UIS - Union Internationale de Spéléologie

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UIS - Union Internationale de Spéléologie

The Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS) is the international body for caving and speleology. Formed in 1965.

The actual speleological work of UIS is done by the members of its Commissions and Working Groups.

08/05/2026

𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 1𝙨𝙩 𝙐𝙄𝙎 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙨 & 𝙇𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩

"Below the Surface, Beyond Imagination"

The UIS Arts and Letters Committee is proud to launch its first international contest! We invite all cavers and karst explorers at heart to reflect on the underground world through creativity and poetic intuition.

Theme: "Subterranean Myths"

Categories:

Visual Arts: Painting, Drawing, Illustration, Digital Art (No photography).

Writing: Poetry, Short Stories, Essays, Literary articles (Max 1,000 words).

Music & Performance: Audio tracks or recorded performances (Max 3 mins).

Other Creative Forms: Sketchbooks, Art Books, Conceptual Designs,
Installations, Media Art

Recognition:

Evaluated by an International Jury (Blind Judging).

Featured on UIS social media and website gallery.

Official Certificates signed by the UIS President. Announced during the annual UIS meetings.

Key Dates:

Deadline: 15 July, 2026.

Results: August 2026.

How to Enter:
• Read full details & concept here: https://uis-speleo.org/index.php/2026/05/08/the-1st-international-arts-letters-contest-2026/

• Submit via official portal: https://forms.gle/tFdY22bogdHUTDmi9

(For technical issues, contact: [email protected])

28/04/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁

Theme: "Invisible Life, Visible Impact: Guardians of the Dark"

The UIS Arts and LeFers Commission, in collaboration with the Cave Biology and Cave Protection commissions, invites you to capture the fragile beauty of the subterranean world.

This year, we focus on the silent inhabitants of the dark—from microscopic life to complex ecosystems. Show us the "Invisible Life" and help us reflect on our "Visible Impact" on these sacred realms.
Key Dates:

Submission Deadline: 30 June 2026
Final Selection: July - August 2026
Winners Showcase: 10-13 September 2026 (During the UNESCO IDCK event in Postojna, Slovenia)

Technical Guidelines:
For full technical requirements (resolution, naming conventions, and file formats) and to submit your work, please visit our official registration portal:
Submit here: https://forms.gle/UUEDrNsiQR7HPb7F7

Give a voice to the silent guardians and illuminate the hidden soul of the karst through your lens!

For more information: https://uis-speleo.org/index.php/2026/04/28/the-2nd-uis-international-speleological-and-karst-photography-contest/

23/04/2026

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,
We are glad to inform you that the 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻!

Granted can be international expeditions or other events focused on the exploration, study, or protection of caves and karst, with an emphasis on educational, technical, and/or scientific cooperation.

Find more information on: https://uis-speleo.org/index.php/2026/04/23/call-for-speleological-event-support-2026/

15/04/2026

France Habe Prize 2026 is officially OPEN.

The deadline to submit is May 20, 2026.

11/04/2026

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the events marking the first celebration of the UNESCO International Day of Caves and Karst, to be held in Postojna, Slovenia, from 10 to 13 September 2026.

These events represent the symbolic and official launch of the global observance of the International Day of Caves and Karst, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2025. Please find attached the invitation and the preliminary programme of events, which will be held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Nataša Pirc Musar, and under the patronage of UNESCO, with the support and cooperation of the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO, Postojna Cave, Škocjan Caves Park, the Municipality of Postojna, the Municipality of Pivka, and the Speleological Association of Slovenia.

For more information and registration for the scientific conference and the official ceremony in Postojna Cave, please visit:

https://izrkp.zrc-sazu.si/en/dogodki/international-day-of-caves-and-karst-idck

Information on registration for the accompanying events, along with their detailed programs, will follow.

We look forward to your participation and to celebrating the beginning of this important global initiative together.

