UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Development and Environment

We are organizing the course: "Artificial Intelligence: A Practical Vision for Organizations" April 1 and 3, 2025 The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is leading to a paradigm shift in the way organizations address their challenges. However, the lack of access to AI in key sectors such as education and healthcare, especially in less developed regions, can widen the well-being gap. For third-sector organizations, such as cooperatives, NGOs, and government entities, as well as SMEs, strengthening their AI capabilities is essential.
This course will be held at the FIDESOL Technology Center, in collaboration with the HiDRALiA+UGR Chair and the three companies that are part of our Chair: CETURSA, Fundación COVIRÁN and GESTCOOP. During the course, Francisco Luis Benítez Martínez, Director of Innovation at the FIDESOL Foundation, will discuss the impact of AI on our economy and society, its ethical dimension, and how to approach its use in various sectors.
In this context, we highlight the UNESCO document: "Artificial Intelligence: Do We Need a New Education?" This course delves into the transformative impact AI will have on essential sectors such as education, where, while not replacing reflective and creative skills, it does influence our lives, decision-making, and our perception of the world.
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Taking advantage of Women's Month and with the intention of addressing the gender gap in science and chess, we are mixing both disciplines, which suffer from the same absence of women at a high level, through a women's chess tournament combined with scientific talks on space agriculture, biodiversity, marine geology, telecommunications and, of course, sustainability.
All of this will take place at the Parque de las Ciencias (hall of the Tecnoforo Pavilion), on March 29 starting at 9:30 a.m.
Registration:: mujerajedrezciencia@gmail.com
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Our director, Javier Ordóñez, and our advisor, José Antonio González (specialist on ESG), are jointly teaching part of this microcredential, specifically the section dedicated to Implementing a Sustainability Strategy in the Company. The whole course will be held at the Granada Cámara de Comercio headquarters from February 18 to April 8, 2025.
The course is designed to train professionals in key skills related to environmental management and regulatory compliance. It responds to an increasing demand for sustainability training due to the evolution of public policies in Spain and Europe, which requires the inclusion of specific criteria in public contract bidding and compliance with environmental regulations, which require a greater commitment to sustainability from companies and organizations.
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Prior to the debate, several international experts will make presentations on critical water infrastructure in times of climate change, the importance of context in the water sector, the design of water tariffs and billing, financial sustainability in domestic water service, guaranteeing water supply in cities, and digitalization in water and its human side.
Registration required, limited places.
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Throughout the classes of this course we aim to demonstrate how the interaction of agricultural biotechnology and sustainable agriculture can achieve a more sustainable balance in terms of the environment, although they may seem opposite at first glance. Specifically, aspects such as crop improvement assisted by molecular markers and the development of so-called omics methodologies can play an important role in meeting the world's food needs in a sustainable context.
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In this conference (in person and streaming) which will be held in the Salón de actos of the ETSICCP of the UGR and that the Cátedra del Agua UGR+Hidralia organizes every year, different water administrations, both state and regional, will show both their digitalization strategies and the measures to implement them.
Various entities managing the entire water cycle and technology companies in the sector will also participate, offering an open space for the exchange of experiences and the promotion of debate throughout the day.
Program.
See the whole conference at UGRmedia.

This course from the Centro Mediterráneo of the UGR proposes several tours to discover the landscapes, people and towns of the Vega de Granada that inspired Federico García Lorca in some of his most famous works.
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Cement is an essential material for the economic development of countries, given its fundamental role in the construction of infrastructure. However, its production is responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is mainly due to the CO₂ emissions produced in the calcination process of carbonates, in industrial furnaces, at extremely high temperatures (around 1400^oC).
The decarbonization of the cement sector is key to reducing global CO₂ emissions. To meet this challenge, the sector is adopting innovative solutions ranging from the manufacture of new low-emission cements to promoting the circular economy in its processes.
The efforts include replacing raw materials with recycled alternatives, such as the use of industrial waste in cement production, and incorporating alternative fuels, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
In addition, technologies are being developed to capture, store or reuse the CO₂ generated. These efforts not only contribute to mitigating climate change, but also promote resource efficiency and innovation in construction materials.
During the conference, which will be held at the ETSICCP of the UGR, progress in this regard will be discussed.
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Our director Javier Ordóñez and our core advisor advisor José Antonio González were invited to the closing event of the "Diploma in Environmental Management and Social Responsibility" to give lectures at the Fundación Euroárabe in Granada, on "Advances and projects that the UNESCO Chair has developed in the field of sustainability " and on "Training and development of social responsibility ESG" respectively. They shared the table with Carmen Rubio, whose intervention was about "MASAI Asphalt".
All the students of this Diploma, which lasts a total of six months, are high-level professionals from Saudi Arabia, and they seek to gain first-hand experience with professionals in the area dedicated to environmental management and social responsibility.

