Focus

IllusiOcean, an unexpected ocean debuts at the Università di Milano-Bicocca

Until 31 January 2022. The Università di Milano-Bicocca is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the protection of the marine ecosystem and presented using the language of illusion.

It is an interactive, multimedia project created thanks to the collaboration of Mondadori Media and the Italian National Museum of Cinema in Turin, and the participation of almost 500 high school students

Surrender to the suggestive biodiversity of the sea and the secrets of its extraordinary ecosystem through the language of illusion. Until 31 January 2022, the University of Milano-Bicocca is hosting “IllusiOcean™”, an exhibition conceived and coordinated by Paolo Galli, professor of ecology at the university, and created in collaboration with Mondadori Media and the National Museum of Cinema in Turin.

The aims of the exhibition dedicated to the sea include raising awareness – among civil society, schools of all levels, the academic world and the scientific community – of the importance of achieving the sustainable development objectives for oceanic sciences set by the United Nations for the decade (2021-2030) of oceanic sciences, in particular Goal 14: to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

The exhibition is an interactive experience divided into three thematic areas.

The first area consists of four rooms and two corners, each examining an aspect of the sea: from the biodiversity of tropical marine ecosystems to the problem of plastic pollution.

The exhibition path begins with a corner dedicated to “Virtual Reality” where, thanks to 3D viewers, visitors can explore the wonders of the world’s coral reefs and discover the process of coral restoration. It is also possible to simulate the sensory experience of an underwater geyser and enjoy an special natural spectacle.

In the “Sottomarino delle illusioni (Submarine of Illusions) visitors can dive into the depths of the Maldives, an archipelago that hosts some of the world’s largest coral reefs: an area of over 4500 km2 of extraordinary biodiversity and nearly 300 different species of coral. In this room, visitors will have the opportunity to get to know the marine organisms that shelter here. But to do this, they will have to sharpen their senses: walking from one side of the space to the other, where they will see the figures shrink or enlarge and algae and fish that transform into strange shapes.

The “Stanza degli specchi” (Room of Mirrors) places us among schools of jellyfish, fascinating marine animals that are found in seas around the world, where they float, driven by currents. And among the luminous umbrellas of these creatures, we can also see traces of the all-too-human threat called pollution.

This room was designed with the support of master glassmaker Fabio Fornasier from Murano, who created glass jellyfish using the traditional manual method and reproduced – also in glass – some of the many plastic objects that infest our seas.

The room “Mare sotto i Riflettori, il cinema racconta gli oceani (The Sea in the Spotlight, the cinema and the oceans) is the result of collaboration with the National Museum of Cinema in Turin. This section offers a new interactive experience with all the magic of underwater filming, with clips, objects and unique curiosities. “The relationship between man and then sea has always been one of the recurring themes in the history of cinema,” said Domenico De Gaetano, director of the National Museum of Cinema, “our fascination with the underwater world lends itself well to illusions and special effects and we are delighted with this prestigious collaboration, which allows us to show another fascinating side of the Seventh Art.”

The sea is a treasure chest containing many different species of animals and plants: some are easy to spot, others hide and blend in. To recognise them, you need an expert eye, patience and a lot of attention. In the “Labirinto dei segreti marini (Labyrinth of marine secrets) children from three to five years old can have a lot of fun looking for them and getting lost among the walls of this special room

The second corner, Messaggio in Bottiglia (Message in a Bottle), takes us back in time, to when letters were placed in glass bottles and thrown into the sea letting the currents carry them ashore. Fortunately, today we no longer need to throw a message into the ocean to communicate with the world: but through the “ocean that is the web”, visitors can launch their own message of hope to be launched on social networks using a virtual glass bottle.

The second area of the exhibition features 30 giant photographs, taken by some of the greatest experts in underwater photography – including Massimo Boyer – and depicting the evocative illusions created by nature that make our oceans so spectacular: the mimicry of some species of fish, for example, or the phenomenon that generates the effect of underwater waterfalls in Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.

The third block is dedicated to the work done by high -chool students from the Vittorio Veneto and Luigi Cremona scientific high schools in Milan and the Emilio Sereni Agricultural Technical Institute in Rome. In recent months, around 500 students participated in the “Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l’Orientamento” (Paths towards Crossover Skills and Orientation) by designing and creating parts of the exhibition: reconstructions of models of the seabed, scientific games, illustrative posters, drawings and audio guides for visitors.

“With IllusiOcean the Milano-Bicocca University takes another important step towards restarting after the pandemic, inviting schools, families and citizens to discover an exhibition dedicated to the sea. We are delighted to inaugurate this exhibition which, thanks to the language of illusions, is not only great fun, but also encourages us to reflect on one of the priorities set by the UN 2030 Agenda: the protection of the health of the sea. It’s a challenge in which our researchers are engaged every day in the study of sustainable development solutions for the protection of the marine ecosystem,” said Deputy Rector, Marco Orlandi.

