World Water Day: UM helps accelerate change
Every year since March 22, 1993, World Water Day has raised awareness of the importance of freshwater. In 2023, the focus is onaccelerating change to meet the UN's sixth sustainable development goal, namely, access to water and sanitation for all by 2030. Scientific research plays a major role in this change and the University of Montpellier, which is one of the major international players in water sciences, intends to play its part. This world day is an opportunity to (re)highlight the work of our researchers in formats adapted to the general public and to show the commitment of our university to the challenge of water.

On June 2nd, the University of Montpellier and the Unesco center Icireward hosted the International Assembly of Hydrological Sciences. On this occasion, Icireward and the UM signed a partnership agreement with the Unesco Chair "Water, Women and Decision-Making Power" and the Felix Houphouet Boigny University of Abidjan. In 2023 and only a few weeks after the organization of the Water 4 future hackathon, which brought together more than 400 international students to discuss the major challenges of water, we once again stand out in the global ecosystem of water sciences.
A meeting in Montpellier to echo the United Nations meeting on water
While the United Nations will gather in New York from March 22 to 24, 2023 to review the actions of the international community on water issues, the UNESCO Centre Icireward is organizing two events under the banner: "From New York to Montpellier: all mobilized for sustainable water":
- An awareness day for schoolchildren at the Corum to help the younger generations face the challenges ahead.
- A conference for the general public "Water resources: it's getting complicated!" to provide keys to understanding the major issues with an eclectic panel of scientific specialists, elected officials and managers. It takes place on March 24, 2023 at the Faculty of Law and Political Science.
Water, a major issue regularly featured in the UM science-society magazine
"The management of water resources and aquatic ecosystems, vital for human beings and their activities, constitutes one of the major challenges for humanity in the 21st century...". With these words, Philippe Augé introduced the 16th issue of the science-society magazine LUM "Lumière sur l'eau" (February-May 2022), which is entirely devoted to the management of water resources. A theme that also appears in other issues of the magazine with, for example, the articles :
- Wastewater, a resource for the future in LUM#9
- Precious wastewater in LUM #13 Covid19: into the storm
- Water, a challenge for cities in LUM#15 "Africa
- River biodiversity at risk in LUM#16 "Light on Water
- When the city puts pressure on in LUM#16 "Light on the water
- Savings by the drop of a hat in LUM#16 "Light on Water
- Bioinspir makes chemistry rhyme with ecology in LUM #17 " The Innovation part ".
"A l'UM, la science " ... of water is also broadcast in podcast
Water is also discussed in the podcast "A l'UM la science" co-produced with Divergence radio. This program gives the floor to our researchers on recent scientific publications. For example, the programs :
- Visit of the G-EAU hydraulic hall (At UM a science S1 Ep. 18), Institut Agro
- Des sciences de l'eau (La Science s'aMUSE, May 2021), Eric Servat, Director of Osu Oreme
Sharing knowledge with The conversation
The University of Montpellier is a partner of The Conversation, an online media outlet for the general public, which allows its researchers to publish for the general public. They benefit from a very large audience with an average of more than 2 million page views each year. Among them:
- Pesticides in tap water: how are controls carried out in France? by Julie Mendret (Polytech, European Membrane Institute - IEM) and Alice Schmitt (European Membrane Institute - IEM), February 2023
- How we treat water to make it drinkable by Julie Mendret (Polytech, European Membrane Institute - IEM) and Alice Schmitt (European Membrane Institute - IEM), February 2023
- Micropollutants: what are these molecules that contaminate our water? by Geoffroy Deporte (Faculty of Pharmacy, Hydrosciences), February 2023
- Drought and wastewater reuse: in France, a new impetus and obstacles to overcome by Julie Mendret (Polytech, European Membrane Institute - IEM), December 2022