Sustainability

Chi, the most widely read “people” magazine in Italy, has chosen one of the most iconic locations in Italy, the Grand Hotel Rimini, for a charity event that demonstrates great support for the cause, and that will be held on Wednesday 28 June.

An exclusive summer party, with the magical and evocative theme of “By Moonlight”, involving the stars and players from the jet set, entertainment, politics, entrepreneurship and the country, but which above all demonstrates a generous and supportive heart: the Chi Charity Gala Dinner will be the culmination of the “Let’s Help Emilia-Romagna Together” fundraiser launched by Mondadori Media, together with Banca Mediolanum, in the hours immediately following the flood. All the proceeds from the dinner, in which more than two hundred entrepreneurs and celebrities will take part, will be donated to the Emilia-Romagna region through a dedicated account to support people and communities affected by floods and landslides.

“Helping those in need is increasingly urgent in our society”, said Alfonso Signorini, Chi managing editor. “Distracted by a thousand and one things, an emergency is enough to make us understand how important it is to be helpful. Nothing makes us feel better than being supportive. And it’s beautiful that Chi, who’s always been a symbol for escapist and leisure reading, is alongside the people of Emilia-Romagna for such an important cause. We’ll get back to entertaining, but now’s the time to act”.

“We want this gala evening to be a small but significant contribution to reviving a place, the Romagna Riviera, and a region, Emilia-Romagna, which has always been linked to the history and stories of Chi and its figures”, said Massimo Borgnis, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “So what better opportunity to strengthen this bond by starting in the most symbolic place of the Riviera, the Grand Hotel Rimini, a concrete show of support, so that with the help of everyone, Romagna will soon return to being a place for la dolce vita, a place that’s about hospitality, joy and fun, which has been part of our holidays and our dreams and which Chi loves to describe in its pages”, Borgnis concluded.

Chi Summer Night: an exclusive evening by moonlight

Hosting the great party at Chi‘s invitation is the Grand Hotel Rimini of the Batani Group, a Liberty building of outstanding beauty, one of the iconic locations in Federico Fellini’s Amarcord, an incomparable location in the seaside history of the Riviera and of Made in Italy tourism.

“I’m pleased that, after the break due to the pandemic, Chi and Mondadori Media, to whom we have become great friends with and collaborated many times, have chosen the Grand Hotel Rimini and Romagna for their summer party. It will be a special evening, which has an even greater meaning, given the commitment made by everyone in the charity collection for the Emilia-Romagna region. It’s one more demonstration that if tourism is working, it can help those affected by the flood”, said Paola Batani, CEO of the Batani Group Select Hotels.

The exclusive event will start at 6:30 pm with an extraordinary blue carpet to welcome guests with a very impressive entrance in the Piazza Fellini, a grand thoroughfare for the public and the whole city. A welcome cocktail will follow in the majestic setting of the outdoor garden of the Grand Hotel Rimini, which will be set up with bright spheres to recall the theme of the evening, charming corners and a band that will play for guests throughout the cocktail.

Then the Charity Gala Dinner will begin, with a placée dinner, reserved for more than 200 guests, including entrepreneurs, associations and stars from the world of entertainment, on the terrace of the hotel that will end with a magnificent artistic performance. The tone of the evening will change for the third part: the after party on the private beach of the hotel that will be transformed into a exclusive club with musical performances, DJ sets, open bars and many corners that will entertain guests and be great fun for them.

On Chi‘s Instagram account, users will be able to follow the whole evening live minute-to-minute (@chimagazineit; #alCHIarodiluna)

Event sponsors and partners

Supporting Chi on this special occasion are institutions and companies who responded to the call for support launched by the magazine and who are participating in the Charity Gala Dinner. These include: Assolombarda, Federalberghi nazionale and Orogel.

The sponsors include:

• EuroTarget, a brand distributing new and semi-new automobiles, where the customer is placed at the heart of the consultancy and not the vehicle. They recently acquired the former Lamborghini Factory in Pieve di Cento, which will become the new headquarters for the more than 50 people who make up this innovative dealership. The EuroTarget staff will support the stars of the show on the blue carpet and on the beach for the summer night of Chi “By Moonlight”;
• Givova, the internationally recognised Campania brand that has become a leader in sportswear and more in a few years, and that has always supported Chi‘s initiatives with commitment and enthusiasm. Givova will also be here for this event with a corner on the beach, dedicated to well-being, which will become a fun meeting place for everyone;
• the historic Milanese company Layla Cosmetics will be there with an area dedicated to Beauty where it will offer make-up experiences to guests;
• Profumiamo Profumiamo will make the exhibit even more magical with special perfumers

The partners:

• ANTICA DISTILLERIA PETRONE will offer its renowned bitters and liqueurs;
• The Deles Group will be the star of a scenic beach showcooking with their Oyfr barbecues during the beach party;
• Orogel, the strategic partner for the evening and Chi, will have a corner on the beach where guests will be able to enjoy delicious snacks late into the night. The Fondazione F.OR. (FruttDORO OROGEL) is at the forefront of support and has launched targeted interventions to help the flooded populations with supplies of food products and materials for removing the mud: it is setting up important investments for the most affected people, the agricultural partners and has carried out an important recovery operation for historical material (ancient books and library archival items) from different municipalities in Romagna with the regional office.
• Visit Romagna will bring a preview of the Notte Rosa (Pink Night), a main event in the Riviera, to the beach, which will take place from 7 to 9 July, dedicated this year to the Pink Fluid theme.

The creative exhibit is entrusted to the Grand Hotel Rimini together with the agency Left&Right.

Fundraising 

“LET’S HELP EMILIA-ROMAGNA TOGETHER” is the name of the fundraising initiative open to readers, followers, customers and friends launched by Mondadori Media and Banca Mediolanum in the hours immediately following the flood. Everyone can contribute by sending a donation to the dedicated current account number in the name of “BANCA MEDIOLANUM – IBAN IT54O0306234210000002727272 – CAUSE: LET’S HELP EMILIA-ROMAGNA TOGETHER”.