The exhibition is free and open to the public every Friday from 11am to 6pm and on Saturdays, twice a month, at the same times, at the Galleria della scienza (Buildings U1/U2, 1st floor, Piazza della Scienza, Milan).

Entrance is by reservation only and you can book on the  illusiocean.it website and present your green pass (vaccination passport) at the door.

In addition, every Tuesday and Thursday morning, from 8am to 10am or from 11am to 1pm, by writing to illusiocean@unimib.it, you can book guided tours for schools.

Thanks to collaboration with Mondadori Media, from the end of October the “IllusiOcean™” exhibition will also be available online, exclusively on the website of Focus, Italy’s most widely read monthly, a reference point for fans and enthusiasts of technology, science, nature, medicine and innovation. By accessing the dedicated section of Focus.it., users can navigate in immersive mode inside the rooms of illusions and discover, in a virtual journey, many curiosities about the sea and its inhabitants.

“The Milano-Bicocca University exhibition organised by Professor Paolo Galli on the optical illusions and the sea is original, stimulating and fun. Three adjectives that have always been part of the DNA of Focus and it was therefore natural for us to offer our partnership to IllusiOcean.  A partnership that, in addition to narrating and describing the exhibition, allows people to visit the exhibition also virtually on Focus.it,” said the editor of Focus, Raffaele Leone. “It is original because it is the result of an original and creative idea; stimulating because it wants to encourage us to reflect on the wonders of the sea and the need to preserve them; fun because it communicates playfully with the special effects of optical illusions. How could Focus not be there?”

And the experience with “IllusiOcean™” is not limited to the exhibition. Throughout the exhibition period, a rich programme of initiatives promoted by Focus and Focus Junior, the magazine that is a point of reference for kids, has been planned to raise the awareness of readers, teachers and students about the marine world and explore the issues raised by the initiative. Starting from the issue of Focus on newsstands this month, which is entirely dedicated to the importance of water: from the cycle of the sea, the planet’s real liquid engine, to the life of the cetaceans that populate the waters of our peninsula, to the story of the coral clinic in the Maldives, with lots of other special unmissable content.

Every week, on focusjunior.it and the magazine’s social media channels, young people can also find insights and curiosities on the issues raised by the exhibition, but not only. In fact, they can also share photos, articles, ideas and suggestions for looking after the seas and oceans with the editorial team, using the email address focusjunior@focusjunior.it: and the most original content will be published both online and in the magazine. “Children, and young people in general, are worried about climate change and the future of the planet: so, as always, Focus Junior gives voice to their thoughts and ideas,” said Sarah Pozzoli, the editor of Focus Junior.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Società italiana di Ecologia (Italian Society of Ecology) – (S.It.E), the Lombardy Region and the City of Milan.

INTERNI: A NEW ISSUE WITH A FOCUS ON INTERNAZIONALITY AND “PHYGITAL DESIGN”

Lots of news for 2021: the Designer’s Week in April, the exhibition-event Creative Connection in September and a media partnership with the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai

INTERNI, the Mondadori Group’s interiors and contemporary design magazine, starts the year with an international issue dedicated to Phygital Design that combines physical and digital experiences. And there is a range of initiatives planned for the year: two events in Milan in April and September, and a media partnership with the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

INTERNI Phygital Design and the Index Design Guide

Completely in English, with translations of the text in Italian at the back of the magazine, this issue of the magazine develops the theme of communication in the chain of creativity.

“Communicate. Never before has this word taken on such a rich variety of a meaning,” declared Gilda Bojardi, editor of INTERNI. “The pandemic and physical distancing has obliged us to reinvent how we share ideas and plans and forced us to experiment with the possibilities offered by digital media in support of the physical. But we have also realised how important direct contact is in transmitting the immense combination of values from which the products of Italian design take shape. We therefore find ourselves at an important turning point in which we have to rethink the very essence of the act of communication, or rather the content of such communication, which, when we’re talking about design, must move, but also tell a story about identity, culture and values.”

To produce this new issue, INTERNI asked companies how the digital-real mix has changed the way in which they present themselves. We also carried out a survey among communication professionals to ask them about how they see the transformation that is underway. The picture that emerges is both dense and stimulating: year zero of the ‘phygital’ era it will lead to experimentation, to a breaking free of the consolidated approach to design communication, and the creation of new ways of talking about historical Italian know-how

As a supplement the new issue of INTERNI, Design Index Guide is a unique directory with over 8000 Italian design addresses: the producers and the products, where and what to buy, the designers, the photographers, the publicists, the publishers, the trainers, the organisers, the exhibitors.

Also available in a digital version and online on all mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and on desktops at: https://www.internimagazine.it/designindex/

Events and special initiaitives

INTERNI, is a point of reference in design which, thanks to its creative strengths, has developed a system of parallel publications that have transformed it from a monthly magazine to a brand capable of creating events and initiatives, also abroad. In fact, during the year many initiatives aimed at reigniting the creative spirit of Milan and beyond.

