 13^th February: Preserving Information Integrity in Climate Change, in collaboration with Federation of African Journalists (Venue: Hyatt Regency).
• 13^th February: Round Table on Advancing Agenda 2063, in collaboration with TrustAfrica. (Venue: Hyatt Regency).

Key Objectives:

• Launch the continental civil society engagement with the 2026 AU ToTY.
• Strengthen coordinated, inclusive, and climate-resilient water governance.
• Mobilize partnerships, innovation, and resources for implementation.
• Enhance policy coherence across continental and global water frameworks.
• Advance Gender Justice: Champion gender-responsive approaches recognizing that women and girls bear 70% of water collection burdens across the continent.
• Drive Accountability: Strengthen civil society’s role in monitoring implementation, advocacy, and ensuring policy commitments translate into community impact.

Expected Outcomes:

• Common understanding of the 2026 AU ToTY’s priorities and action framework.
• Strengthened collaboration among AU institutions, Member States, civil society, and partners.
• Increased resource mobilization and adoption of innovative water and sanitation solutions.
• Improved policy and institutional alignment for sustainable water governance.

Participation:

Approximately 250 participants from diverse stakeholder groups across Africa, including civil society, government, regional institutions, research bodies, development partners, the private sector, and media.

The media are invited to cover the opening of the Pre-Summit at 9 a.m. EAT at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa.

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For further information:

Ms. Carol Jilombo | Senior Communications Officer | AU ECOSOCC Secretariat, Lusaka, Zambia

E-mail: Jilomboc@africanunion.org

About ECOSOCC

The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) was established in July 2004 as an Advisory Organ composed of different social and professional groups of AU Member States. The mandate of ECOSOCC is to contribute, through advice, to the effective translation of the objectives, principles and policies of the African Union into concrete programmes, as well as the evaluation of these programmes.

Learn more at: https://ecosocc.au.int/;

Facebook: African Union ECOSOCC; Twitter: @AU_ECOSOCC