The Lisbon Community of Practice (CoP) met in person for the first time on the 26. April, after a first meeting was held online in March. This second CoP took place at the University of Lisbon and was focused on the Lisbon Strategic Agenda toward a water-smart society. Around 50 people attended the event, in representation of a diversity of stakeholders, including health and environmental public institutions, professional associations of the water sector, water utilities, and non-governmental organizations.

Catarina Freitas, from Lisbon Municipality (Living Lab (LL) owner and CoP Coordinator), welcomed the participants. She was followed by Maria João Rosa as the LL mentor from LNEC (National Laboratory for Civil Engineering), with an overview of the Lisbon Strategic Agenda and priorities for water-smart management. Following up on this introduction, CoP moderator Luísa Schmidt (Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon) presented the results of the first CoP meeting and explained the methodology of the workshop.

The collaborative work was organized into four thematic groups, drawn from the strategic objectives of the LL Lisbon: water and climate resilience; non-potable uses for treated wastewater; information, communication, and awareness-raising; and circular economy and building value for water. Each table, assisted by a facilitator and a rapporteur, came up with a diagnosis of barriers and drivers for the implementation of the Lisbon Strategic Agenda, which then resulted in a list of proposals for 2024 (end of B-WaterSmart) and 2030.

At the end of the workshop, a spokesperson from each group, nominated among the stakeholders, presented the preliminary results of the discussion. Ana Lourenço, from Lisbon Municipality, offered the closing address of this second CoP meeting. Lisbon has also already prepared and discussed a ‘CoP Charter’, as well as a roadmap of future meetings and working groups until 2024.

Photo credits: Lisbon Municipality (Manuel Rodrigues Levita/DMCom/CML)