SD-WISHEES stands for “Supporting and Developing WIdening Strategies to tackle Hydroclimatic Extreme Events: impacts and Sustainable solutions for cultural heritage” and it is the acronym of the project officially launched in January 2023. SD-WISHEES is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) gathers 16 partners from 11 countries – 6 of which are  widening countries.

The theme of this project is around the impact of hydroclimatic extreme events^[1] on cultural heritage, including intangible heritage as well as historical and natural sites (tangible cultural heritage).

The vision of SD WISHEES is to enhance collaboration and reach for research and innovation to tackle effectively the impacts of hydroclimatic extremes on cultural heritage. To this end, SD WISHEES has as a mission to develop innovative tools and strategies to enable collaboration between diverse stakeholders in Europe and beyond. This will imply the involvement of relevant stakeholders and their full contribution to the identification of sustainable tools and strategies with an impact on the market, policy and society. Looking for the gaps in research and the barriers to participation for the countries outside Western Europe, with the aim of ensuring that R&I is geared towards actionable solutions for all areas and people that are affected by extreme events, SD-WISHEES strives to enhance collaboration with widening countries to the Horizon Europe Programme through the launch of joint activities.

As a European Commission widening programme, it aims to bring together funding agencies, academia and foundations from Europe and neighbouring countries to increase collaboration and reach in R&I. One identified strategy is, for example, to create a Thematic Action Programme (TAP) to help researchers to network more efficiently once they have a project funded.

Mainly, the outcomes of SD-WISHEES comes in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the European Green Deal and Adaptation Strategy.

^[1] Hydroclimatic extreme events refer to exceptional occurrences within the hydrological cycle, including but not limited to floods, droughts, landslides, and heatwaves.