|A short video explaining the UNESCO-IHE Florida Program|
Begun in 2005, the UNESCO-IHE Florida Partnership brings students from around the world to Florida to study water. Each May MSc and PhD students from UNESCO-IHE, the UN's Institute for Water Education, come to Florida to learn about south Florida's water management practices.
The program has 220 alumni from 48 countries, and the global impact is immeasurable. The students take what they learn back to their home countries to implement global water solutions, and the world's largest restoration project, the Everglades Restoration Project, gains international attention.
Courses developed for IHE include modeling and wetlands ecology, sponsored by the Interagency Modeling Center at South Florida Water Management District and the Patel Center for International Solutions at the University of South Florida. Florida Earth continues to develop courses pertinent to the current issues of not only South Florida but the world.
FEF funds the program once the students get the US with the help of donations and sponsorships. Individuals and Organizations can choose a student to sponsor or donate to the program generally. All donations go directly toward the cost of funding the program. Get involved:
1. DONATE $10, $25, $50 or SPONSOR a student today at www.crowdrise.com/
2. SHARE our Crowdrise site on your Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin groups!
This project is fabulous on so many levels: social and intellectual exchange, economic benefits for the ambassadors and their countries, and growth in understanding the importance of person-to-person contact.” - Kathe Thompson, donor
UNESCO-IHE student Nayeema Nazneen Naz from Bangladesh was a member of the first Florida program in 2005. She is at ARM Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach. Photo by Palm Beach Post.
UNESCO-IHE, located in Delft, Holland is one of the world's premier universities that specializes in water related disciplines. The "Institute of Water Education" awards only graduate degrees, with approximately 40% of their student body coming from Africa, 40% from South America and about 20% from Asia. UNESCO-IHE visions a world in which people manage their water and environmental resources in a sustainable manner, and in which all sectors of society, particularly the poor, can enjoy the benefits of basic services.