Following the great success of the 1st edition of INTERNI Designer’s Week 2020 – which recorded a reach of 18 million users on the brand’s digital and social media channels and physical visits by over 60,000 people from Italy and abroad – from 12 to 23 April the magazine will launch the 2nd edition in Milan of this urban event dedicated to industrial and furniture design, with a focus on aspects of sustainability, the circular economy and mobility. With print and digital guide, on and off-line visibility will be given to the presentations of new product collections by the most important Italian and foreign companies will present at their respective flagship stores, showrooms and special locations.

From 4 al 19 September, for the FuoriSalone 2021, INTERNI will has planned an event-exhibition called Creative Connections. Staged in the courtyards of the University of Milan and inside the amazing Orto Botanico of Brera, the exhibition aims to establish a link between creativity, ideas and people from different cultures and countries.

And finally, to enhance with cultural and publishing activities and events, the project for the participation of Italy at the upcoming Universal Exposition, INTERNI will be the media partner of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. A collaboration that will include events and publishing initiatives during the six-month long exhibition and the period leading up to Expo 2020 Dubai, which will begin on 1 October 2021.

INTERNI January-February will be on newsstands from Wednesday 20 January 2021.

For more information, please go to: www.internimagazine.it

 

The Mondadori Group brand are ever closer to readers and their families

Numerous initiatives to help and support the public to relax but also to exchange experience with premium free content and live events on social media, as well as active participation by users in the brands’ social communities

At this difficult time the Mondadori Group brands are keeping close to their readers, users and their families with initiatives across all media. The aim is to help. Support and offer moments of relaxation, by involving the public, above all on social networks, in activities related to their passions.

In particular, there are three ways in which the Group has put together initiatives to be closer and to help people in this period of emergency: free access to premium content, a schedule of simultaneous live events on social networks and the active involvement of users through the brands’ communities.

Free premium content

In order to keep up to date the magazines of the Mondadori Group is offering readers free digital subscriptions for a period of three months.

It is possible to subscribe for digital access to your favourite magazines here, choosing from some of the leading magazines in a range of segments, including: Grazia, Donna Moderna, Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni, Chi, Focus, Focus Junior, Giallozafferano, CasaFacile, Icon, Icon Design, Interni and many more.

Plus, from Sunday it will be possible to download for free with a click the latest special issue of Grazia, “We will embrace again” from this link. In just two days, this initiative has already reached more than 30,000 people.

Live simultaneous events on the social media channels of the leading brands

Every day a live cooking demonstration with GialloZafferano, in collaboration with NostroFiglio and Focus Junior. By connecting to the brands’ Instagram, Facebook r YouTube channels, at 5 pm, users can enjoy #IoRestoACasaECucino and learn live, from the chefs of Giallo, how to put together easy meals for the whole family, and also involving kids in the preparation.

This daily appointment was preceded on Saturday 21 March by a great live event on social media #ACenaConGialloZafferano which engaged Italians in the preparation of the weekend dinner. The event, which took place simultaneously on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, attracted over 200,000 people, who received tips and advice from the chefs of GialloZafferano, a number of foodbloggers from across Italy, as well as award-winning chef Alessandro Negrini.

The, of course, we couldn’t forget the live training sessions by MyPersonalTrainer, which every day propose half an hour of activities on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube with a series of thematic paths: physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, dietary wellbeing.

Special attention is also reserved for small children: NostroFiglio offers a rich weekly programme of live events on Facebook with doctors and pedagogues, with musical games, mini-shows and baby dance in collaboration with Kikolle Lab and a range of fun tasks to invent together with your children.

But we also need to relax, and so TV Sorrisi e Canzoni is offering its users the #ACasaConSorrisi initiative, two daily appointments live on Instagram and Facebook in which the editor Aldo Vitali enters the homes of the personalities featured in the current issue of the magazine and famous faces from TV. The first live events, which attracted many users, featured Vanessa Incontrada, Baby-K, Amadeus and will continue every day at 4 pm and 6 pm.

Also the magazine Chi, edited by Alfonso Signorini, is entertaining its users every day at 7 pm, double live interviews live, in which a number of VIPs talk exclusively on Instagram to #ChiRestaACasa.

An unmissable appointment for all fans to get an up-close look at the world of celebrities who every week enliven the pages of their favourite magazine. And on Chi’s IGTV users can also find the interviews conducted so far with Alessia Marcuzzi, Giulia Salemi and Carlo Conti.

User participation through the brands social communities

#TorneremoAdAbbracciarci. Grazia launched its initiative #TorneremoAdAbbracciarci on Instagram.

Users are invited to post a photo of an embrace, a gesture of affection that we all took for granted and has now become a precious good. A way of communicating that we are united and that together we can make it through to which many celebrities and ordinary people have contributed.

#Andrà’TuttoBene with Nostrofiglio. The portal form mums and dads 2.0, joined from the beginning and helped to spread the children and rainbows initiative Andrà tutto bene” (All will be well) and received over 12,000 online contributions with drawings of rainbows attached to the balconies on Italian homes (see the gallery on Facebook).

