Water, Cultural Diversity and Global Environmental Change: Emerging Trends, Sustainable Futures?

The objective of this international symposium is to encourage global recognition of, and respect for, cultural diversity in water resources management, in order to facilitate collaborative actions for sustainability of water and cultures. The symposium is part of a series of activities that have been implemented on the topic, most notably public sessions held in the past four World Water Forums. The symposium will be held as an activity of the UNESCO-IHP Project on Water and Cultural Diversity, whose objective is to contribute to the achievement of MDG 7: “ensure environmental sustainability” by mainstreaming cultural diversity in water resources management.

During the symposium, various case studies from all world regions and cultures will be presented. These case studies will be presented by experts who represent a variety of backgrounds, disciplines and knowledge systems pertaining to water, thus making the symposium targeted not simply towards academics but also appealing to practitioners and the general public interested in water and cultural issues. The case studies will demonstrate the ways in which culture affects, and is affected by, the myriad interactions between people and water, thereby highlighting the importance of cultures in bringing forth solutions to water problems and the sustainability of these solutions. By bringing together various institutions and experts and by taking an integrated and transdisciplinary approach, the symposium will consolidate suggestions on ways to incorporate cultural diversity concerns into watershed management and water resource development. This will constitute a substantial step towards development of culturally sensitive studies and policies on water.

A related art exhibition will be presented at the venue, consisting of work submitted by youth and artists in response to a call for contributions to two books on the topic, which are also a product of the UNESCO-IHP project.

Event type	Conference/Symposium
Regional focus	Global
Organisers & Staff   Organisers   Lisa HIWASAKI   Ameyali RAMOS CASTILLO   Daniel NILES   Noriko IIZUKA Participants   There are 23 participants associated with this event. [View detailed participants list (including travel arrangements)] [View a printable participants list] Documents   There are 19 documents associated with this event. [View documents]