Training the Next Generation of Water Leaders: International Water School 2025

At the AQP Water Palace in Bari, the International Water School—now in its fourth year and organized by CIHEAM Bari, Acquedotto Pugliese, and the Polytechnic University of Bari (DICATECh)—is aimed at young foreign graduates from Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, and Tunisia, aims to transfer technical and managerial knowledge in the field of drinking water management.

Along with the Director of CIHEAM Bari, Biagio Di Terlizzi, the initiative was attended by Marco Rago, Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; a delegation from the One Water Committee, including Secretary General Filippo Soccodato and Attorney Paolo D’Onorio De Meo; and the Northern Apennines District Basin Authority, represented by Secretary General Gaia Checcucci.

Advisor Marco Rago highlighted Italy’s strategic priorities in international water governance. Secretary General Gaia Checcucci, meanwhile, outlined the challenges facing Italy’s water system, including water scarcity, extreme weather events, and basin-level planning.

On the sidelines of the event, a meeting was held with the president of Acquedotto Pugliese and the rector of the Polytechnic University of Bari, featuring remarks by the President of the One Water Committee, Maria Spena, who opened a discussion on potential institutional synergies. The meeting was followed by a visit to the Palazzo dell’Acqua, an Art Nouveau building of great historical and architectural value.

The initiative reaffirms Italy’s role as a key player in Euro-Mediterranean dialogue on water, in line with the One Water II project promoted by CIHEAM Bari and the One Water Committee and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.