#IoCucinoConGiallo and #IoRestoaCasa. A collective cooking initiative, for and with your loved ones, even if they are far away, with recipes from GialloZafferano, photographing the results and sharing them with GialloZafferano and its community. In just a few days 4,000 people had already contributed (see the gallery on Facebook).

#DonnaModernaRestaConMe and #IoRestoaCasa. The weekly Donna Moderna uses Instagram to describe the making of the magazine with remote working and invites readers to talk about how the magazine is keeping them company in these days: a recipe, an inspiration, a particular story. A call to action to readers to talk about how Donna Moderna is helping them through these weeks (see the gallery on Instagram).

#StayCoolStayHome with DM Beauty. Also in this period, young women want to look after themselves. This is possible with DM Beauty, the social beauty magazine, conceived and created by millennials for millennials.  Every day a post with tips to make you feel cool even when you stay at home.

#IoStudioaCasa with Studenti.it. Amazing support for high school kids is provided by Studenti.it, which offers them teaching materials for all needs. On the StudentiTV channel on YouTube kids can access hundreds of video lessons while on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts they can find online new audio podcast lessons Te lo spiega Studenti.it: snippets on Italian, history and literature, as well as the high school diploma exam.

The results of all of these initiatives show how people, constrained by the current situation, are turning to the media, especially online, and appreciating what the brands of the Mondadori Group are offering them.

In fact, on Sunday 22 March saw an all-time record online audience for a combination of the Group’s brands with a total of over 13 million visits to the web sites in a single day an increase of over +100% compared with last year (Source: Google Analytics).

An important contribution was made by Giallozafferano which on Sunday 22 March cooked along with almost 6 million Italians (+240% vs 2019).

To this should also be added similarly exceptional results on social media.

Also on Sunday 22 March, the combination of the brands’ social media channels recorded an overall reach of over 17 million people and the number of fans is growing by an average of over 40,000 users per day al giorno.

Focus Live comes to Milan: the final stage of the festival of popular science, from 21 to 24 November

After Genoa and Trento, the big final stage will take place at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, with interactive experiences, futuristic installations, encounters with experts and scientists and labs open to all.

The guests include: Umberto Guidoni, Carlo Cottarelli, Massimo Polidoro, Stefano Mancuso, Selvaggia Lucarelli, Sofia Viscardi, Saverio Raimondo and many more

What will the world be like in 10 years? “How do we want to live in 2029”? This is the theme of the 2019 edition of Focus Live, the popular science festival of the magazine Focus, which, from 21 to 24 November brings to a conclusion at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, an extraordinary journey that has taken in the most fascinating and decisive issues for the future of mankind and the planet, and discussed the great challenges the humanity must face and the tools it needs to win.

Over 15,000 visitors (of which over 1,800 students), 117 laboratories for children and adults, 182 speakers on the main stage and in speakers’ corners, 44 interactive and multimedia installations: these are the numbers of Focus Live’s debut in Milan last years, with great public success for the event and the digital content. This year over 11,000 people have already taken part in the first two stages, held, respectively, on 1 – 2 June at the Porto Antico in Genoa, and on 18, 19 and 20 October in Trento at MUSE, Museo delle Scienze.

At the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci the discussion will focus on the environment, climate, ecosystems, but also on genetics, artificial intelligence, migration, space travel, robots and much more. A great celebration of science, open to everyone, where adults and children can let themselves be amazed by installations and scientific experiments, take part in interactive laboratories and get their hands on the most advanced technologies, as well as meeting some of the biggest experts and scholars in a range of disciplines and personalities well-known to the public. Leading international experts will be the protagonists of unique encounters that will outline the state-of-the art of recent discoveries in a manner tat is accessible for the general public, as well as for fans and enthusiasts. They include the plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso, the physicist and popular scientist Guido Emilio Tonelli, the climatologist Luca Mercalli, the diver Umberto Pellizzari, the scientific YouTubers Adrian Fartade and Luca Perri and many more.

In line with the style of Focus, a Mondadori Group brand, science comes to life in unusual and fascinating ways. From “space conquests” with astronaut Umberto Guidoni to some of the most surreal scenarios with laughs and semi-serious reflections with Saverio Raimondo, but also an ability to distinguish the true from the false, between information and propaganda with Selvaggia Lucarelli, the role of the youngest generations with Sofia Viscardi and with the TikToker with more than 2.5 million followers Rosalba Andolfi, the economic outlook that we can expect with Carlo Cottarelli, or the secret life of a rebellious genius like Leonardo Da Vinci together with Massimo Polidoro and the future of music with Saturnino.

And you can even take “a walk” on Mars with 3D visors, and without gravity, or experience the sensation of surviving in high water, watch the robot surgeon “Da Vinci” at work (able, for example, to peel a grape and then sew it back on perfectly), create a perfect avatar of oneself to interact with a virtual world, for example, trying on clothes online, testing your skills on an incredibly realistic driving or flight simulator, experience the sensation – using a special visor – of living with reduced senses in order to understand the difficulties of people with hearing or sight impairments, discover the kitchen of the future, cooking with artificial intelligence and the infinite number of recipes of GialloZafferano, in the company of the starred chef Alessandro Negrini and his interactive showcooking with Alexa and Google Home.