Within the framework of the Programa de liderazgo y gobernanza universitaria sostenible; camino hacia la agenda 2030 (PLGUS) organized by the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean - UNESCO IESALC, and as part of the sessions with experts of the 2024 course, our director Javier Ordóñez has participated in the roundtable together with Keith Holmes (coordinator of UNITWIN-UNESCO Chairs), Lela Melon (director of the Master in European and Global Law at the Pompeu Fabra University), Javier Uceda (former rector of the Polytechnic University of Madrid and director of the University Management and Policy Chair) and Francesc Pedró (director of the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean).
This program is part of the Liderazgo, Gestión y Formación para la Educación Superior Sostenible program developed by IESALC and its fundamental purpose is to install capacities in institutions to support their sustainable transformation process, promoting the development of capacities of the educational community, putting its capacities and international networks at its service to develop and strengthen efforts towards sustainability and quality education for all.
This workshop took place in Madrid, at the Casa de América.

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This master's degree offers comprehensive and quality legal training, both theoretical and practical, analysing in depth national and regional legislation, jurisprudence, through the most relevant and impactful cases. All this through the teaching of both theoretical classes and practical seminars and workshops, field visits, etc.
This Master's degree aims, in short, to achieve advanced and interdisciplinary knowledge of water law in Spain, capable of instructing all types of professionals related to the subject. Registration and info. PDF III edition.
Registration and info.
PDF III edition.

The course's training program aims to train multidisciplinary professionals in the direction and management of distribution companies, with special attention to food distribution, a strategic sector and therefore essential in today's society.
This training will allow the participants to specialize within a very dynamic sector with high professionalization demands. The course will prepare them in the general management of a commercial distribution company, putting the person at the center of any measure.
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The workshop is proposed as a forum for discussion and exchange of knowledge on Environmental, Social and corporate Governance.
The main purpose of this workshop is, through the presentation of local case studies, to deepen the understanding of how organizations can effectively integrate ESG principles into their corporate strategies, as well as explore the practical implications and challenges inherent in this process.
Workshop on ESG: poster

Within the framework of the MatEduca project, which aims to show high school students what research is happening at the Institute of Mathematics of the University of Granada IMAG, GestCoop will give a talk entitled "Making data-based decisions: the power of maths in our hands". Students from two schools will attend this MatEduca event.
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The “Mundo Diverso” Magazine, granted by the Center for Development Cooperation Initiatives (CICODE) of the University of Granada, has been created by people who have enjoyed mobility aid to carry out international development cooperation activities.
The experiences included in this issue were conducted by fourteen university community members to engage in international volunteering and participate in activities contributing to the completion of final degree projects (TFG) or Master's final projects (TFM) in the field of International Development Cooperation.
Revista Mundo Diverso vol. 9 (2024).

Groundwater experts debate the sustainable management of groundwater, comparing experiences in California and Andalusia.
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We collaborate in the conference "Challenges and Opportunities of the Reuse of Regenerated Water" organized by Hidraulia .
The conference will analyce, among other topics, the new Water Reuse Regulation and the experiences and challenges in production, irrigation as well as legal aspects and treatment strategies, for the integration of regenerated water.
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Within the framework of this Festival, an activity will be carried out that aims to reflect on the report published by UNESCO entitled: “Reimaginar juntos nuestros futuros: un nuevo contrato social para la educación”. This document aims to open a global debate on how education should be rethought in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty and fragility and recognizes the power of education to provoke profound change.
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Our Chair participates in this Meeting mainly devoted to topics such as the transformation of higher education, the work plans of the UNITWIN Networks of Spain and the role of these chairs in university life.
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