AQUACYCLE leaps forward through active involvement of Tunisian women researchers

To mark International Day of Women on 8 March 2022, AQUACYCLE’s Communication Manager, Ms Anna Spiteri, wishes to seize the opportunity to congratulate all the women researchers in Tunisia for their active involvement and for their valuable contributions to the AQUACYCLE project.

I can proudly confirm that several of the originally foreseen ambitions in AQUACYCLE continue to be achieved in a highly successful manner through the active involvement of women researchers in each of the partner countries, i.e. in Greece, Lebanon, Malta and Spain. Yet, on this occasion, I wished to convey my heartfelt congratulations especially to our women research colleagues in Tunisia!”

In fact, women researchers in Tunisia outnumber their male counterparts!

Anna Spiteri

Congratulations are due to Khitem Mensi, Dr. Safa Chaabane, Anis Ghattassi, Dorra Laater and Sonia Jbeli at the Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies (CITET), as well as to Dr. Baha Chamam, Dr. Samira Melki, Dr. Yasmin Cherni, Amal Mejri, Fatma Dridi, Jihene Tayahi, Mariem Douggui, Myriam Ben Said, Raja Jomni and Kaouther Bergaoui at the Water Research and Technologies Center (CERTE).

Among the above-mentioned researchers, I am most grateful to Ms Khitem Mensi and Ms Kaouther Bergaoui, who have been steadfastly providing us with most valuable support within the realm of the communication-related activities my company is overseeing in AQUACYCLE.

In parallel and particularly during these last six months, we witnessed a series of high quality research outputs that led to the award of one PhD degree, two MSc degrees and a Rural Engineer Diploma in Tunisia. As evidenced by the links provided below, each of these awards was directly related to the improved functioning of AQUACYCLE’s eco-innovative wastewater treatment system. Through their efforts, we are confident that each of the three components of the treatment system, i.e. the anaerobic digester, the constructed wetlands and the solar raceway pond reactor for solar disinfection, will be fully adapted to operate at their highest efficiency under the prevailing local conditions in Tunisia. Furthermore, I am confident that this effort will bring a lasting, cost-effective solution to sustain the livelihood of rural communities in Tunisia by providing farming communities with an abundant, all-year round, and safe-for-reuse treated domestic effluent as a non-conventional source of water to meet their irrigation requirements.

Having had the pleasure to welcome some of my Tunisian women research colleagues in Malta in February 2019, I really look forward to the opportunity to meet in person again in the nearest future.

Anna Spiteri is Managing Director of Integrated Resources Management Company (IRMCo), an environmental research company based in Malta.

Ms Khitem Mensi (right) and Baha Chamam sharing a light moment during the Second AQUACYCLE Project Progress Meeting which took place in Valletta, Malta during 3 to 5 February 2019 and was hosted by IRMCo.

How the Tunisian women researchers describe their personal achievements and aspirations as a result of their active involvement in AQUACYCLE , and in particular of project's low-cost, eco-innovative system (APOC).