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Groundwater challenges and opportunities: the Water Hack at EXPO Dubai

A Water Hackathon was organized for young students on World Water Day at EXPO Dubai by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme and the Italian Ministry of Education.
Closing Ceremony of the Water Hackathon at EXPO Dubai

The World Water Development Report 2022 on groundwater provided the knowledge basis for the Water Hackathon addressed to international students celebrating World Water Day at the Italian Pavillion at Expo Dubai, on 22 March 2022.

The Water Hackathon brings together students to exchange ideas and collaborate on the main challenges of water resources to increase their awareness on the topics of World Water Day and the World Water Development Report.

The students were briefed on the main messages of the World Water Development Report 2022 on groundwater and were asked to develop strategies and projects to solve the challenge: how do you increase students’ awareness on the benefits that groundwater brings to human beings?

WWAP was invited to be part of the jury in the selection of the best proposal among the five submitted by the teams.

At the closing ceremony, the Italian General Commissioner for Expo Dubai, Mr. Paolo Glisenti thanked the students, commenting: “Your work summarizes correctly the multi-disciplinary approach needed for creating a new method of meeting the challenges posed by water use, water abuse, water rights and water sustainability. The hackathon is a great contribution to the discussion, and we will share your projects with other countries to make them part of this Expo legacy”.