2013 – United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation

2013 has been declared the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation (Resolution A/RES/65/154). UNESCO will be leading the initiative. The mission of the UN project is to increase cooperation regarding escalating pressure for water access and allocation.

UNESCO has captured the dissolving and penetrating qualities of this extraordinary liquid in designing the initiative to monitor it use and preserve its purity. Its slate of programs blend the natural and social sciences, education, culture, and communication. The agenda includes water education, water diplomacy, trans-boundary water management, financial cooperation, national/international legalities, and Millennium Development Goals.

The single category of contributor that seems to have been omitted from this extensive list is the ARTIST!  Since the program is still evolving, perhaps there is still an opportunity to participate. The innumerable artists who are addressing water-management issues should contact Lucilla Minelli at: l.minelli@unesco.org.

 

Ms. Minelli may benefit from a quick introduction to art’s special capacity to  educate, communicate, promote cooperation, and manage. Beyond these tasks that UNESCO has identified, she might be impressed by the work of artists like Yun-Fei Ji, Steiner & Lenzlinger, and Helen and Newton Harrison whose work attempts to rescue water from being treated as an inert, mineral resource. They awaken its hallowed role in maintaining all life on the planet.