Contribution to Environment and Cultural Heritage with UNESCO Chair from Haliç University

​HEWACC, Established in Collaboration with UNESCO and Haliç University, Focuses on Integrated Management of Heritage, Water and Climate Change

Haliç University aims to draw attention to global problems with its academic studies and research and to produce solutions through international agreements. The university's studies focusing on heritage, water and climate change in this context have gained a global dimension with the cooperation with UNESCO.

"The UNESCO Chair on Integrated Management of Heritage, Water, and Climate Change (HEWACC) was established in February 2024 as a result of the agreement signed between Haliç University and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Chair will be headed by Prof. Dr. Jülide Edirne Erdinç, while Prof. Dr. Önder Küçükerman will serve as Honorary Co-Chair of the Chair and Yeşim Doran Taş will serve as Executive Co-Chair of the Chair.

Established in 1992, the UNITWIN networks/UNESCO Chairs Program aims to promote international inter-university cooperation and networking to increase institutional capacity through knowledge sharing and collaborative working. The program includes 850 UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN networks in 120 countries around the world. The "UNESCO Chair on Integrated Management of Heritage, Water and Climate Change" is the first UNESCO Chair of Haliç University and the nineteenth in Turkey.

The aim of the Chair is to address the phenomena of heritage, water and climate change with a holistic approach in terms of the relationships, interactions and needs between them. HEWACC aims to carry out studies by examining the relationships between water, heritage and climate change through the cross-cutting theme of Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience (DRR&R). It also aims to strengthen academic and scientific studies and increase national and international cooperation by developing integrated solutions in the fields of sustainable management, assessment, planning, conservation and design.

The first project of the chair, which is also the starting point of the idea of establishing the chair, will be the "Golden Horn Region", which also gives its name to our university and is the focal point of the Istanbul Golden Horn Studies Application and Research Center. The project, which will be realized in the Golden Horn Region, aims to address the risks of water resources and coastal areas due to climate change and other factors. The project is planned as a field-based research project that prioritizes the "water as heritage" approach while examining the water bodies, streams, waterways and coasts of the Golden Horn, including heritage assets and ecosystems ranging from the Golden Horn Shipyard to the Iron Church.

HEWACC, whose executive and advisory committees and first four-year program have been prepared, will be introduced in full detail at a symposium to be held in the coming months.