Museums for the Past and Future Meaning of Water

Abstract

Two resolutions of UNESCO-IHP (2018 and 2021) have highlighted the importance of fostering water sustainability education through networked water museums and developing a world inventory (WIN) of these institutions. To achieve this goal, the Global Network of Water Museums has developed a methodology to initiate a worldwide census of water museums, interpretation centers and water- related heritage values. The benefits of adopting a common methodology are clear. By using a transnational toolkit it will be possible to highlight the large variety of valuable aquatic heritages and the paradigmatic models of human coexistence with water environments worldwide. All institutions involved in implementing the WIN at the regional and national level will be empowered to communicate and target the SDGs and provide inspiration through the use of holistic approaches and good practices inherited from our “watery past” to better plan future resilience.