Pompeii May 2026 - UrbanWaterSECURITY

SYMPOSIUM | POMPEII 18-19 MAY 2026

Water Intelligence for Urban Resilience

Two days of high-level scientific exchange on water security, resilience, heritage and AI in one of the world’s most extraordinary archaeological settings

URBAN WATER SECURITY

Introductory overview

The UrbanWaterSECURITY Symposium 2026 in Pompeii is part of a broader international platform that, since 2019, has brought together advanced training, international symposia and academies to advance dialogue on the future of urban water resilience. Supported by a distinguished Academic Team, a growing international alumni community, and an expanding record of institutional and scholarly engagement, UrbanWaterSECURITY has established itself as a credible space where science, strategy and capacity building meet. Within this wider framework, the Pompeii edition marks a further step in the evolution of the initiative: a high-level gathering shaped by the 2026 theme, Water Intelligence for Urban Resilience, and embedded in a broader ecosystem committed to rethinking how cities understand, govern and secure water in a changing world.

URBAN WATER SECURITY

Why Pompeii

Pompeii offers an exceptional context in which to rethink urban water security. The city stands as a living archive of infrastructure, public space, water distribution and environmental adaptation. Its hydraulic organisation, civic logic and maintenance culture still speak to some of the most urgent questions faced by contemporary cities. For this reason, Pompeii is not simply the venue of the Symposium. It is part of the intellectual framework of the event. The site allows participants to reflect on how ancient societies organised water, addressed risk, built redundancy, ensured service continuity and embedded resilience within the urban fabric. The 2026 edition is therefore built around a dialogue between ancient solutions and future-ready systems. It invites participants to observe the past with contemporary scientific questions and to project present-day challenges through the lens of long-term infrastructure intelligence.

TOPIC

Scientific rationale and thematic focus

Urban water security is among the defining strategic challenges of our time. Climate instability, hydrological extremes, ageing infrastructure, emerging contaminants, energy pressures, ecosystem stress and uneven governance capacity all require integrated and forward-looking responses. The Pompeii Symposium will address these issues through an interdisciplinary perspective linking engineering, environmental science, resilience thinking, digital innovation and territorial intelligence. Particular emphasis will be placed on how good practice can be translated into operational and scalable approaches for cities and regions. The overall scientific narrative of the page should make clear that the event is not limited to technological discussion. It is equally concerned with governance, implementation, learning capacity, social relevance and the ability to connect science, institutions and communities.

Water Intelligence

Climate Resilience

AI & Decision Support

Governance & Practice

General Chair of UWS

Provides strategic leadership and international positioning, ensuring coherence across the Academy, Symposium activities and the wider UWS mission. The General Chair also serves as President of the Academic Team.

Vincenzo Naddeo

University of Salerno / Italy

Director of the UWS Academy

Provides academic stewardship of the UWS Academy

Vincenzo Belgiorno

University of Salerno / Italy

Chairs of UWS 2026 Symposium

The Symposium Chairs combine European, Middle Eastern and Asian perspectives to ensure continued relevance to key water challenges at both Mediterranean and global levels

Antonis Zorpas

Open University of Cyprus / Cyprus

Shadi Hasan

Khalifa University / UAE

Dimitri Lekkas

University of the Aegean / Greece

Kwang-Ho Choo

Kyungpook National University (KNU) / South Korea

Academic Team

The Pompeii Symposium will feature lectures, moderated discussions and workshop moments delivered by highly respected experts and internationally recognised scholars selected within, or in close connection with, the UrbanWaterSECURITY Academic Team. These contributors are chosen for their scientific standing, recognised expertise and capacity to engage with the interdisciplinary challenges of water, resilience, engineering, heritage and environmental transition. In this edition the contributions will be taught by the following renowned experts