And there are protagonists also for the little ones, with the kids’ area laboratories to try interacting with robots, discover the wonders of water, virtually re-live the moon landing experience and play with the Science show of the scientific apprentice Giuseppe Spitaleri and the crew from the House of Talent.

Everything will be useful in attempting to answer the greatest question of them all: will we be able to deal with the emergencies facing the planet? The most important of which are the climate and the environment, demography and migration, and the fourth industrial revolution: the enormous climatic changes that are transforming the world we have always known forever; the aging populations of parts of the world and the increase in the inhabitants of others, with the associated imbalances and social tensions; the widespread use of artificial intelligence systems, with the potential to disrupt the job market and, if not managed well, risk concentrating wealth even more in the hands of the few, and increasing inequality between populations.

For tickets and a complete programme, please go to: www.focuslive.it

 

Opening times:

Thursday 21 November 9:30-18.00

Friday 22 November 9:30-19.00

Saturday 23 November 9.30-21.00

Sunday 24 November 9:30-19.00

 

Focus is Italy’s most widely read magazine, with 5.8 million readers and digital users (Source: NIELSEN MEDIA IMPACT DATA FUSION audipress 2019.1e audiweb 2.0 Feb 19), and 2 million fans on social networks.

Focus Live has been developed with the patronage of: Agenzia spaziale Italiana ASI, Agenziale Spaziale Europea ESA, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNR, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT, Enea, Inaf, Virtual Space Systems.

The organisation of Focus Live has been made possible thanks to the support of:

Main Partners: ab medica, Essilor, IBM

Partners: Aiteca, Celgene, Commissione Europea, e-distribuzione, Gilead, Grimaldi Group, Novartis, Oppo, Osservatorio Terapie Avanzate, Pfizer, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pegaso, Roche, Toyota

In collaboration with: Opera San Francesco

Partner Area Focus Junior: Candia

Supporter: Università San Raffaele

Charity Partner: Lega del Filo d’Oro

Media Partner: Focus, Mediaset, Focus Junior, Meteo.it, Smartworld

Radio Ufficiale: Radio Monte Carlo

In collaboration with Istituto Oikos

 

 

The Mondadori Group launches uARe, an augmented reality platform for interactive experiences

The Mondadori Group has announced the launch of uARe, a new tool for the creation of augmented reality content, produced together with Focus, the brand that is an international point of reference in popular science and entertainment.

The platform was developed thanks to support from the Innovation Fund of Google’s Digital News Initiative won by Focus and which has certified the leadership of the Mondadori Group brand in the management of interactive content and experiences.

uARe, developed in collaboration with the technological partner Magma, is a solution that comprise of a platform for the development and layout of cloud-based AR content and a customisable mobile application for each client through which it is possible to access interactive and immersive experiences.

It is now much easier to create and put on the page 360° videos and photos, 3D animations 3D and audio content. uARe is characterised by an easy-to-use interface, the speed of the productive workflow, dashboard analytic marketing with data on the use of the experiences, geo-tracking of AR experiences and shared functions on the main social networks.

The platform, with which the Mondadori Group will innovate the augmented reality market, is ideal for use in a range of sectors, from publishing to education, as well as retail, communication and events.

“Focus Live”: three special stages for the new edition of the popular science organized by Focus

What will the world be like in 10 years? “How do we want to live in 2029?” This is the key topic of the latest edition of Focus Live, the festival of popular science of the monthly magazine Focus, which on 1 and 2 June will start from Genoa on an extraordinary journey across the most fascinating and decisive issues facing the future of humanity and the planet, before moving on to other stages in Trento in October and Milan in November.

For two days the Porto Antico, Genoa’s old port district, will become a large stage for the Italian scientific community, along with guests of international standing. conferences, interactive installations and much more. The main stage and speakers’ corner at the Magazzini del Cotone will be the location for conferences, shows and  talk shows; while the Città dei bambini e dei ragazzi and Porta Siberia will be the places for labs, for young and old, in collaboration with the Festival of Science Association; then, Piazzale Mandraccio will be where the most spectacular attractions will be concentrated, with drones on the hunt for plastic in the sea, an authentic fleet of marine robots with an underwater laboratory able to reach a depth of 5,000 metres, dives by specialist freedivers, and much more. And, finally, the foyer of the Centro Congressi, where, between immersive experiences and virtual reality, visitors can enjoy the excitement of living like scientists in direct contact with the most amazing installations.

Among the many protagonists of the first stage of Focus Live in Genoa, which will be officially opened on Saturday 1 June at 10 am by the Governor of Liguria Giovanni Toti, will be Alberto Cappato, General Manager of the Porto Antico, Michele Lanzinger Director of the Science Museum of Trento and Fiorenzo Galli, Director of the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan; in fact both the MUSE in Trento and MUST in Milan are partners of the whole tour.

