As a Blue Community, how do universities implement the principles to which they have committed themselves? Here are some concrete examples from university practice.
Principle 1: Recognition of the human right to water
- Include topic in the university’s mission statement
- Topic for lectures, seminars or courses, events with guest speakers
- Topic is highlighted at events, for example on United Nations World Water Day (March 22) or on United Nations Human Rights Day (December 10) with film evening, stand event, podium, guided tour, etc.
- Information input for new employees or students
- Flyers on Blue Community
- Show exhibition “Water – a human right” (project of Blue Community Switzerland, loan free of charge)
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Principle 2: Recognition of water as a public good
- Enter into dialogue with the public. Concrete: Partnership with the city and region, and possibly other educational institutions for the further development of the Blue Community.
- Advocate water as a public good and show where it is endangered, for water to remain in public hands so that it remains accessible and affordable to all residents. Supports efforts to maintain the water supply as a central public responsibility.
- The university makes the drinking water supply and the problems with sanitation a topic in courses and other activities.
- The university organizes excursions as part of the local, national and international exchange, e.g. to the water treatment plant or to a wastewater treatment plant.
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Principle 3: Do not use bottled water
- The students are to be sensitized to a more conscious consumption of water. Among other things, glass bottles and water jugs are provided for this purpose.
- Students receive water bottles, eventually branded by Blue Community. An awareness campaign will be held for this purpose at the start-up event for new students.
- Free tap water will be provided wherever possible, mainly at the dining hall (Mensa) and cafeteria locations. Glasses and jugs are available in all canteens and cafeterias.
- Fresh tap water can be filled into jugs, bottles or glasses at any time in every wet room of the university or at least at designated locations.
- On internal occasions, tap water is offered in jugs and glasses in the self-service area.
- Water dispensers shall be installed.
- In future construction projects and infrastructure measures, sustainability aspects such as resource-conserving use of water are to be taken into account.
- Awareness campaign at all university locations with artistic activities.
- In courses, the topic of water is addressed from different perspectives (e.g. water conflicts, water consumption, virtual water, financial aspects of water supply, ethical questions concerning water).
- Various measures to reduce water consumption:
- high percentage of the water taps with only cold water.
- Flow rates are reduced by using regulators.
- 2-stage flushes can be installed in all toilets to save water.
- The hot water temperature is reduced. Thus, less cold water is used for mixing down.
- Fresh water fountains on college campuses are given a timeswitch to reduce operating time.
- During revisions/renewals, the sanitary fixtures are equipped with the best available technology and thus water-saving (e.g. Urimat).
- Sustainability aspects are taken into account in construction projects.
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Cultivate partnerships with local, national and international partners committed to public-public cooperation.
- Support of a student initiative in the field of development cooperation
- Within the framework of existing partnerships with foreign universities, exchange semesters, study trips and teaching assignments are used as an opportunity to promote intercultural exchange on the subject of water. For example, workshops have been held with visiting students from abroad to discuss water supply in Switzerland and in the students’ home countries. Students from universities who deal with the topic of water in research and teaching play a particularly important role here. Together, a checklist will be developed that can be used to analyze the culture-specific handling of water and that will be available to the outgoing students and lecturers as an observation aid. The findings will be incorporated into the written reflections on stays abroad and will then be made available to all FHS members and foreign partners. In this way, not only can an increased awareness be achieved, but ideas for new projects can also be gained.
- Cooperation with a foreign university within the framework of a North-South partnership of éducation21, support is also provided by the SDC. In consultation with its partner, the university has defined the topic of water as a program focus for the partnership period 2016-18. As part of the annual student exchange, the topic of water is to be included in a block week. The goal is for students to exchange ideas on various aspects of water supply and use.
- In the SIMagination Challenge course of the Master of Arts in Strategy and International Management, students launch projects that have a positive and lasting social impact on society. Two drinking waterprojects were carried out: Drop of Hope in India and PureDrop in Indonesia. The SIMagination Challenge will continue to address water issues in the future.
- A variety of bachelor and master theses will be written, which, for example, critically examine the privatization of water or political water conflicts.
- Support of a water project that promotes public-public water supply, e.g. by HEK.S
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Do you have any other concrete implementation measures and examples that we could list here? Send your suggested measures by E-Mail.