TEHRAN - The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has agreed to extend the activities of two specialized chairs in Iran in the fields of "water reuse" and "Coastal Geo-Hazard Analysis."

The decision was made after evaluating the performance, achievements, and future plans of these chairs and reflects the organization's positive assessment of their scientific and research activities.

According to the announcement of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, the Chair in Water Reuse, headed by Mohammad-Hossein Sarrafzadeh, a member of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering at the University of Tehran, has been extended for a new term, IRNA reported.

Over the past years, this chair has played an effective role in developing knowledge and technologies related to sustainable water resources management and promoting new water recycling solutions by conducting applied research, implementing joint research projects, holding scientific meetings, and developing international cooperation.

UNESCO also agreed to extend the Chair in Coastal Geo-Hazard Analysis, headed by Hamid Nazari at the Geosciences Research Institute. According to UNESCO's decision, the chair will continue for a new term until December 31, 2029.

Over the past years, this chair has played an important role in identifying, assessing, and managing geological hazards in coastal and marine areas by implementing research projects, holding specialized meetings and workshops, and expanding scientific collaborations.

The extension of the activities of these two chairs reflects UNESCO's confidence in the country's scientific capacities and confirms the effective role of Iranian researchers in developing knowledge and technologies related to sustainable water resources management and reducing natural hazards, especially in coastal areas. This measure is also a step towards strengthening scientific and international cooperation and enhancing the resilience of societies to environmental and natural challenges.

The establishment of UNESCO Chair on Water Reuse has been proposed by school of chemical engineering in University of Tehran and with the objective of introducing vast capabilities of this university in water section and development of international cooperation in this sector. The proposal was designed in 2011 and it was approved by UNESCO in 2013.

The UNESCO Chair on Coastal Geo-Hazard Analysis was established as a competitive policy for labeling Integrated Geo-Hazard Research Sites, with two main objectives, new operational conditions for translational research in coastal geology, optimizing and accelerating knowledge production and promote the dissemination and application of this knowledge in coastal hazard assessment and sustainable development, increasing community resilience along shorelines.

The UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN (the abbreviation for University Twinning and Networking Program) Networks are a network of universities around the world that support UNESCO’s work. Chairs and UNITWIN Networks are important examples of tertiary education networking.

They bring together partners in academia, civil society, communities, and policy-making stakeholders while promoting North-South and South-South cooperation. Chairs and networks dedicated to living heritage contribute to the training of future planners, managers, and decision-makers in the field of living heritage safeguarding.

They contribute to deepening the reflection on the topic and provide knowledge and advice from academia on the implementation of the Convention at the national and international levels.

There are to date nineteen UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks linked to living heritage safeguarding and the 2003 Convention in different regions of the world. Their fields of action encompass conducting research and seminars on intangible cultural heritage, developing codes of ethics in safeguarding, raising awareness on intangible cultural heritage and its importance, studying and raising awareness on the contribution of living heritage safeguarding to sustainable development, and more.