Together is the initiative’s keyword: thanks to everyone’s generosity, every Euro collected will be donated to the Emilia-Romagna region to support people and communities affected by floods and landslides.

The Mondadori Group strengthens its commitment to fostering an increasingly more inclusive corporate culture with the launch of the parenting project.

Such new initiative will provide concrete support to all the Group’s new parents during this intense period of transition with the aim of making a very important moment of their life inclusive.

Mondadori is increasingly more committed to ensuring balance between one’s private and professional life and to paying attention to people’s needs through Diversity & Inclusion projects intended to enhance individual uniqueness: thematic webinars with external authorial contributions, activities, services and surveys – alongside corporate welfare – to promote open discussions and offer tools developed to improve people’s well-being.

The Mondadori Group’s new parenting project is part of Mondadori Care, a corporate plan conceived to foster care in its broadest sense, such as caring for oneself, one’s children, one’s parents and society.

“The idea according to which Mondadori Care was conceived is based on the awareness that our Group’s employees undergo many different experiences both at work and in their private life, such as for example the birth of a child, which often involves significant amounts of care. This initiative aims to support our people during the most delicate moments of their life as parents, children and members of the society in which we live. We not only wish to carefully listen to their needs, but to also provide them with the necessary skills and tools, thus strengthening their sense of belonging to Mondadori,” stated Francesca Rigolio, Chief Diversity Officer of the Mondadori Group.

The leaflet

The project will be presented through the launch of a leaflet containing the values in which the Group believes, also in view of developing corporate culture.

Mondadori’s approach to parenting is expressed through six points, wherein parenting is understood as:

1. social heritage: to foster a vision of parenting as an amplifier of well-being by promoting the concept both within the Group and throughout its institutional seats through a series of dialogues and discussions;
2. shared responsibility: to support a fair distribution of attention and care within families by overcoming gender stereotypes;
3. organisational and emotional discontinuity: to foster open discussions and a constructive approach, so as to transform a person’s temporary leave into an opportunity for personal, professional and organisational growth;
4. balance between professional and personal well-being: to carefully listen to the needs of those facing such period of transition and to promote flexibility and welfare tools designed to better balance individual aspirations and organisational needs;
5. caring and loving relationships devoid of stereotypes and social conventions: to further support, through the legal tools available, any parent and type of couple without comprising the importance of a caring and loving relationship;
6. free and unconditional choice: to support parenting as a choice and not as an obligation, so as to respect those who legitimately choose not to have children or are unable to become parents.

Parental kit

To provide concrete support to new parents, the project further includes a parental kit with all the tools and information needed to better plan the before, during and after parental leave period, from the announcement to the company to the re-entry preparations.

The parental kit consists of: a checklist with practical information and tips on how to organise these months in the best possible way; a parental booklet with regulatory details on maternity and paternity in Italy; an individual counselling service dedicated to our people with children up to 3 years of age. A space is also planned for listening and reflection and during which any doubts about returning from a leave, any evolutionary processes and parent-related difficulty can also be conveyed.

MONDADORI CARE

The first actions of the Mondadori Care’s planned initiatives, including the parenting project, were implemented through the service developed in partnership with the Atelier della Mente association which, through a free path of personalised guidance, aims to provide concrete answers to those whom are called to take care of a relative suspected of cognitive impairment. Such social issue is increasingly widespread at national level, as also demonstrated in recent research which highlights how, in Italy, 1 out of 3 workers take care of an elderly or non self-sufficient relative and that the vast majority of caregivers (70%) are women between the ages of 45 and 55 (sources: Istat data).

Throughout the year, Mondadori Care will launch further initiatives aimed at pursuing the growth path of the children of our Group’s employees, also via educational guidance opportunities.

THREE-YEAR SUSTAINABILITY PLAN

The parenting project is one of the 2023 goals included in the Mondadori Group’s Three-year sustainability plan. Strategic settings, quantitative and qualitative targets and short to long term actions aimed at continuously improving the Group’s social, governance and environmental performance were identified within the document.

The Plan is divided into three macro areas of reference, consistently with the global goals of the United Nations Organisation:

• “Social” – enhancement of people, contents and places for education and culture;
• “Governance” – promotion of sustainable corporate success;
• “Environment” – diffusion of environmental culture and mitigation of impacts on ecosystems.

The torrent of water and mud that recently struck Emilia-Romagna, a region that calls to mind laughter and friendship, drives us to help the people who have lost everything, the businesses that will have to leave after this tragedy, and the region itself.

This is why Mondadori Media and Banca Mediolanum have launched the fundraising initiative “Let’s Help Emilia Romagna TOGETHER”, involving readers, followers, customers and friends.

The dedicated current account is:
IBAN IT54O0306234210000002727272
To “BANCA MEDIOLANUM”
Reason: “INSIEME AIUTIAMO L’EMILIA ROMAGNA” [LET’S HELP EMILIA-ROMAGNA TOGETHER]

Together, thanks to everyone’s generosity, we can help Emilia-Romagna to recover, donating every Euro to the official Emilia-Romagna Region fundraiser, to support people and communities affected by recent disasters such as floods and landslides.

Over 40 creative projects by a line-up of more than 40 designers from Italy and around the world across 6 iconic locations in Milan, which will play host to 9 days of events, meetings, and talks with leading figures in design culture and much more. These are the numbers that matter for INTERNI Design Re-Evolution, the eagerly awaited exhibition-event created by INTERNI, the Mondadori Group interiors and contemporary design magazine, and curated by Gilda Bojardi. The events take place from 17 to 26 April in the courtyards of the University of Milan, the Eni Space at the Brera Botanical Garden, and at Portrait Milano, home of the Audi House of Progress.

This year, INTERNI, a long-time champion of new spaces for creativity, is adding Eataly Milano Smeraldo, De Castillia 23 by Urban Up | Unipol and the Torre Velasca to the three “institutional” locations.

In collaboration with the City of Milan, INTERNI Design Re-Evolution is one of the main initiatives of Milan Design Week and FuoriSalone 2023, created in 1990 by the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Gilda Bojardi, and universally recognised as the leading event for international design and architecture.