The Genoa event will welcome over 100 guests from the universities, laboratories and research institutes where the future of the planet’s scientific progress is developed, but that’s not. Also joining them will be the astronaut Umberto Guidoni for a “journey into a black hole”, in the company of the Italian researchers from the international team that for the first time photographed the most mysterious objects in the cosmos; the astronaut Maurizio Cheli will talk about how he climbed Everest, the comedian Saverio Raimondo with his “semi-comic show on the environment” will make us reflect on our limits, and the plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso will explain how plants can help us to save the earth and humanity. And, along with them, many others.

As in the style of Focus, science takes shape in curious and fascinating ways. So, for example, you can take a “stroll” on Mars with a 3D headset without gravity, or take part in an amusing “trial” against homo sapiens to understand whether man deserves to dominate the earth, observe the wonders of the human mind in an amazing two-voice show, but also “play” with genetics to see how much we have in common with chimpanzees and the plants that surround us, or experience the sensation of surviving a flood, designing a drone to powering a “pedal cinema”, transforming physical exercise into energy. And there will also be space for science  “at the table”, with three chefs, two experts in nutrition and a challenge: to create a refined but sustainable meal with just €1.

And, above all, we will discuss the climate; the technologies to reduce environmental risks and the relationship between humans and the planet’s other “inhabitants”. But there will also be debates about genetics, artificial intelligence, migration, space travel, robots and much more. A great festival of science open to all, where adults and children will be amazed by installations and scientific experiments, and take part in interactive laboratories and get their hands on the most advanced technologies.

Last year, at the only stage held in Milan at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, , Focus Live attracted over 15,000 visitors (of which, over 1,800 students), with 117 labs for kids and adults, 182 speakers, and 44 interactive and multimedia installations. The aim. also for this year, is to offer an answer to the biggest of questions: will we be able to deal with the emergencies facing our planet? The largest of which are climate and the environment, demographics and migration, and the fourth industrial revolution.

For tickets and a full programme for the first stage in Genoa, please go to www.focuslive.it

The entire tour will be accompanied by a charity partnership with the Lega del Filo d’oro which supports deaf-blind and psychosensory disabled people.

Focus Live is made possible by the Patronage of: Agenzia spaziale Italiana ASI, Agenziale Spaziale Europea ESA, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNR, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT, Enea, Inaf, Mars Planet

 

The organisation of Focus Live is made possible thanks to the support of:

Main Partner: abmedica, Essilor and Ibm
Partner: Università Telematica Pegaso
Supporter: Costa Crociere
Media Partner: Focus tv and meteo.it
Official radio is Radio Monte Carlo
The event in Genoa has been organised in collaboration with Porto Antico di Genova, La città dei bambini e dei ragazzi and l’Associazione Festival della Scienza.

The new Focus: knowledge as an ongoing surprise

Focus, the Mondadori Group magazine that is a point of reference in popular science and entertainment, from Thursday 21 February will be available to the public in markedly renewed form and content.

The aim of the monthly, edited by Raffaele Leone, will be to further develop the successful formula that has made it Italy’s most widely read magazine, which boasts a combination of 5.7 million readers and users (based on data from Audipress 2018.2 and Audiweb 2.0 September 2018), as well as 1.7 million fans on social networks.

Starting from the cover, Focus readers will be surprised by the many changes in the layout and content. First of all they will notice the new masthead which, for the first time, features a larger red logo: a decision that will guarantee the brand greater relevance.

Thanks to an elegant look and an identity as leader, the magazine will be even more stimulating, and targeted at readers that are aware, educated, curious and “want to know more”.

The new Focus has a mission to surprise page after page, investigating the science and knowledge that surrounds us, and represented in a captivating, accurate, rigorous, original and unusual way.

The opening pages of the magazine will be devoted to the column Prisma: di tutto un po’ (Prisma: a little of everything), an authentic showcase of high level content, from regular features to new sections, such as “Il caro estinto” (Dearly departed), “Cogli l’etimo” (Catch the meaning) and many others.

The articles will not only deal with science, nature and technology, but will also take a closer look at current affairs, but always with the scientific and analytical approach to the facts that is typical of Focus. Space will also be given to art, with a column edited by Vittorio Sgarbi that, starting from single work, will develop an analysis of an entire artistic period. Background detail will be provided by Focus Dossier, three articles aimed at examining, in an unusual and detailed way, the issue featured on the cover.

Focus finally also re-confirms its primacy in the development of interactive content and experiences thanks to the ongoing reinforcement of Augmented Reality: each month the magazine will have a fixed appointment with readers in page not to be read but to be “listened to”. An innovative function that will further diversify that range of extras usable through the dedicated app, available for free from the AppStore and Google Play: navigable 360° photos, 3D graphics and renderings, timelapse and 4K videos, and much more.

The new magazine will form the nucleus of an articulated multimedia ecosystem across different in able to transform readers and users into authentic “inhabitants” of the Focus world: from the web site to the TV channel, and from social networks to events aimed at consolidating the brand’s presence around the country.