Dimitri Lekkas

University of the Aegean / Greece

Kwang-Ho Choo

Kyungpook National University (KNU) / South Korea

Shadi Hasan

Khalifa University / UAE

Tiziano Zarra

University of Salerno / Italy

Maria Chiara Zanetti

Polytechnic of Torino / Italy

Antonis Zorpas

Open University of Cyprus / Cyprus

Claudio Lubello

University of Florence / Italy

Paolo Roccaro

University of Catania / Italy

Antonio Buonerba

University of Salerno / Italy

Giuseppina Oliva

University of Salerno / Italy

Stefano Cairone

University of Salerno / Italy

Laura Clarizia

University of Naples Federico II / Italy

María Eugenia Suárez-Ojeda

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona / Spain

Vincenzo Calvanese

Archaeological Park of Pompeii / Italy

Giovanni Esposito

University of Naples Federico II / Italy

Luigi Petti

University of Salerno / Italy

Mohamed Ksibi

Sfax University / Tunisia

Gabriel Zuchtriegel

Archaeological Park of Pompeii / Italy

Peter Jarvis

Cranfield University / United Kingdom

Fabio Fatuzzo

Commissioner for Wastewater Treatment and Reuse / Italy

Alessandra Marra

ASIS spa / Italy

Gian Maria Vessa

ASIS spa / Italy

Vincenzo Belgiorno

University of Salerno / Italy

Sara Roversi

Future Food Institute / Italy

Raffaele Martinelli

Archaeological Park of Pompeii / Italy

Silvio Matassa

University of Napoli Federico II / Italy

EVENT

Photo Gallery

REGISTRATION

Registration

Registration for the Pompeii 2026 Symposium is open to professionals, PhD candidates and university students, subject to the available capacity of the event. A limited number of university students enrolled in Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programmes and falling within the eligibility requirements of the H2Oltre project, funded by Campania Region, may benefit from full coverage of the registration fee through the project framework. Places are limited in order to preserve the quality of discussion, interaction and on-site experience.

Registration Options

– Regular Registration
For professionals, practitioners, academics and other participants: €450

– PhD candidates
For doctoral participants: €350

– University students
For Bachelor’s and Master’s students not covered by H2Oltre: €250

– Eligible H2Oltre students
For Bachelor’s and Master’s students meeting the H2Oltre project eligibility requirements: registration fee covered by the project, funded by Campania Region

What registration includes

Participation in all scientific sessions of the Symposium
Teaching and event materials
Certificate of participation
Access to the assessment activities associated with the event
In case of successful completion of the assessment activities, eligibility for inclusion in the alumni list as a Water Expert
Light lunch on 18 May
Social dinner on 18 May
Brunch on 19 May
All coffee breaks

Venue

The UrbanWaterSECURITY Symposium 2026 will take place in the Auditorium of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, offering a distinctive setting at the intersection of heritage, science and international dialogue. Pompeii is easily accessible from both Naples and Salerno by rail and road. For participants travelling by train, Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri is the closest and most convenient station for reaching the venue and the Archaeological Park. The site can also be accessed from the FS station of Pompei, depending on the route of arrival and the specific destination within the city.

Submit your registration

RECOGNISED INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

Institutional Support and Endorsement

The Symposium is part of the wider UrbanWaterSECURITY initiative and is developed within a broader framework of scientific, territorial and educational cooperation. The Pompeii edition is organised in cooperation with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and in synergy with the heritage-oriented educational activities promoted within the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Salerno.

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URBAN WATER SECURITY SYMPOSIUM

In Synergy with Funded Projects

The UrbanWaterSECURITY Symposium 2026 in Pompeii is organised in synergy with selected funded projects and initiatives whose objectives are closely aligned with the Symposium theme. Their support contributes to the scientific quality of the event, strengthens collaboration across institutions and disciplines, and reinforces the international relevance of the Symposium.

SPORE-MED

Sustainable uPgraded WWTPs for resOurce recovery, water Reuse and hEalth surveillance in the MEDiterranean region SPORE-MED (Reference 2322) is part of the PRIMA Programme, supported by the European Union.