INTERNI Design Re-Evolution aims to offer a collective and multidisciplinary reflection on the role of evolutionary thinking as a design tool for new territories, both known and unknown, physical and digital, present and future.

“The Design Re-Evolution is a revolution, because it aims to redevelop the land, the objects that inhabit it, the materials with which they are made, and the energy used to create them”, explains Gilda Bojardi, editor-in-chief of INTERNI. “But it is also evolution, because it develops through a synergy between various disciplines – such as science, art and set design – fostering positive exchanges between individuals, businesses, institutions, and, of course, the citizens. And it is a process, in that it is a way of conceiving, producing and sharing ideas in order to reach a new configuration of the spaces in our lives. The Design Re-Evolution therefore approaches the home in the sense of a ‘mirror for the soul’, in the words of Mario Praz, encouraging the circulation of information and contacts on possible circular economy solutions. The exhibition event thus helps to build new landscapes to promote new interaction between people and environment, in a profound dialectical relationship with nature”.

But INTERNI Design Re-Evolution also explores territories that are still beyond our knowledge, from the Metaverse to the farthest universe. Because it is in this realm of creativity, where we may well feel out of our comfort zone, that the empathy inherent to design becomes a tool which strengthens imaginative power and the ability to interpret human emotion. Combined with solid professionalism and design ethics, these qualities allow us to understand, conceptualise and experience the evolution of our planet.

The three co-producers of the exhibition eventi: Audi, Eni and Whirlpool

The main sponsors of INTERNI Design Re-Evolution are three premium brands active in the field of sustainability: Audi, a leading car manufacturer with a comprehensive commitment to providing sustainable mobility, has innovation and progress in its DNA; Eni, an integrated energy company, launched a new strategy in 2020 which will allow it to reach its goal of zero net emissions by 2050 and to supply a range of totally decarbonised products, combining environmental and financial sustainability and focusing on technological leadership built over years of research and innovation; Whirlpool is a global leader in domestic appliances, thanks to its solutions with cutting-edge design created to improve the quality of domestic life. Each co-producer is presenting a high-impact installation with their own interpretation of the theme of the exhibition event.

At Portrait Milano, Corso Venezia 11 _ Audi House of Progress

Human values are central to The Domino Act, an installation representing Audi‘s vision of sustainable mobility. A circular structure of 22 monoliths encloses and protects the Audi skysphere concept car, their multiplying reflections acting as a reminder of the importance of working together. Located in the magnificent Piazza del Quadrilatero of Portrait Milano, Milan’s exclusive new hotel complex occupying the spaces of the former Seminary of the Archbishop in Corso Venezia, it was designed for Audi by Gabriele Chiave with Controvento. It brings an artistic sensibility to the principle of the Sustainability Domino Act, highlighting how decisive action in a strategic area can trigger a virtuous knock-on effect. The key presence of the Audi skysphere concept, demonstrating the perfect blend of emotion and technology with people at its centre, recognises research and progress as defining factors in the Brand’s strategy and its roadmap to decarbonisation.

At the Brera Botanical Garden – Eni Space

The Brera Botanical Garden is transformed into Eni Space, hosting Walk the talk – Energy in motion, a large interactive game. With one of Milan’s most beautiful gardens as its backdrop, the design tackles the FuoriSalone “Future Lab” theme through an intriguing giant game board all about the evolution of mobility, representing the activities and vision of Eni Sustainable Mobility. Developed by Italo Rota and CRA – Carlo Ratti Associati together with the Blob Factory Gaming Studio game designer collective, Walk the talk – Energy in motion explores themes such as the shift to more sustainable transport solutions, vehicle sharing services, and producing fuel from renewable raw materials. In so doing, it invites the public of FuoriSalone and INTERNI Design Re-Evolution to reflect on the future of our city. Each player chooses a path to follow through the installation, offering an interactive way to discover everyday actions and practical solutions for increasingly sustainable mobility. Entrances and exits punctuate the trail, which runs along the leafy pathways of the Botanical Garden, over an area of 3500 square metres with roughly 400 illustrated boxes. The boxes absorb sunlight during the day and convert it to light in the evening, creating lighting effects that change with the time of day.

At the University of Milan, Whirlpool with “The Synesthetic Swirl”

Light, colour, reflections and visual distortions abound with The Synesthetic Swirl, the spiral display in the Cortile d’Onore at the University of Milan, designed by Odile Decq for Whirlpool, the exhibition’s co-producer. Reproducing the geometry of a vortex and inspired by the archetypal image of the spiral, The Synesthetic Swirl prompts a journey and invites us to explore our sixth sense: intuition. Inside its fully immersive and engaging interior, whose exterior is just as appealing and intriguing, the installation offers the possibility of a ‘before’ or an ‘after’. The reflective effect of the mirrors creates a synesthetic vortex which can represent the dualities of an opening or an awakening, an oscillation, a step forward or backward.

Installations and designers: the key figures of Interni Design Re-Evolution

The great INTERNI exhibition event was created with the aim of initiating and multiplying connections and relationships: a virtuous system between creatives, businesses, distribution networks who have the fundamental need to connect people and ideas from different cultures and backgrounds. In collaboration with businesses, multinationals, start-ups and institutions, there are more than 40 designers who have made over 40 creative projects (installations, displays, design islands, micro-architecture and macro-objects, all site-specific) to explore the theme of this year’s exhibition.

The spaces of the University of Milan provide the setting for a series of impressive installations.

In the Cortile della Farmacia, Amazon presents The Amazing Playground: an interactive immersive space featuring Swing, an installation designed by Stefano Boeri Interiors. It takes the form of a special swing inspired by early twentieth-century Spanish Surrealism and the Circo Americano in Madrid, and offers a playful counterpoint to the abstract rhetoric around sustainability. Swing supports Parco Italia, a national urban forestation project promoted with Amazon Italia by Stefano Boeri Architetti and AlberItalia, founded to improve and implement Italy’s natural capital and its biodiversity. In addition to interacting with the installation, the public can also discover a selection of certified Climate Pledge Friendly products available on Amazon.it and displayed around the courtyard.

