PRESS RELEASE

UNESCO-IHE designates Gil Garcetti Cultural Ambassador

DELFT, THE NETHERLANDS, 23 April 2014 – The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education has designated photographer and former District Attorney Gil Garcetti, Cultural Ambassador. The ceremony took place at the Institute’s recent Academic Closing, where 150 Masters of Science students from 48 countries received their diplomas.

Garcetti retired from his duties as prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office after 32 years, eight of which as District Attorney. He oversaw 1100 prosecutors and was involved in high profile prosecutions, such as the Menendez brothers, O.J. Simpson, and LAPD's Ramparts Division police abuse cases. Garcetti was one of the nations first District Attorneys to use his office to initiate programmes that would reduce crime, not only prosecute crimes after they had taken place. He is credited especially for his focus and new programmes involving domestic and family abuse, juvenile crime, and elder abuse. For the last ten years Garcetti has also been a producer for the hit TNT television shows The Closer and Major Crimes.

Currently he is working as a successful photographer. WATER IS KEY, one of the many compelling photo essay publications Garcetti produced, tells the story of how clean water in villages in West Africa changes the lives, health, education, and destiny of the people there, especially that of women and girls. The photo series led to the Women, Water and Wells exhibition, organized at UNESCO-IHE in Delft, the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Fowler Museum of the University of , Los Angeles.

In the past two years the exhibit was mounted at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, the Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, Austria, UNESCO-IHE in Delft, the Netherlands and the University of Dundee in Scotland before returning to the Fowler museum.

Raising awareness about a number of relevant development issues, assisting in raising funds for fellowships, participating in UNESCO-IHE events, and visiting projects in the field, are among the tasks of those who have been invited to serve as Cultural Ambassadors. The appointment is a two-year commitment and can be subject to renewal.

For more information on Gil Garcetti’s work, please see: www.garcetti.com

About UNESCO-IHE UNESCO-IHE is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, the Netherlands. The Institute confers fully accredited MSc degrees, and PhD degrees in collaboration with partners. Since 1957 the Institute graduated nearly 15,000 water professionals from over 160 countries. UNESCO-IHE is part of the UN Water family and is owned by all UNESCO member states. The Institute is established as a UNESCO ‘Category I Institute’ jointly by UNESCO and the Government of the Netherlands.

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Press Contact Ms. Alida Pham

Communications Officer Manager UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education Email: [email protected] Mob.: +31612974079 Tel.: +31152151722

Caption photographs: Professor András Szöllösi-Nagy, Rector of UNESCO-IHE (left), and Gil Garcetti, officially sign agreement to formalize the Cultural Ambassadorship designation.