UNESCO Chairs at the University of Florence

The UNESCO Transdisciplinary Chair Human Development and Culture of Peace since 2006 represents the first Chair in Italy on transdisciplinary epistemology, and it is among the few transdisciplinary ones of the Unitwin Programme that deal with human development.

This fourth consecutive renewal (2025-2029) sees the appointment as Chairholder of Professor Giovanna Del Gobbo, who succeeds Paolo Orefice, Emeritus Professor of General and Social Pedagogy.

The Chair purpose for the next four year is to consolidate an integrated system of transdisciplinary research, training, dissemination and documentation on matters related to sustainable human development with a specific focus on the key role of human and social capitals.

The Chair is the first in this field that Italy has proposed within UNESCO and set up in 2016 by Nicola Casagli of the Department of Earth Sciences (DST), chairholder, and Fabio Castelli of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICEA). The current chairholder is Nicola Casagli, who succeded Paolo Canuti.

Deputy Chairholder: Veronica Tofani (DST) and Fabio Castelli (DICEA). Program Coordinators: Enrica Caporali (DICEA), Silvia Bianchini (DST) and Chiara Arrighi (DICEA). The academics of the University involved in this project include Sandro Moretti and Carlo Alberto Garzonio (DST) and Giorgio Federici, Enio Paris and Fabio Castelli (DICEA).

The University of Florence has long been involved in research, development and cooperation for the prevention and reduction of hydrogeological risks, also in relation to the protection of UNESCO World Heritage sites. The University has received important awards for these activities, such as the designation of "Center for National Civil Protection" in 2005 and the title of the UN-ISDR Worldwide Center for International Excellence on Landslides, held since 2008.

The research group from which the initiative of the UNESCO Chair was born has in recent years participated in numerous missions to protect cultural assets threatened by hydrogeological hazards in developing countries, including Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Albania, North Korea, Bolivia, Peru (Machu Picchu), Ethiopia, Egypt.

The UNESCO Chair is supported by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Department of Civil Protection and Italiasicura), the Institute for the Protection of Environmental Protection (ISPRA), the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), the International Consortium for Disaster Reduction (ICGdR), UNITWIN - landslide risk mitigation network - and the UNESCO Chair on Water Management and Water Culture.

The chair-established to foster the exchange and circulation of knowledge between academia and society at large, lending an international dimension to a university teaching and research program-has as its holder Mauro Agnoletti, professor of Landscape Planning and Landscape and Environment History, at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI).

The initiative aims to promote an integrated system of research, training, and documentation on world agricultural heritage landscapes, contributing positively to the strengthening of regional, national, and international expertise in higher education on this topic. The chair's goals also include planning, conservation and enhancement of rural heritage, in line with international sustainable development goals.