In the Cortile del ‘700, The Impossible Machine, a metal sculpture designed by Piero Lissoni for Sanlorenzo, combines high technology with skilled workmanship, giving physical form to the theme of sustainable yachting. It presents a large mechanism whose parts move thanks to the new hydrogen system that Sanlorenzo is developing to power its craft, in partnership with Siemens Energy. The backlit platform on which the metal installation rests highlights the mechanism’s propellers and cogs, while the fine vapour surrounding it reproduces the effect of a turbine powered by a fuel cell system.

A number of different projects have been created in the Cortile d’Onore. These include A Theatre to Save the Planet, an itinerant theatre created by Andrea Boschetti in collaboration with Ana Lazovic from Metrogramma studio with Mirage designed to promote the values of sustainability, solidarity and responsible innovation. It consists of containers recovered from the ocean, which become a place of meditation and participation, hosting events each day dedicated to the theme of sustainability (partners of the Save the Planet project).

A modern Cabinet of Curiosities, by Annabel Karim Kassar, is an interactive installation which invites the visitor to reimagine their place in the natural order and to go beyond mere viewing, exploring how architecture can change our emotional balance and the intimate human experience.

The Oasis. Microarchitecture by Massimo Iosa Ghini, enveloping and protective, demonstrates an approach to design inspired by plant organisms, resulting in a space with a beating heart which places man and nature in dialogue through natural light and materials, the movement of the air, and sensory perception.

Berlin studio Topotek 1 – in collaboration with the Landscape Festival of Bergamo – Masters of Landscape – with Grow together, Grow green / 10k+ has designed an experience to be lived and shared, a collective action divided into three concepts: deconstruction, activation and green growth. The structure, which can be dismantled and reused, acts as a pick-up point for a collection of plants that visitors are invited to take home and look after. The Nutura pavilion, by Benedetta Tagliabue – EMBT Architects, built in collaboration with Roca, is made from wood and ceramic and offers a multisensory exploration of nature and Mediterranean architecture, with lattices and shutters creating shadow effects, material textures, and changing views. The pathway leads to a plaza in which to relax and enjoy the view of the Cortile: in keeping with the Re-Evolution theme and the value of sustainability, all the materials used will be disassembled, recovered and used for other projects.

The Loggiato Est hosts Discover(y) lightning by Mario Cucinella with Artemide: a bright and heartfelt tribute to Ernesto Gismondi, founder of Artemide, achieved through a series of pendant lights which cloak the Cortile del Filarete in red, shaping its spaces and framing details. The work enhances the quality of the spaces through the use of Integralis, a patented lighting technology which sanitises and inhibits the growth of bacteria on the surfaces it lights.

Also in the Cortile d’Onore, English artist Ian Berry presents The greatest story ever worn, a tribute to 150 years of the iconic Levi’s 501s; Stone Pavilion by Brazilian architect Vivian Coser showcases the country’s stone production with a focus on eco-friendly processes and materials, in collaboration with It’s Natural, Centrorochas, ApexBrasil.

Fidenza Village presents  MOAI sculptures by street artist duo Urbansolid, offering a reflection on modern times by reinterpreting ancestral history through the contemporary language of street art. Operae by Gianni Lucchesi for Giannoni&Santoni and the Hangar gallery is a stone sculpture of a life-sized seated figure overlooking the Cortile d’Onore from the top of a 13-metre totem made up of modular cubes in lightweight concrete.

Symbolising the perfection of architecture, standing on the central lawn is an enormous cube in reflective strips – Momentum – by Ma Yansong and Andrea d’Antrassi/ MAD Architects produced in collaboration with AXA IM Alts.

Lastly, two totems, one created from layers of construction materials and the other formed from a slim metal frame – Tangibile & Intangibile  – presented by One Works with  Mapei and Ica, aims to find a balance between architectural know-how, through the reuse of materials, and the discovery of new languages to express design, such as virtual reality and the Metaverse.

Temporal, the presentation organised by ApexBrasil, is two-fold: a spherical, cocoon-like installation 6 metres in diameter covered in real moss, in the Cortile d’Onore; and an exhibition of products curated by Bruno Simões, displayed along the Portico Richini and Portico San Nazaro. It represents the vitality of contemporary Brazilian design in its various forms, regions and characteristics, and reflects on production driven by sustainability and a focus on the environment and nature.

As a long-standing advocate for his ideas on architecture and design, in the Cortile dei Bagni Simone Micheli presents Free.Dom, a metaphor for time and the approaches we can take to life. Through companies, who are exploring new interpretive possibilities thanks to his work, Micheli created three large structures representing “cages” in a large mesh. Two of these house a stylised bird, while the third is empty. Next to it is the bird which has flown out. The meaning is that only those who truly wish and choose to free themselves from stereotyped patterns, from system crises, from content stalemate, from clichés and conservatism, can do so.

There are also numerous installations in the portico of the Cortile d’Onore: Seating Experiments With Spanish Tiles by Tomás Alonso Studio for Tile of Spain, Metamorphosys  by Roberto Banfi with Studeo group for Itelyum, and Farfalle by Ludovica Diligu with Labo.Art, as well as Flow by Francesco Forcellini with Besenzoni, Studio Nomade d’Artista by Sergio Fiorentino – Studio Gum, New Horizons by Mandalaki for Halo Edition, Sit on the wor(l)d by Marco Nereo Rotelli for Ever In Art and Giardino Segreto, which is the exhibition of the results of the 4th edition of the contest “Design. A journey through Italy and Spain”, curated by Carmelo Zappulla of External Reference for the Italian Embassy in Madrid.

In the Aula Magna great hall, Time After Time by Gianluigi Colin with Galleria De Ambrogi  presents an installation consisting of hundreds of metres of fabric used to clean newspaper printing presses; authentic objets trouvés, secular shrouds, loaded with the memory of endless erased stories, hanging eleven metres high. This work prompts us to question the quality of the information system, collective memory and its dissolution. A secular temple of knowledge, the University is the natural home for a project such as this because, as Aldo Colonetti says, “like architecture, design must never forget that art is the foundation of every design-related discipline”.