Among the most important of these Focus Live, an engagement with the great issues and personalities of knowledge which, during the first edition, which took place between 8 and 11 November 2018, attracted over 15,000 visitors to the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia in Milan, and that in 2019 will take its exclusive formula to two other cities in Italy, Genoa and Turin.

To mark the launch of the new Focus a special print-run (+20%) of magazine has been planned, along with a communication campaign run by Hunbranded that, through the use of visuals and captivating and amusing  headlines, highlights the brand’s contribution to “getting the world into focus”  in all its vastness and complexity.

The campaign has been planned on print media and the web, radio and TV, trade channels, sales outlets and on social networks, and will support both the March and April issues.

Raffaele Leone appointed as new editor of Focus

Starting from the 21 February issue, Raffaele Leone will be the new editor of Focus, the Mondadori Group brand that is a point of reference in popular science and entertainment.

Leone will further enhance a successful formula that has made Focus Italy’s most widely-read magazine, thanks to an even broader range of content and a new look at current affairs, with a continuing scientific approach and a rigorous analysis of the facts.

Born in Catania, Leone, who is 58, began his career on the newspaper La Sicilia, before joining the editorial team of the Indipendente. In 1994 he moved to Il Giornale where he covered a number of roles, including news editor, bureau chief at the Rome office and then central managing editor. In 2006 he was appointed deputy editor of the magazine Grazia, before moving one year later to Panorama, firstly as deputy editor in 2007, executive deputy editor in 2009 and editor-in-chief in 2018.

At the same time Jacopo Loredan – that the Mondadori Group wishes to thank for the professionalism, passion and energy  with which he has led the magazine – will take on the role of event and brand development manager.

Following the success of the first edition of Focus Live, which took place last November in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, this year Focus will take its exclusive formula to other cities in Italy, with the aim of further developing the brand’s presence around the country.

 

The launch of Focus Scuola: a new magazine for teachers

A monthly for subscribers that helps teachers to face the new challenges of the classroom

A magazine aimed at all teachers of primary and first level secondary schools, to help them face the new challenges of the classroom in the digital age: this is Focus Scuola, a new monthly for teachers from the Mondadori Group.

Focus Scuola, edited by Sarah Pozzoli, has been conceived as a tool at the service of teachers, to support them in their day-to-day work with pedagogical and didactic advice for “feel better” in in the classroom and to manage classes, develop authoritativeness, control stress, attract and retain pupils’ attention and motivate them to study.

“This new magazine – underlined the editor Sarah Pozzoli – comes fro the experience of Focus Junior which for years with its projects for schools, class visits to the editorial departments and events around the country, is in continuous dialogue with teachers, children and parents. all of these activities have enabled us to gather information and to intercept the great need for support for teachers who increasingly need to know about and try out tools that can help them every day as they propose new, engaging and innovative teaching activities. This is why, in 2017, we launched the Osservatorio Trend Junior which has helped us to look more closely at the younger generations, their parents and teachers, and to understand how to virtuously triangulate these three targets in handling issues such as education and training.

Focus Scuola, which is available every month on subscription, offers background details on the latest scientific and pedagogic research, but also good experimental ideas from Italy and the rest of the world from individual teachers and provides suggestions about innovative methods and the use of technology in the classroom.

Extensive space is also given to the latest scientific news of relevance to schools and norms and regulations from the Ministry of Education, as well as reviews of films, books, exhibitions study tours and new trends in the world of children and teenagers, plus a wealth of ideas for lessons and labs that can be done in class.

An added feature is the inclusion of columns by authoritative exponents from the world of schools such as Marco Rossi Doria, Daniela Lucangeli, Alberto Pellai, Giovanni Biondi, Alex Corlazzoli and teaching kits as supplements to the magazine, produced on the logic of S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).

Focus Scuola is available only on subscription at a cost of €69 (annual subscription, 10 issues) or €99 (a two-year subscription, 20 issues). During the whole of December it will also be possible to subscribe for a year to  both Focus Scuola and Focus Junior at the special price of €79.

In the first issue, available from this week, among a wide range of issues there is a cover dossier on strategies for communicating with parents and an interview with the philosopher Umberto Galimberti.

The “Focus Live” festival at the National Museum of Science and Technology will run until Sunday 11 November

Over 200 debates, conferences and meetings to talk about the great challenges humanity is facing

The event has been organised by Focus, the magazine that is a point of reference for popular science and entertainment

 The official opening took place this morning with Piero Angela,  who received an award for his career

Today saw the official opening of the first edition of the “Focus Live” Festival, an event organised by Focus – the Mondadori Group brand that is a point of reference for popular science and entertainment – in cooperation with the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

The programme, which will run in Milan until 11 November at the spaces of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, features over 200 events, including conferences, workshops, debates, shows, labs and interactive installations – run in collaboration with Italian and international universities, institutions, research centres and companies – with the aim of presenting and offering a more detailed look at the current challenges facing humanity and the tools we have to  meet them.

At the official opening held this morning, Piero Angela was presented with a prize for his outstanding contribution to popular science by the editor of Focus Jacopo Loredan.

