UMBRIA WATER FESTIVAL 2012
START TO THE WORK FOR THE FESTIVAL WHICH BLESSES UMBRIA AS THE WORLD WATER CAPITAL
Will take place from the 17th to the 20th of May 2012 the first edition of Umbria Water Festival, the first international festival dedicated to water as a planet resource to discover and preserve, which will be spread on the entire regional territory of the green heart of Italy.
The first step of the path that will lead to the realization of Umbria Water Festival, expected from the 17th to the 20th of May 2012, was the establishment by the region of Umbria, Province of Perugia and Terni, of the Organizing Committee of the Festival (in the form of open, public association), which coordination is done by the province of Terni and which will be immediately invited to participate also I.A.A Chambers of Commerce of Perugia and Terni, that, through their Chairmen, Giorgio Mencaroni and Enrico Cipiccia, have already expressed an opinion in favour of the initiative.
Moreover will be called upon to actively contribute to the Organization of the event also other public and private, local, national and international subjects primarily the University of Perugia, as cultural and scientific support, and Unesco which has placed its seat of UNWWAP in Perugia, in the prestigious Villa La Colombella.
In particular, the event aims to bring together the many realities already existing in Umbria, implementing a well-structured programme that, in the four days of the festival, could involve the entire umbrian territory from the well-known areas related to water, such as the Marmore waterfalls, the Trasimeno Lake or watercourses as the Tevere River, and also the less known places as the thermal areas of Città di Castello, Spello, Parrano, Castel Viscardo and Castel Giorgio geothermal and mineral waters.
Just to highlight the importance of water, and its several uses and make Umbria "the world water Capital", the event will be structured in different subject areas, from sport to renewable energies, from mineral water to thermal and healthy area, from meteorology to meetings, from irrigation to spiritual and religious aspects related to water. Moreover the event will provide different activities, some of them spectacular, and planned for the old and the young, for families as for sportsmen, for who is environmentally aware or for the "simple" tourist.
Through this different areas everyone can learn, explore, discover every aspect of the element water.
"It is true that Umbria didn’t border with any sea – explains the assessor Silvano Rometti - but our region is particularly rich in water of great quality, with its rivers, lakes, thermal baths, wells or aqueducts exploited since antiquity, waterfalls and lush nature, thanks to the water, which made of Umbria the green heart of Italy"
"Institutions – adds Councillor Fabrizio Bracco - there were immediately enthusiast. and confidence about this original idea that matured during the first Think Thank of Todi, a stimulating analysis workshop convened by the Department of tourism which has seen the attendance of numerous experts and which was presented again with renewed success last April."
In fact it was Eugenio Guarducci, Sedicieventi Agency’s President, that participating in the first Think Tank of Todi launched this proposal, which was picked up with enthusiasm by all participants.
"Umbria Water Festival - pronounces Feliciano Polli, President of Province of Terni - is a demonstration of how the lands of our region and the Institutions that represent can find points of convergence of high-quality projects able to promote Umbria region in an original and stimulating way. "
Marco Vinicio Guasticchi declares "Province of Perugia could give its utmost support to this venture and I am persuaded that it will be confirmed among private operators in our region. Water is a precious necessary and our mission is try to improve it"
With the intention of getting on relations between Umbria and the United Nations Programme for the Assessment of World Water Resources, the Deputy Director of the UN WWAP, Michela Miletto responds affirmatively to the proposal of Umbria Water Festival explaining that "our interest is focussed on cooperation in the Festival’s educationals areas, which represents an important opportunity to increase awareness of Water: a fondamental issue not only in the present but also in the future. For this reason we are evaluating the possibility of rewarding the finalist students of the second edition of the "Acqua per Tutti, Tutti per l’Acqua!", launched by the UNESCO Office in collaboration with POST and Umbracque in the World Water Monitoring Day. "
Linked to the principles of the World Water Monitoring Day, the International Training Program of the Water Environment Federation and the International Water Association, the project for schools promotes by WWAP-POST-Umbra Water aims to sensitize young people to the protection of water resources, inviting them to conduct monitoring of local water quality through the use of a measuring kit distributed by WWAP to schools participating in the initiative. The monitoring results can be stored in a global database and shared with all communities of the world participating in the project.
Therefore, give immediately the green light to Umbria Water Festival 2012, in order to build a rich and complex program, on which for a while, it is appropriate to say ... Acqua in bocca! (Keep it secret! – Mum’s the word!)