Material textures are the focus of Acrylic Skyline by Jacopo Foggini with Dr. Gallina, a polychrome skyline as a “tribute to Alessandro Mendini” on display along the Loggiato Ovest. The visitor is guided by the light filtering through the multiwall polycarbonate sheets in a rainbow of colours, chosen to offer an impression of fluidity. Foggini invites us to reflect on the materials of the future and prompts positive thinking on the “eternal” nature of plastic.

With L’arte del colore by Francesca Grassi of Studio Italo Rota with Boero, the Portale Hall Aula Magna becomes a modern interpretation of the rainbow, achieved using the colours of the new Boero colour system, 1831 – Il colore italiano.

The North and South doorways of the University host the installation Re-Connection: Alberto Caliri, creative director of Missoni Home Collection, offers a series of small rabbits designed to prompt our memories and reconnect us with emotions and imagination.

CaberlonCaroppi studio with Pedrali, Zambaiti Parati for Concreta explore the theme of Design Re-Evolution with Liminal, by furnishing the exhibition’s press room with unique furniture customised for the occasion, while Urban Stage by Parisotto + Formenton Architetti with Cimento offers a concrete look for outdoor relaxing with an urban feel with Outdoor Lounges.

Worth noting is that many of the installations in the exhibition were created with the idea of being reused, whether fully (such as the Amazon swing, linked to biodiversity, or the containers of Mirage, with Save the Planet), or partially, to create new settings and objects. INTERNI participates in the Urban Economy, Fashion and Design Project by the City of Milan, which transforms the exhibits of Milan Design Week into a concrete possibility of regeneration and reuse, in line with the principles of the circular economy.

New sites

The traditional institutional sites of INTERNI Design Re-Evolution are joined this year by other iconic locations in the city: Eataly Milano Smeraldo, De Castillia 23 by Urban Up | Unipol and the Torre Velasca.

At Eataly Milano Smeraldo, Paola Navone Otto Studio are celebrating Italian identity with 100% Pasta: a thorough examination of the quality of good food, from harvest and preparation to tasting. Tomatoes, pots and pans, garlic, chillies and spaghetti all made by the Viareggio Carnival Foundation hang from the ceiling in an aerial installation at Eataly Smeraldo, over the stage at the centre of the store. The stage has been decorated for the occasion in tomato red, and furnished with modern chairs and tables in red, white and green, referencing the ingredients of the quintessential Italian dish, pasta with tomato sauce. And not just any recipe, but the dish Paola Navone’s grandmother used to make for her, selecting the ingredients with care and love. The “100% Pasta” installation will be presented to the public on Thursday April 20, at 6pm, on the stage at Eataly Smeraldo, with a food performance which will see Paola Navone talk about her installation and the link between food and design, sharing the story of her “Pasta Paola”, alongside an Eataly chef who will make it for those present.

The message conveyed in the Isola district consists of just two simple yet alarming words: H2o HELP. On the lawn in front of De Castillia 23, a building redeveloped by Urban Up – Unipol and owned by the Group, an installation by Maria Cristina Finucci greets visitors with a sort of living being, 70 metres long and formed of a series of “water cushions”. Those sitting on it may not immediately realise that just a few steps away, this living being is gasping for air, showing everyone its struggle to survive. Through its agony, it attempts to communicate humanity’s distress in light of one of the most serious issues it is facing: a lack of water.

Once again, 66 years after it was built, with QR Code: Quick Re-Evolution Code, the Torre Velasca is the mouthpiece for a Re-Evolution, acting as the gateway to a virtual world offering new levels of perception to augment reality. Hines entrusted the project to the creative flair and talent of designer Elena Salmistraro. The project is an innovative digital experience which introduces an extraordinary foray into new ways of experiencing places, freeing their revolutionary communicative potential. As the name suggests, a QR code is key to the installation. Visitors use it to access a specially designed digital space, dedicated to discovering this iconic Milanese building. The QR Code will be available in the FuoriSalone Guide, on the INTERNI channels, on the website www.torrevelascaqrcode.com, as well as on 80 floor stickers positioned strategically around the city.

The Interni system

The INTERNI integrated system of communication multiplies and reiterates its role as a key source of information for the world of design. Two printed publications (INTERNI and the FuoriSalone Guide), two digital publications (INTERNI King Size and the legendary FuoriSalone Guide), one major event (INTERNI Design Re-Evolution), INTERNI online (website and social media) and Interni Design Journal – with insights and videos which will be delivered through a newsletter system – provide all the tools for keeping up to date in real time on all the latest design trends, news and previews.

Now in its 33rd edition, the FuoriSalone Guide is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to discover and explore the increasingly packed calendar of Milan Design Week, through the annotated presentation of 350 events involving the companies, designers and architects participating in FuoriSalone, organised both day by day and in alphabetical order. The guide, which is available free with the April issue of INTERNI in Milan, and in all the showrooms, institutions, museums and other locations participating in FuoriSalone 2023 (as well as at the fair itself), can be accessed online (both on tablet and smartphone), and includes an interactive map.

The strength of the brand is also clearly visible throughout the city: Design Re-Evolution involves a major street advertising campaign which includes 15 banners displayed at the main entrances to Milan and in the historic centre, 1000 flags at the locations of the events mentioned in the FuoriSalone Guide, as well as 60 digital points in the busiest areas, 10 retro shuttle buses, customised news stands in the historic centre and in airports, window displays and LED walls(Mondadori Duomo bookshop in Piazza del Duomo and Rizzoli Galleria in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele).

For all information www.internimagazine.it

Rizzoli Education reinforces its commitment to gender equality and inclusiveness with the launch of the Glow UP empowerment campaign for its sales network.

