23 June 2010
International delegates gather for Dundee water symposium
Photo opportunity: 4pm on Thursday, June 24th at the ground floor lecture theatre, Carnegie Building. Former University Principal Sir Alan Langland will present the award bearing his name to Teresa Liguori.
Lawyers, academics, civil servants, policy makers and students from across the globe have descended upon Dundee for a four-day symposium on water law.
Around 50 delegates are taking part in the International Law and Transboundary Freshwaters Symposium and Workshop 2010, which is being hosted by the University of Dundee’s UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science until Thursday, June 24th.
Jointly organised with the UNESCO Regional Centre on Urban Water Management in Tehran, the Symposium is examining the functions of international water law, how it promotes regional peace and security, and how it reconciles competing claims over transboundary freshwaters.
Other key questions explored will include how international legal frameworks support national decision making, and what diplomatic strategies nation states can employ to secure the best legal outcomes possible in light of their transboundary water interests.
Among those attending the Symposium are former University Principal Sir Alan Langlands and Professor Roberto Lenton, former Chair of the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership and current Chairperson of the Inspection Panel of the World Bank.
Both men will be receiving Honorary Degrees from the University this week. Professor Lenton will be one of the speakers at the Symposium, while Sir Alan will present the first Sir Alan Langlands Water Leaders Prize to Teresa Liguori, an outstanding student who has just obtained a Masters degree from the Dundee UNESCO Centre.
Professor Pat Wouters, Director of the Dundee UNESCO Centre, said, 'The symposium features many distinguished international experts, and we are delighted to have them here in Dundee. International water law, in terms of transnational freshwater, can play a vital role in promoting regional peace and security.
'Talking in a personal capacity, it was a great honour for me to have been mentored and supported by Sir Alan Langlands throughout his time at the University of Dundee. I celebrate his Honorary Degree and that of Professor Roberto Lenton, whom I am delighted to welcome as a distinguished speaker for this symposium.
'Teresa Liguori has demonstrated remarkable leadership, initiative and excellence in her work in Guatemala, showing an intensity of focus of application second to none'.
The symposium will be chaired by Professor Wouters, Dr Alistair Rieu-Clarke, senior lecturer at the Dundee centre, and Dr Homayoun Motiee, Director of the Tehran Centre.
As well as providing training on international water law, the symposium is also part of longer term capacity development support to UNESCO Centres in Iran and Brazil. Delegates from USA, Canada, Finland, the UK, Italy, Uganda, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are attending.
The Sir Alan Langlands Water Leaders Prize will be awarded annually for the next five years, and will be awarded to the graduating student with the best grades in three core water law modules, plus their dissertation or equivalent.
The inaugural winner is Teresa Liguori (34), from Bologna, Italy, who graduated with a LLM Water Governance and Conflict Resolution earlier this week. Sir Alan will present her with her £1,000 cash prize and a Crystal Cube with laser engraved 3D image to mark her achievement at 4pm on Thursday, June 24th at the University’s Carnegie Building.
Part of Teresa’s LLM saw her undertake an internship project in Guatemala where she did carried out practical work on the country’s water law for a Non-Governmental Organisation. Her work on water law reform has been officially recognised by the Guatemalan Senate Cabinet Office for Water
The symposium constitutes the first week of the International Water Law module within the Water Law Water Leaders Summer Programme taking place at the University. This will help to create a new generation of water leaders to effect locally devised and locally driven solutions to water issues, and the programme has attracted participants from around the globe.
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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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