WARREDOC was founded in 1985 as an extraordinarily visionary project: studying water does not just mean analyzing a natural element, but understanding society, cultures, the politics of cooperation, the meeting of peoples, and the challenges of sustainable development. Set within a humanities-based university context, focusing on linguistic and intercultural training, the center chose a courageous and forward-thinking approach that still defines its identity today.
Forty years after its foundation, WARREDOC promotes scientific and cultural advancement in the field of water, with international programs, scientific exchange, and dissemination of water sciences. The center’s activities integrate the historic mission of the University for Foreigners of Perugia with the challenges of environmental and social sustainability, artificial intelligence, and internationalization.
An International Research Center
Over the years, WARREDOC has benefited from the contributions of the greatest national and international scientists in the fields of water resources, hydrology, and hydraulic engineering, who have enriched the center’s activities by taking part in seminars, courses, and world-class research projects. This dialogue with high-level experts has enabled the center to develop cutting-edge scientific and educational programs, capable of combining science, technology, social reflection, and culture. Documentation of these activities over time is collected in the LUCIO Library.
International cooperation still represents a key element of WARREDOC’s actions, which promotes agreements, mobility programs, and research, training, and development activities at an inter-institutional level, and also participates in international networks in the water sector and related fields.
Training and Creativity
Since its early years, WARREDOC has hosted international courses with students from developing countries and professors from the world’s most prestigious universities. Intensive seminars, in which science and technology engaged in dialogue with social, cultural, and artistic reflection, have produced works that today show how shared knowledge can be transformed into expression, relationship, and memory.
International Recognition and UNESCO Engagement
Today, the University for Foreigners of Perugia, thanks to its research, teaching, and social impact activities on water resources, has received through the establishment of a UNESCO Chair in “Water Resources Management and Culture”, a prestigious international recognition that confirms the value of forty years of patient, tenacious, and visionary work.
WARREDOC actively collaborates with the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), present in Umbria since 2009, with the support of the Italian government, the Umbria Region, and hosted at a campus of the University for Foreigners. In addition, it supports the implementation of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP).
In 2025, the UNESCO Chair in “Water Resources Management and Culture” was renewed for the four-year period 2026–2029.