The initiative has two key goals. The first is to continue interpreting and concretely implementing the Manifesto for gender equality and plurality launched in 2021, promoting the values of multiculturalism and the coexistence of different generations; principles the publishing house has always supported, inspiring not only its editorial and educational offering but its work environment.

The second main goal is boosting self-confidence among the people forming the Rizzoli Education team: highly qualified professionals with certified know-how whose work provides teachers with top-level assistance every day.

With Glow Up, the Mondadori Group publishing house wants to “add glow” to the value of the people in its sales network and establish the conditions for casting light on these people’s “unique”, specific talent, boosting their sense of belonging and fidelity.

In addition, the company wishes to develop an increasingly inclusive workplace where everyone can express their own qualities in the best possible way, creating a system capable of attracting the new generations, who are increasingly sensitive to these issues.

Rizzoli Education’s empowerment campaign will begin with a series of events focusing on women, promoting the affirmation of an increasingly feminine and inclusive leadership style in its sales network. The pillars of this process, which will be the focus of a series of webinars, meetings and events, are three keywords:  education, to generate awareness of one’s own value, flexibility, to support women making important life choices, and confidence for development of personal skills.

The first event – intended for women in the publishing house’s sales network – featured Francesca Rigolio, Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Human Resources in Trade Education Books for the Mondadori Group, with Alessandra Andriani, partner and general manager of the consulting firm MCA, and Annalisa Aceti, Rizzoli Education Sales Manager. The themes discussed at this inspirational meeting included career, power, language and stereotypes that can represent obstacles for gender equality.

Rizzoli Education‘s Glow Up campaign will continue throughout the year 2023 with monthly initiatives for the entire sales network to boost self-confidence and the ability of members of the publisher’s sales staff to respond to the new challenges of the market.

D Scuola, one of the leading Italian scholastic publishers with the Deascuola editorial line, and the Bracco Foundation present the first edition of “Le 100 esperte STEM vanno a scuola.”

The new training programme was studied to introduce the perspectives and opportunities of the technical and scientific disciplines to students and teachers with a specific outlook on gender equality and guidance, in line with the most recent ministerial guidelines on developing, as a national educational priority, the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) in schools.

As also demonstrated by the recent data provided by She Figures and Almalaurea, obstacles and stereotypes still currently exist and influence students’ educational path, especially for girls. This at a time during which businesses and institutions are increasingly searching for technical-scientific figures, as the same are necessary for better being able to address future transitions and challenges.

“The Bracco Foundation has always regarded women’s empowerment and gender equality as priorities,” states Diana Bracco, President of this important reality, which was founded in 2010 as a result of the values acquired and matured by the Bracco Family and Group in their over 95 years of history. “Among the many initiatives we support, 100donne contro gli stereotipi has thus become particularly relevant. The project is very complex and also aims at involving schools by involving female role models.
With D Scuola, we now promote a webinar cycle to put scientists and experts in contact with teachers and students nationwide. I’m certain that the professional and private stories of these amazing women of science will serve as a source of inspiration for many girls.”

“Le 100 esperte STEM vanno a scuola, developed together with the Bracco Foundation, aims to emphasise both the importance of science in education and the opportunities offered within the STEM context, in particular for the younger generations of women.

We believe this initiative can provide concrete guidance tips to teachers and students, thanks to the direct stories, experiences and testimonials of prominent experts, and become a precious source of inspiration used to better prepare even the youngest to face tomorrow’s challenges. We are very proud of this project, which will become part of the “Educating for the Future” programme, a broader path D Scuola is undertaking with the aim of developing topics such as inclusion, gender equality, sustainability and civic and digital education,” stated Gian Luca Pulvirenti, President of D Scuola.

The initiative, which is due to start on January 26, includes four free afternoon meetings for teachers, one for each of the letters composing the acronym STEM, and two morning meetings dedicated to students.

Each appointment will be held by the female scientists selected from the “100donne contro gli stereotipi ” portal. The project was founded as a result of the partnership with the Observatory of Pavia and Giulia Giornaliste and developed with the Bracco Foundation to give space and visibility to female experts specialised in different fields, thus highlighting the role of professionals adapted to become points of reference for the current generations and media.

During the meetings, the experts will both share their educational background, current projects, difficulties, decisions, mistakes, successes and professional advantages and provide useful tools and tips that can be used in the classroom to guide the decisions of students.

MEETING CALENDAR

S OF SCIENCE

The first of the four webinars of “Le 100 esperte STEM vanno a scuola” for teachers will be held on January 26, from 17:00 to 18:30, a few days following International Education Day. The session aims to provide insight on topics more closely linked to medical sciences, such as medical statistics and neurolinguistics. Among the participants, Sara Gandini, Head of the “Molecular and Pharmaco-Epidemiology” ward of IEO’s Experimental Oncology Department; Valentina Bambini, Full Professor of Linguistics at the IUSS of Pavia; Luisa Torsi, Full Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bari and at the Albo Academy University of Finland.

T OF TECHNOLOGY

The second meeting will be held on February 7, from 17:00 to 18:30, before International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11). The same will be dedicated to topics such as robotics for neuroscience and international cooperation in the aerospace context. Among the participants, Monica Gori, Head of a research group at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Simonetta Di Pippo, Professor of Space Economics and Director of the Space Economy Evolution Lab (SEE Lab) at the Bocconi University School of Management of Milan.

E OF ENGINEERING

The third appointment is scheduled on March 13, from 17:00 to 18:30, and will focus on the E of Engineering, by covering topics such as management and aerospace engineering. Among the participants, Bianca Maria Colosimo, Full Professor of Processing Technologies and Systems at the Polytechnic Institute of Milan, and Elisabetta Lamboglia, Aerospace Engineer at the European Space Agency (ESA).  

M OF MATHEMATICS

The last meeting with teachers – M of Mathematics – will be held on Thursday, April 20, from 17:00 to 18:30 – Maria Grazia Speranza, Full Professor of Operations Research at the University of Brescia, will discuss with young mathematicians of different fields, covering the various steps involved from research to corporate application.

The recordings of the webinars will be available at the end of each meeting on both D Scuola and the Bracco Foundation’s websites.

