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***DEADLINE EXTENSION : 5th of SEPTEMBER 2025 ! ***“HYDROPOLITICS IN ITALY, EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION”
Date:27th and 28th November 2025
Organizer: Francesca Greco, PhD, Marie Curie Fellow, University of Bergamo, Italy
CALL FOR PAPERS / DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: 30 July 2025.
#IRRIGATION AND FOOD-TRADE
#VIRTUAL WATER AND WATER FOOTPRINT
#WOMENS’ ROLE IN THE WATER SECTOR, #GENDERANDWATER
#TRENDS, NARRATIVES, IDEOLOGIES, NATIONALISMS IN WATER POLITICS
#EUROMED WATER LEGISLATION AND NOVELTIES: EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL), European Water Resilience Strategy ( WRS) .
#PRIMA PROJECTS APPRISAL AND WEFE NEXUS APPROACH
#COMMUNICATING WATER #SCIENCE-POLICY DIALOGUE
The workshop ‘Hydropolitics in Italy and in the European and Mediterranean Region’ will explore the role of societies in building their own hydropolitics and national water strategies.
With increasing demand for water, the water extremes events due to climate change and the latest geopolitical challenges, water has become a crucial issue for stability and development in the EuroMed region. Do societies have the right instruments to conceive coherent water politics and water policies?
Day 1
Italy, in particular, will be the focus of the first day. With its fragmented institutional framework and the Italian way to implement the Water Framework Directive, institutional actors, NGOs, civil society and academia are invited to express their view on the topic. Italian operators stakeholders , governmental and private sector will be called to express their view on the Italian Hydropoltical strategy or plan.
Day 2
During day 2, the European and Mediterranean countries will be compared, with their national hydropolitics, to Italy and the Italian case. A comparison across European and non European, Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries will provide a set of elements to better understand the situation of the Italian hydropolitical framework: climatic, economic , social and power-dynamics related to the construction a water national strategy will be proposed. European legislative framework and its governance will be explored and assessed.
The workshop is particularly timing because in September 2025 Italy will have to start implementing the EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) which includes restoration of water environments and their biodiversity. At the same time, the European Commission in May 2025 has provided the first guidelines regarding the new “European Water Resilience Strategy”. The workshop will mark a first discussion point regarding novelties in the water strategies of the European countries and their neighbours.
The workshop will have a particularly strong gender component as different session will cover the issue of women and men’s role in the water sector in Italy and in the EuroMed regions, in view of the upcoming publication of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2026 on “Gender and Water”.
Contributions will be accepted on the following 8 topics ( please mention which number you want to apply for):
Which narratives are currently shaping national hydropolitics in Italy/other European and Mediterranean countries? Analysis of Italy and its national hydropolitical strategy and policies. Can socio-hydrogeology and hydro-social approach help in understanding the Italian case? Can Virtual Water inform or orient Policies?
How nationalism and ideology can shape/ might shape/ and if yes, are shaping the construction of new water security issues in the European and Mediterranean area? Analysis national hydropolitical strategy and policies of the European and Mediterranean countries / case studies. Can socio-hydrogeology and hydro-social approach help in understanding?
What is the role of agriculture in shaping national hydropolitics, what is the role of food trade and virtual water? What and who is shaping water-food security in Europe and Mediterranean area? Presentation of findings of the JustWATER project addressing the topic: What is the role of agricultural exports in the use and exploitation of Italian water resources?)
High level panel : italian and european hydropolitics under the European legislation and institutions .
Is the European Water Framework Directive an appropriate instrument for the Italian peninsula, which is characterized by so many different pedoclimatic and hydrological units? Is it appropriate regarding the socio-economic context of the country? What are the main expectatons towards the NRL ( EU Nature Restoration Law) and the new EU Water Resilience Strategy? HIGH LEVEL PANEL with online session and broadcasting live- ( tentative speakers: journalists, EU MPs, Italian Ministries or Functionaries in the water sector).
How do scientists communicate water and how do politicians communicate water? And what is the role of media and press?Science-Policy dialogue is working for water?
How agricultural irrigation and soil -water management connects with the need to prevent and mitigate future droughts, floods and landslides in the EU Med area in the light of climate change?What is the political role of green water? Practical examples from practitioners and hydro-political discussion on the subject of green water, soil moisture and its role.
What is the role of women and men in the water sector in Italy and in the European and Mediterranean countries? Do we have a gender and masculinity issue in the water sector?
Comparative water policies: similarities characterizing Italy and other European and Mediterranean countries in water politics and policies: case studies. Is it possible to exchange examples and strategies from other EU and MED countries, which are applicable to Italy? Cross-cutting themes: WEFE nexus approach, climate change challenges and climatic hot spots, the role of desalination in the region. What is the role of PRIMA projects in providing an appraisal on the subject?
These are the main 8 topics for abstract submission.
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This workshop is funded by the Marie Curie Action Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01 (MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022).Topic: HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01 Type of Action: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF (HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships) Project number: SEP-210874497 Project acronym: JustWATER
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Application: Please send your application for a selected topic to :
[email protected]
with the email subject: WORKSHOP APPLICATION “your surname”.
Format: a 500 words ( reference excluded) abstract of your presentation with the following sections: title, theoretical framework, methodology, original material or theory, type of analysis and conclusions.
Please add your interest or not in being also a panel moderator.
For presenters from the European and Mediterranean regions who cannot access accommodation, there will be the possibility of paying a low-fare accommodation in a Catholic Monastery in Bergamo historical centre open to the general public for 30 euros per night. The conference will be accessible online for both presenters and attendees.
If you need a VISA for Italy apply as soon as possible, and I will send you an official invitation letter
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Logistic information: Bergamo University can be easily reached by the MILAN_BERGAMO Airport in about 20 minutes bus or in 1 hour direct train from Milano Centrale Train station.
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DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: EXTENDED TO 5TH of SEMPTEMBER 2025!!
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Via Salvecchio, 19, 24129 Bergamo BG, Italia, Via Salvecchio, 19, 24129 Bergamo BG, Italia, Bergamo, Italy
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
