About
The UNESCO Chairon “Water Resources Management and Culture”, established in Perugia in 2013 following the Agreement between UNESCO, the University for Foreigners of Perugia and the Honors Center of Italian Universities (H2CU), is a Water-related UNESCO Chair.
The Chair is based at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, and was ratified on June 5, 2013 in Paris by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova with an agreement that specifically states the Chair’s mission [...] Art. 2 The purpose of the Chair is to promote an integrated system of research, training, information, and documentation on water management. It will facilitate collaboration between high-level, internationally recognized researchers and teaching staff from the University and other institutions in Italy, as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, and other regions of the world.
The specific objectives of the Chair are
- to further develop the existing six-month course on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) by combining technical and cultural aspects, and to train students, faculty, water and development professionals, water service providers, institutional decision makers, and trainers
- to carry out joint research with partners to enhance knowledge that would inform innovative and interdisciplinary strategies to manage water, and to disseminate results widely; to help establish a network of experts and institutions to facilitate collaborations and the sharing of knowledge and good practices in water management
- to foster the implementation of scientific, social, and management support systems to facilitate/strengthen cooperation among relevant institutions at the national and regional levels
- and to cooperate closely with UNESCO on relevant programs and initiatives, in particular with the International Hydrologic Program and with the World Water Assessment Program in the context of activities.
The Chair is part of the UNESCO University Twinning and Networking (UNITWIN) Programme which aims to foster networks and twinning among universities. The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Program, established in 1992, is a program set up to advance research and training for higher education, with specific regard to inter-university cooperation and knowledge transfer across border development projects. The dual function of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks is to act as both “think tanks” and “bridge builders” between the academic world, civil society, local communities, research, and policy-making.
People
Lucio Ubertini Chairholder
H2CU - Honors Center of Italian Universities - La Sapienza University of Rome
Scientific Committee - Directive Board
Unistrapg Research Team
Chiara Biscarini (ViceChair) - Water Engineering, Water Education
Valentino Santucci - Artificial Intelligence, Evolutionary Computation
Antonio Agresta - Water Engineering, Fluid Dynamics
Maura Marchegiani - International Law, Environmental Law, Sustainability
Ottavio Quirico - International Law, Environmental Law, Water Governance
Lisa Bitossi - PhD Student - Urban Resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction
Giovanna Pagnotta - PhD Student - Science Communication and Risk Perception