The first meeting with the primary and lower and upper secondary school students is scheduled on February 28, from 11:00 for 12:00, and will focus on Science and Technology. Among the participants, Paola Santini, Researcher at the INAF Astronomical Observatory of Rome, and Giulia Grancini, Associate Professor of Physical Chemistry and at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Pavia.
The second appointment– Engineering and Mathematics – will be held on April 28, from 11:00 to 12:00 and is an opportunity to meet and interact with Lucia Cattani, Researcher and Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Pavia, and Isabella Nova, Full Professor of Industrial Chemistry and Technology at the Polytechnic University of Milan.
Both meetings will be moderated by the climatological physicist Serena Giacomin.

Click here for the complete programme of “ Le 100 esperte STEM vanno a scuola:”https://l.deascuola.it/100esperte/index.html

^[1] Deascuola is an editorial brand of D Scuola.

______________________________

For information: 

Media Relations Gruppo Mondadori
pressoffice@mondadori.it

Ufficio Stampa Fondazione Bracco
Carolina Elefante
carolina.elefante@bracco.com
333.4263484, 02.21772279
www.100esperte.it

Thanks to an editorial initiative against food waste, our editor Anna Spinelli has won the 2022 Nudge Global Impact Award. During the gala evening at the Peace Palace in The Hague, in the Netherlands, an international jury listened to the presentations of the six finalist projects at the latest Nudge Global Impact Challenge and decided to give the award to Anna’s work.

The theme of the 2021/2022 edition was Balancing our planet: a clear appeal to the need to respond to the negative events affecting our planet, in primis climate change and the pandemic.

From this starting point, Anna Spinelli developed a manual to educate children aged 6 to 10 about waste in the kitchen, in collaboration with Too Good To Go, the leading app in the fight against food waste.
Besides describing how much food is thrown away around the world and the serious environmental and social effects this has, the book offers much useful advice on ways to achieve a significant reduction in kitchen waste. Recipes include a contribution from Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco.

The project has already been put into practice: “Il manuale antispreco di Too Good To Go”, published by Il Battello a Vapore, has been available in bookstores and online since 31 May.

Anna’s high-quality publishing initiative is also a perfect match with one of the pillars of our sustainability plan which, with regard to the environment, aims to help promote a culture that protects the planet and its eco-systems.

The Nudge Global Impact Challenge is an international personal development program for young professionals, whose purpose is to support the growth of future leaders in environmental, social and economic sustainability who will have a positive impact on the world. The initiative is organised by Nudge, a Dutch organisation that brings young talents, companies and no-profit bodies together to promote sustainability across the board.

Through the Challenge, which began in 2010, every year approximately 90 young professionals from all over the world are given the chance to meet, follow training programs and discuss leadership and sustainable development, and then go on to create and implement their own impact plan. The best plans are recognised with the Nudge Global Impact Awards and receive funding to support their implementation.

The Mondadori Group has been a member of the network of Nudge partner companies for five years. Every year, it selects its own potential sustainability leaders for the Nudge Global Impact Challenge. The initiative is one of a range of activities to foster the development of young talents, as well as Diversity & Inclusion and sustainability. Anna Spinelli is the second nudger from the Mondadori Group to win the Nudge Global Impact Award after Marta Mazza, editor of Mondadori children’s books, who won four years ago with her book “Guerrieri di sogni”.

This year’s winners besides Anna were Sanne Kruid, Peter Akkerman, Sofia Kavlin and Timothy Wabukoti.

The Mondadori Group has released its first Sustainability Plan – part of the 2021 Consolidated Non-Financial Statement – approved by the Board of Directors and endorsed by the Control, Risk and Sustainability Committee.

The document – a summary of which is available in the Sustainability section at www.mondadorigroup.com– identifies strategic areas, qualitative and quantitative targets, and actions in the short and medium term for the ongoing improvement of performance in the social, governance and environmental areas, consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.

In its first edition, the Plan focuses on three main areas of action:

1) enhancing people, content and places for education and culture;

2) promoting sustainable business success;

3) dissemination of an environmental culture and mitigation of impacts on ecosystems.

There are eight relevant guidelines that reflect the Group’s identity and mission.

“The path that has led us to defining our first Sustainability Plan originates in the awareness that our role as a publisher calls for an innate and growing attention and ability to pay heed to the different realities we engage with“, said Antonio Porro, CEO of the Mondadori Group. “The evolution of society and the changes brought by the economic and technological scenario have, in fact, transformed our context of operation and the demands of our main stakeholders, whose needs and prospects are crucial for the very innovation of the company and its sustainable success. We have therefore taken the decision to effectively pursue specific goals in our priority areas, embarking on a journey that will also bring us gradually closer to market expectations on ESG topics. These include the dissemination of an inclusive culture, with actions for the enhancement and growth of our people”, concluded Porro.

APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY

The Mondadori Group’s first Sustainability Plan is the result of an approach developed over more than ten years of reporting in the field of sustainability, which now unfolds further, building on a project that has a far-reaching and organic vision and intends to add its contribution to achieving eight of the 17 SDGs launched globally by the United Nations.
The document was defined in accordance with the materiality analysis conducted and aimed at identifying the elements of strategic interest to the Group’s activities.
Focus points deriving from relevant key frameworks were highlighted and benchmark analyses were performed, as well as specific assessments of the value chain.
With a view to stakeholder inclusiveness, the development of the Plan was also marked by multiple stakeholder listening moments, including through surveys that actively involved Management, employees, and other relevant stakeholders, such as teachers, readers, bookstore customers and financial analysts.

TARGETS OF THE PLAN

Targets were identified within the Sustainability Plan for generating shared value over the short to medium term in the social, governance and environmental areas.
The pursuit of many of these targets represents a preliminary step in defining additional areas of action which will be outlined, with a view to ongoing improvement, in greater detail in future updates of the Sustainability Plan.

