On July 12, Prof. Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Beijing Office, visited Wuhan University to attend the unveiling ceremony of the ‘UNESCO Chair on Asia-Pacific Water-Food-Environment Nexus’ and the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding with UNESCO. Han Jin, Secretary of the University CPC Committee, and Prof. Tang Qizhu, Vice President of WHU, met with Director Shahbaz Khan.

The unveiling ceremony of the UNESCO Chair on Asia-Pacific Water-Food-Environment Nexus and the signing ceremony of the MOU between the UNESCO Beijing Office and WHU were held both online and offline. The establishment of the UNESCO Chair on Asia-Pacific Water-Food-Environment Nexus is a significant step for WHU in its support to the work of UNESCO. In 2020, Wuhan University applied for the establishment of a UNESCO Chair on Asia-Pacific Water-Food-Environment Nexus, which was successfully approved this year. The Chair is established to further enhance the international influence of Wuhan University in water engineering, environmental and agricultural disciplines, to strengthen the role of these disciplines in serving the national strategy of "One Belt, One Road" construction, and to promote sustainable development of water, food security and the environment in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, in order to strengthen the exchange and cooperation between Wuhan University and UNESCO in talent training and other aspects, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding. This MOU is one of only two agreements signed between UNESCO and Chinese universities.

Vice President Tang Qizhu and Director Shahbaz Khan jointly inaugurated the Chair and conferred the letter of appointment to the Chairholder, Prof. Wu Jingwei, and the Co-Chairholder, Luo Yufeng.

Vice President Tang and Director Khan signed the Memorandum of Understanding between Wuhan University, China and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in China on behalf of Wuhan University and UNESCO, respectively. The two sides will develop strategic cooperation in the areas of water, food, environment, Man and Biosphere Programme, talent development for international organizations, and co-organization of the UNESCO Day.

After the ceremony, Director Khan gave a presentation entitled "The Leadership Role of the United Nations and UNESCO in Peace and Development" and actively interacted with our students. The students of the Experimental Class on International Organizations and Global Governance, the Experimental Class on the Cultivation of Foreign Legal Talents, and students majoring in Digital Memory and Archival Heritage participated in the presentation.

The UNESCO Chairs Program was launched in 1992 to promote knowledge sharing, information exchange, resource integration and synergy among universities and research institutions worldwide in specific discipline areas. In this highly competitive program, the UNESCO Chair on Asia-Pacific Water-Food-Environment Nexus is the only one related to water resources in China.

Photos by Jin Xin, Peng Chao, Huang Xiaoyu

Rewritten by Wen Puwen

Edited by Sylvia, Xi Bingqing