>> Acqua (water) - The etymology of the italian word  (from Latin aqua) is linked to the Indo-European root ak- = to fold. So: water as a substance that bends, infiltrates, assuming the shape of what contains it.       >> Cùa, Acùa - In the Sardinian language: what is hidden, secret.

ACQÙA Summer School on Environmental Conflict Mediation, will be held in Oristano (Sardinia) on 27-30 June 2022. The school will be organized by the Desertification Research Center (NRD) of the University of Sassari within the framework of WP4 – Innovative Governance of the Sustain-COAST project.  The School will be focused on water-related conflicts (with case studies from the Mediterranean Region) and aims to: explore and promote environmental mediation conflict technique; inform participants about the effectiveness and validity of mediation in environmental disputes; train participants on the specificity of the environmental conflict and on the particular modalities that distinguish this type of conciliation path from those usually used in the civil and commercial field. School will be organized in Oristano, Sardinia, which is 20km from Arborea, one of the four case studies of the Sustain-COAST project. This is the first time that a school on conflict mediation, with a specific focus on environmental conflicts, is organized in the Region. 

• reducing time compared to judicial and administrative procedures;
• reducing costs compared to judicial and administrative procedures;
• improving the effectiveness and duration of the agreements;
• increasing the flexibility and adaptability of the agreements, as they can be reviewed and adapted to new environmental conditions, needs and changed social conditions;
• promoting social cohesion and learning experiences, as well as enhancing community values by implementing new forms of sharing and discussions among actors in relation to the management of common resources like water.