Water communities from Sinai, Songea and Gaza meet at McMaster in new puppet show screening, endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade

A new short film, released this week, documents a June 2026 conference at McMaster University that brought together coastal, reef and river communities from Egypt, Tanzania and Gaza to share knowledge and living traditions of water stewardship.

The film weaves footage from the McMaster gathering with the voices and practices of the partner communities — the Bedouin of Sinai, the intergenerational academy of NEMCA in  Songea Tanzania, and the coastal communities of Gaza — tracing a shared commitment: the duty to care for water, and the cultural and legal knowledge that has sustained that duty for generations.

Watch the film: Puppet Show from Gaza, Sinai and Songea

A conversation across communities

Rather than speaking about these communities, the film gives space to the partners whose knowledge anchors the gathering:

–  Sinai (Egypt) — the Asfour Initiative, with Dana Ahmed

–  Songea (Tanzania) — Beyond Borders, with Agnes Haule, Ladslaus Bigambo and Camilla Haule

–  Gaza — Dream Fishers, with Shimaa Abu Qamar

Each community brings its own relationship with water — reef, river and coast — and its own tradition of stewardship. The film sets these alongside one another not to compare them, but to show how deeply connected they are.

Made in collaboration

–  Footage: Laura Vita and Deborah Diliberto

–  Editing: Amna Usmani and Jessica Liebmann

–  In collaboration with: the Asfour Initiative (Sinai), Beyond Borders (Songea) and Dream Fishers (Gaza)

–  Endorsed by: the UN Ocean Decade