“For us, Focus Live is the culmination of an initiative that started one year ago together with the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milandeclared the editor of Focus Jacopo Loredan. Focus Live, just like our magazine, is within the reach of anyone who is interested and curious; and we think it will be unconventional, stimulating, fun. This can be seen from the programme that we have pit together: with a rich variety and something for all ages, including events and labs also for young children.”

“We are delighted that at last Milan has a festival of science and we are proud that it will take place at our Museum with an innovative format – emphasised Fiorenzo Galli, General Manager of the  National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. With the ongoing cooperation, enthusiasm and ambition that we share with the Focus team, we have stimulated each other and developed a target of involving the public in unique experiences, with special personalities, around issues and topics that allow us to imagine the future and to help us to build it together. The result of the combined efforts of Focus and the Museum is an ideal marriage that brings together the  vision, competences, experience, networks and cultural resources of  both.”

Genetics, the environment, immortality, artificial intelligence, space travel, sex, climate change, robotics: these are just some of the issues on which the rich programme of events of “Focus Live” will concentrate, a winning exploration across 5 thematic areas (Earth, Homo Sapiens, Science, Technology, Space), and that will enable the public to explore the various fields of knowledge in a rigorous but fun way, in line with the Focus style.

On the fourth day of “Focus Live” over 100 scientists, presenters, journalists, writers and many other experts, will illustrate the latest developments in a number of scientific and technological fields and offer an overview of the adventure of Homo sapiens from our origins to the present, in order to have a better understanding of the big choices and ethical and pragmatic dilemmas our species has to face.

Tomorrow, Friday 9 November, the main stage will feature a one of many protagonists, climate scientist Luca Mercalli (at 10.30 am), who will touch on the very delicate and current issue of global warming and associated climate change, while at 11.30 am, on the same stage, pharmacologist Silvio Garattini, president of the Mario Negri Institute, will illustrate some of the most recent medical discoveries and talk about the current state of cures for diseases that we still haven’t defeated.

At 12.30 pm,  visitors will be able to explore the new frontiers in astronomy and listen to the “music of the stars” with astrophysicist Marica Branchesi.

On Saturday 10 November, at 1 pm, Salvatore Aranzulla, the popular information technology expert, will reveal many of the secrets for success on the internet, while Guido Tonelli from Cern will take a closer look at a number of issues related to cosmology (11 am).

Finally, on Sunday 11 November, the final day of “Focus Live”, we will examine the future of space missions with astronaut Paolo Nespoli (at 5 pm) and at the present state of the earth as seen by cartoonist Zerocalcare (at 12).

Across the entire events area  there will be a number of installations that will allow visitors to get an hands on experience of some of the wonders of science and technology, such as the transparent bath (in the Homo Sapiens Area) which is two metres long and 1.70m deep, and simulates the conditions of our organism when we are in in apnea. The Technology Area will host the robot Centauro, developed by IIT in Genoa and able to provide support in difficult contexts, such as natural and man-made catastrophes. In the  Earth Area, the Natinla Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology will make available to the audience of Focus Live an earthquake simulator: 6 people can access a platform and feel the sensations of horizontal movement of the kind provoked by a tremor. And then, in the Science Area, it will be possible to try Hyperscanning, a method with which a number of people interact while their brains are being simultaneously scanned, and discovering, for example, affinities between couples.

There will also be a Kids Area, run by the magazine Focus Junior, entirely dedicated to smaller children, where kids can take part in labs on topics such as space, coding, science and diet.

The realisation of “Focus Live” extends also to events the iterations of the Focus brands: an authentic system which in addition to the print and digital magazine includes a range of titles (Focus Extra, Focus Domande e Risposte, Focus Storia, Focus Storia Collection, Focus Storia Wars, Focus Junior, Focus Pico, Focus Wild), the web site Focus.it with a monthly audience of more than 1 million unique users, the Mediaset TV channel. on digital terrestrial channel number 35, the Facebook page, with over 1,500,000 fans and an app specially created to use the content of the print magazine in augmented reality.

The complete programme of the Festival is a available at https://www.focus.it/focus-live.

Tickets are available on the site of the del Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia at this link: http://www.museoscienza.org/focuslive.

 

Partners

“Focus Live” is supported by a number of prestigious partners.

Main Partners: e-distribuzione, IBM, Volvo

Partners: abmedica, AnnurKap, Candia, Calligaris, Essilor, Fruittella, Genertel, Lenovo, Università Telematica Pegaso, Yakult.

Charity Partner: IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele

Media Partners: Focus Junior, Focus Tv Mediaset, Meteo.it, R101

With the Patronage of: Asi, CNR, Esa and Inaf

 

With thanks to: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università di Padova, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa, Muse di Trento, Aeronautica Militare, Esercito, British Interplanetary Society, Italian Mars Society, INGV, Ris dei Carabinieri, Sony PlayStation, Imra, Jrc, Infn, Asferico, Orto Botanico di Padova and Bloom Project.