ZAPOPAN, Jalisco; May 16, 2024.- The Universidad Panamericana Campus Guadalajara organized the Colloquium "City without Water", which was attended by Mtro. Roberto Rojas Tapia, Director of the Institute of Humanities; Dr. Blas Roldán, professor of the Institute of Humanities; Dr. Victor-Isolino Doval, professor of the Institute of Humanities of the Mexico City Campus; Dr. Hugo Briseño, professor of the School of Business; from the School of Pedagogy and Psychology, Dr. Ligia García and Mtro. Julián Ochoa.
History and memory of water in a city
In his talk, Dr. Blas Roldán, professor of the Institute of Humanities at the Academy of History, reflected on man's relationship with water. "There are three states of water water in flow, in contained stillness or in fall, but the nature of water is dynamic. The more agapic the relationship of man with water, the more aesthetic and more ethical water will be in relation to the human, because water can become a reflection of consciousness."
Water management in Mexican cities
In his speech, Dr. Hugo Briseño, Research Secretary of the School of Economic and Business Sciences, highlighted the lack of planning in Mexico's urban growth, generating environmental and flooding problems. "We observemore and more urbanizationand what does this cause? When there is a lot of urbanization, when we have cities that are a concrete slab, what happens when it rains? When it rains we flood," he said.
Water pedagogy
In her presentation, Dr. Ligia Garcia, research professor at the School of Pedagogy and Psychology, stressed the need to improve water literacy, highlighting the lack of understanding about its origin and associated infrastructure. "We have become accustomed to the fact that we turn on a faucet and we have water.. And that water falls from rain. Suddenly we hear terms that we even most likely don't know what they mean, I think we have a very important responsibility to become water literate," he emphasized.
So that day zero does not arrive: citizenship in action
Rodrigo Navarro, professor at the School of Engineering, emphasized the need to address the issue of water from an interdisciplinary perspective, recognizing the importance of considering social, aesthetic and technological aspects. "There has to be an interdisciplinary work where in the university there are these dialogues, precisely, where we can discuss what water is for society and the importance it has," he said.
The notion of care: water and nature
Finally, Dr. Victor-Isolino Doval, professor at the Humanities Institute of the Universidad Panamericana Mexico City Campus, called on the university community to take care of water with small actions.
"Humanity will not remain forever tied to the Earth.. The triviality of the statement should not make us overlook its extraordinary character, for although Christians have referred to the Earth as a vale of tears, and philosophers have regarded their own body as a prison of the soul, no one in the history of mankind has ever conceived of the Earth as a prison of the human body, nor has anyone shown a talent for literally going from here to the Moon," he reflected.
The Universidad Panamericana Campus Guadalajara thanks the panelists who were part of the Colloquium "City without Water", which invites us to rethink our relationship with water and to take concrete actions for its care and preservation. It also reiterates its commitment to sustainability and the integral education of its students, promoting initiatives that contribute to a more conscious and responsible future in water management.
