Agence de l'Eau Artois-Picardie

Who they are

The Agence de l'Eau Artois-Picardie is a French public body, one of six water agencies set up after France's water law of 1964. It works across the Nord and Pas-de-Calais and parts of the Somme, Aisne and Oise, which includes the French part of the Scheldt. It helps reduce water pollution and protect rivers and wetlands, with funding and with data.

It also runs a youth parliament of its own, the Parlement des Jeunes pour l'Eau.

How it started

In 1999, GoodPlanet (then called GREEN) helped organise the first European Youth Parliament for Water, in Espalion in France. The Agence was inspired and set up its own youth parliament. Young people from France and Brussels began visiting each other, and an idea grew: why not work per river basin? A river doesn't stop at a border.

Two people brought that idea to the Scheldt: Jo Van Cauwenberge, director of GoodPlanet, and Christine Dericq of the Agence, who is responsible for its international action and youth policy. They met through the European Youth Parliament for Water and decided to create a parliament for the whole Scheldt basin.

The Agence, GoodPlanet and the International Scheldt Commission signed their cooperation, and in October 2008 the Scheldt Youth Parliament held its first plenary, in Antwerp.

Over the past 40 years, French water policy has moved from centralised, fragmented management to a more local, integrated and participatory approach. It opened up to people who weren't involved before. That is how we came to invite young people to take an active part in managing the water in their region.

What we have done together

• 2011, Douai. We prepared the first World Youth Parliament for Water. The fresco we made there went to Marseille, and then found a place in the Agence's offices.
• 2012, Marseille. The Agence, GoodPlanet and the International Secretariat for Water organised that first World Youth Parliament for Water at the World Water Forum.
• 2016, Marrakesh. At the COP22 climate summit, our members signed an agreement with the new youth assembly of the Sebou in Morocco. The Agence signed one with the Sebou's water agency.
• 2023, Lille. The Parlement des Jeunes pour l'Eau turned twenty, and two of our members presented their projects at the celebration.
• 2024 to 2026. The Agence co-funded our latest group, alongside Erasmus+.

The Agence is also the point of contact for participants from France.

eau-artois-picardie.fr