During 2020 Imperial celebrates 70 years of humanities with a year-long programme of events exploring the rich and diverse history of humanities at the College, showcasing the wide variety of activities taking place today and looking ahead at what the future might hold.

Join us for this special talk by environmental scientist and Imperial alumna Jane da Mosto, part of the Humanities@70 programme of events taking place this year.

Last November Venice hit the world’s headlines with the worst flooding in the city for over 50 years. This impacted not only the historic art and architecture of Venice, but the lives, homes and businesses of the city’s inhabitants and the eco-system of the lagoon. Venice was struck by similarly extensive flooding in 1966 which triggered new laws, financing mechanisms and engineering projects on an unprecedented scale to protect the city and lagoon from such extreme events. Considering that the flood defence system is still not complete amidst serious corruption and political failures, what could this imply for the future of Venice and so many other coastal communities around the world, as the climate emergency leads to rising sea levels and more frequent extreme events? How much of our fascination with Venice derives from its unique beauty and peculiar features, or is it a microcosm of global challenges mirroring the world and carrying the fate of humanity?

Jane da Mosto trained as an environmental scientist (MA, Oxford University, M. Phil. Imperial College) and gained international experience as a consultant on sustainable development. Based in Venice since 1995, she has managed research on climate change and lagoon ecology including the Venice in Peril Fund/Cambridge University project “Flooding and Environmental Challenges for Venice and the Lagoon” (2001-8) as well as organising and participating in many grassroots interventions. With support from Vivienne Westwood, Hyundai and BNP Paribas, as well as numerous individual philanthropists and Venetian citizens, We are here Venice is growing fast since it was originally established in 2015.