Kind regards,

Nadja Zupan Hajna

on behalf of the Organizing Committee

Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU and International Union of Speleology (UIS)

19/03/2026

On Saturday, March 7, 2026, Arrigo Cigna passed away at age 93. Arrigo was an internationally renowned speleologist and scientist who left a mark on the history of speleology. His rigorous and interdisciplinary approach to the study of caves and karst phenomena has made him a remarkable reference for many generations of researchers and speleologists.
Cigna's speleological career began in the late 1940s in Milan, where he took his first steps in the Lombardy caves. His training as a physicist led him to develop a scientific approach to underground exploration, so he soon became one of the pioneers of hypogeal meteorology, the discipline that studies physics and atmospheric phenomena in underground environments. Among the other topics, his work on radon concentrations in Italian caves and on the climatic aspects of caves is considered fundamental in international speleological literature.
Cigna's scientific activities also focused on the environmental protection of show caves.
Arrigo Cigna was president of the Italian Speleological Society and, from 1973 to 1981, president of the International Union of Speleology. He attended and organized conferences and congresses worldwide and authored hundreds of scientific publications.
In 2023, Arrigo donated his vast personal library to the Italian
Speleological Society, leaving to all of us a heritage of great
scientific and cultural value, accumulated over decades of study and research. With the death of Arrigo Cigna, caving has lost one of its founding fathers in the modern era.

16/02/2026

We are glad to share with you 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝟔𝟕-𝟐 of the 𝐔𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧. The PDF Interactive format can be downloaded by clicking on the link:http://uis-speleo.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/UIS-Bulletin-67-2-final.pdf

14/01/2026

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐭 (𝐈𝐃𝐂𝐊) proclaimed by UNESCO will be held in 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐣𝐧𝐚, 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚 from 𝟏𝟎–𝟏𝟑 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

Researchers, educators, decision-makers and the wider cave and karst community are warmly invited to save the date.
More information will follow.

01/01/2026

Dear Friends, we want to wish you a Happy New Year!

12/11/2025

UNESCO Proclaims the International Day of Caves and Karst!

At today’s General Conference of UNESCO in Samarkand (12 November 2025), 13 September was officially proclaimed the International Day of Caves and Karst — a global recognition of the significance of the hidden world beneath our feet.
The initiative was proposed to UNESCO by the Republic of Slovenia, following the proposal of the International Union of Speleology (UIS), in close cooperation with the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO, the Permanent Delegation of Slovenia to UNESCO, and the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, where the UIS headquarters has been based in Postojna, Slovenia.
Caves and karst cover nearly one quarter of the Earth’s land surface and provide drinking water to over a billion people. They preserve unique subterranean biodiversity, geological archives, and invaluable cultural heritage. Yet, they remain among the least understood and most fragile ecosystems on our planet.
The International Day of Caves and Karst will help raise global awareness, promote research, education, and international cooperation in science, environmental protection, culture, and sustainable tourism.
The UIS warmly thanks all UNESCO Member States that supported the initiative, as well as the UNESCO scientific programmes (IGGP, MAB, IHP) and international partners including the International Science Council (ISC), IUCN, and more than 150 organizations worldwide that endorsed the proposal. Our sincere appreciation goes to the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO and the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Slovenia to UNESCO in Paris for their dedicated diplomatic efforts and continuous support.
From now on, September 13 will unite the global cave and karst community in celebrating and protecting these vital landscapes — for science, for nature, and for humanity.
Don’t forget, in 2026 we will celebrate the first ever International Day of Caves and Karst on 13 September!
Nadja Zupan Hajna, UIS Past President

To learn more, visit:
International Day of Caves and Karst website: https://www.caveskarstday.org/
UIS official website: https://uis-speleo.org/

09/10/2025

“Great news from UNESCO!”

Dear speleologists,

I am very pleased to share that the UNESCO Executive Board has today adopted the decision on the International Day of Caves and Karst (IDCK) — co-sponsored by 59 countries!

The final proclamation will take place at the UNESCO General Conference this November in Uzbekistan.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a positive outcome and for global recognition of caves and karst!

— Shared by Nadja Zupan Hajna, UIS Past President

Address

Titov Trg 2
Postojna
6230

Website

http://uis-speleo.org/

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