World Water Day was again this year an important opportunity to discuss the links between water, prosperity and peace in the presence of more than 1,000 students from secondary schools in Rome, who on March 22, 2024, gathered together with authorities and institutions at the Olympic Theater to participate in the third Aquae! One Water one Earth 2024.
L’science popularization event dedicated to water resources and climate change and designed for young people is sponsored by the University of Rome Foro Italico, this year in collaboration with the Central Apennine District Basin Authority and under the patronage of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, the Ministry of Agriculture of Food Sovereignty and Forestry, the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, SItI – Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, the Lazio Region, the Municipality of Rome, Italian National Fair Play Committee, and the Italian Gymnastics Federation.
After an evocative show that featured water as the protagonist, Marco Casini, Secretary General of the Central Apennine District Basin Authority, opened the proceedings by announcing the Authority’s commitment that, in the coming years, it intends to invest significant resources in scientific popularization and the organization of public engagement initiatives in the wake of Aquae! Casini then stressed that the Authority has “the duty to involve the new generations, to inform and train them on issues of extreme relevance such as those of management and protection of water resources with the aim of sensitizing them on virtuous behaviors that can direct the development of the territory towards an ever greater sustainability.”
Also present were Sabrina Alfonsi, Councillor for the Environment and Agricultural Policies of the Municipality of Rome; Attilio Parisi, Rector of the University of Rome Foro Italico, Italy’s only university specializing in sports, science and health; Vincenzo Romano Spica, scientific coordinator of AQUAE and director of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biotechnology at the University of Rome Foro Italico; and Beatrice Covassi, MEP on the Committee on the Environment and Public Health emphasized the deep connection between environmental rights and health.
Claudio Barbaro, Undersecretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, sent the children a message, in which he appealed for a “culture of preservation,” reiterating “the Ministry’s commitment through an environmental education program with the goal of spreading a true culture of environmental protection and respect for natural resources.”
Direct and effective video by Richard Connor Editor in Chief UNESCO World Water Assessment Program (WWAP). Also presented to students was science popularizer Fabio Cappa’s traveling show, “No Time Left,” which aims to spread critical awareness among young people about how financial choices can positively affect the planet while promoting responsible investment practices that take ESG standards into account.
Also offering food for thought between current affairs and culture was Fausta Speranza journalist and writer, author of the book “The Sense of Thirst,” who, commenting on the UN Water for Peace report, spoke about the role of the media and correct information, that of civil societies and local cultures, referring to situations around the world.
The urgent topic of water safety in light of new European legislation came up in meetings with Enrico Veschetti researcher at ISS, Cristian Carboni member of Water Europe, and Alberto Spotti of Aquaitalia.
Moderating, Savino Zaba. Many artists, guests and entertainment personalities who participated or relaunched the initiative. Among them, Eleonora Vallone President of the AQUA Film Festival twinned from this year with AQUAE in the involvement of schools; Antonio Mezzancella showman, imitator and singer; Salvatore Masucci guitarist; singer Santa Fè; the “Jedi violinist Andrea Casta – among the most followed musical stars on social media – who has been flanking the institutional InitiativeA since the first year, opening each edition of AQUAE with his music capable of making viewers travel with immersive effects between nature and the future, ranging between pop, electronic and dance music.
“Celebrating World Water Day by raising awareness through this event among hundreds of students is a truly effective way to convey the culture of safeguarding this vital asset for human beings. Educating young people, and not only them, on this topic is of priority importance, and that is why at the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security there is an environmental education program in place, through which we are convinced that we are centering the goal of spreading a true culture of environmental protection and respect for natural resources,” thus Sen. Claudio Barbaro, Undersecretary of State at MASE”
“On the occasion of World Water Day, it is necessary to reiterate that equitable and sustainable access to water for all is an issue of primary urgency that requires the activation of synergies at the local, national and international levels by placing it at the center of the global agenda. It is about affirming an essential and universal human right that even Roma Capitale has introduced as a cardinal principle in its Statute. But the issue of access to water and the protection of this fundamental resource is also an educational and cultural issue to stimulate awareness of the importance of our behaviors right from the younger generations. The Aquae event, for which I would like to thank the organizers Prof. Attilio Parisi Rector University of Rome Foro Italico, Prof. Marco Casini Secretary General of the Central Apennine District Basin Authority, Prof. Vincenzo Romano Spica Scientific Director of AQUAE and the students present, is a valuable opportunity to spread the principles of ethical, moral and political responsibility on the protection of water as a universal common good,” says Sabrina Alfonsi, Councillor for Agriculture, Environment Waste Cycle of Roma Capitale
“We have a duty to involve the new generations, to inform and educate them on issues of extreme relevance such as those of water resource management and protection. The Central Apennine Basin Authority will invest’ in the coming years important resources in scientific dissemination and in the organization of initiatives such as Aquae, in order to sensitize the new generations towards virtuous behaviors that can direct the development of the territory towards more and more sustainability,” comments Marco Casini, Secretary General of the Central Apennine District Basin Authority.