On the Social front in 2022, these include:

• development and endorsement of a well-structured framework of KPIs for monitoring all D&I-related actions, with specific regard to the gender pay gap and gender balance;
• redefinition of all Group policies in the area of selection and career development in order to increasingly attract all kinds of talent and promote resources based on a wider range of uniqueness models;
• launch of the “Parenthood” project to promote more inclusive models for access to motherhood and fatherhood, removing existing biases and facilitating the return to work by enhancing acquired skills;
• development of the Hybrid working project for the shared definition of a new mixed working model – through the creation of synergies and redefinition of new values – and extension of training in the area of digitization and new forms of work to all the people in the Group;
• a growing number of initiatives and services to promote reading.

On the Governance front in 2022:

• definition and measurement of ESG indicators with the introduction, among the targets of the 2022-2024 Performance Share Plan addressed to top management, of the Impact Inclusion Index, a composite indicator that measures, at the end of the three-year period, the dissemination within the Group of the culture of inclusion, the increase in the number of women in top positions, and the gradual reduction in the pay gap for same roles held;
• development and implementation of a refresher plan for Board Members and Management in the area of sustainability;
• strengthening of the set of procedures and coverage of the areas of Privacy, Information Management and Cyber Security;
• increase in stakeholder engagement activities through the gradual expansion of engagement initiatives and validation of a specific policy on the topic, also in line with the recommendations of the new Corporate Governance Code;
• validation of an anti-corruption Policy.

On the Environmental front in 2022:

• extension to 100% of the School proposition of insights and fact sheets dedicated to environmental culture and promotion of such content in the Trade proposition;
• fulfilment for the publications of the Group’s ≈100% purchase of paper certified to international PEFC/FSC standards aimed at safeguarding and ensuring the proper management of forest ecosystems;
• pursuit of energy efficiency actions, also as part of property/building/store renovation initiatives, and further activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Which sustainability issues do teachers consider of greatest relevance to respond to the expectations of the world of school?

The Mondadori Group, Italy’s leading publisher of school textbooks with the Mondadori Education, Rizzoli Education and D Scuola publishing houses, put the question in an online questionnaire to approximately 5,000 teachers in primary schools (27%), junior high schools (28%) and senior high schools (45%) all over Italy.

The survey – which collected the opinions of educators – is part of the listening and stakeholder engagement activities promoted by the Group for its consolidated Non-Financial Disclosure.

The contributions from the teachers were taken into consideration during the drafting of the Group’s first Sustainability Plan: a project that identifies the areas and guidelines on which the Segrate-based Group will work in the future, with short- and medium-term objectives, to improve its social, governance and environmental performance. The Plan reflects the Group identity, mission and role as a publisher in society.

“Teachers are fundamental interlocutors for the Mondadori Group, which has always supported the spread of equitable and inclusive quality education, offering opportunities for reading and growth, entertainment and learning,” said Gian Luca Pulvirenti, CEO Mondadori Libri area Education. “Through our publishing houses, we support teachers, from primary schools to universities, with innovative, accessible content and teaching aids designed to contribute to the growth of the new generations; this is why we think that listening to the needs and expectations of the protagonists of our schools is a valuable opportunity for us to enhance and pursue the strategic and sustainable development of our activities,” added Pulvirenti.

The results of the survey

• 2% of the teachers who responded to the questionnaire said that “diversity, equity and inclusion” was a priority issue in meeting the expectations of the world of school;
• in second place was “promotion of reading and socio-cultural growth” (54.3%) through local action and educational initiatives in bookstores and schools;
• of the 15 issues suggested, third place was taken by “management of environmental impacts” (51.9%).

The survey also highlighted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) teachers consider of greatest importance, to be valorised in schools today:

• for more than 40% of the interviewees, guaranteeing inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG 4) is the priority goal;
• this is followed by action to combat climate change (SDG 13), for almost one teacher in three.

Many responses underlined the areas of schooling to which greatest attention should be paid in the future:

• more than one teacher in two (51.1%) indicated the need to adopt innovative teaching practices, in the interests of inclusivity;
• 7% of the respondents said it was important to have a specific education offer on sustainability issues and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development;
• 8% focused attention on initiatives to engage young people in civil society and the introduction of civic education;
• other areas of great interest are action to combat early school-leaving and promotion of initiatives to foster gender equality.

The initiatives of our publishing houses
These questions are examined on a daily basis not only through the content of school textbooks, but also through initiatives organised by the Mondadori Group for teachers and students, such as the launch of the Manifesto for gender equality and plurality by Rizzoli Education, the “#Leparolechesiamo, la scuola che vogliamo” project of Mondadori Education and the “La scuola è” Festival of D Scuola, for teacher training and the whole school community.
The Group also offers innovative tools, including: HUB Scuola, the integrated digital teaching platform of Mondadori Education and Rizzoli Education, with inclusive content for management of all educational needs; the many resources and activities of the Deascuola platform, including the brand new Deaflix inclusive learning service for all the basic topics of the main school subjects; on-going development of innovative user assistance services.

The Wom presents “Storie dall’Afghanistan” (Stories from Afghanistan), written by Afghan women who have found refuge in Italy. The series was produced in cooperation with Cospe, a no-profit association that promote rights and social justice in 25 countries around the world.

The report is a collection of eye-witness accounts of the crisis in Afghanistan. Dramatic, moving stories that could be told by many other women who have fled to Italy from Afghanistan, survivors who have escaped Taliban persecution but are living far away from their families, their loved ones, their rights as women, the free life and better future that should have been theirs.

The first stories posted on The Wom are by Reha Nawin, who escaped from the Taliban and reached Italy in August last year. Born in Kabul 37 years ago, she studied sociology at the capital’s state university. Today she lives in Florence with her husband and two daughters. The story of her life is, in part, the story of all those women who on 26 August did not manage to get into the airport and remained in Afghanistan.

«We had to wait two nights outside the airport before we could get in,» says Reha. «The Taliban would not give us permission to enter. There were so many people who wanted to escape. You saw such desperation in people’s faces, fear of the Taliban and sadness at leaving the country in such dramatic circumstances. Our Italian friends managed to help us and saved our lives».

«Giving a voice to Reha Nawin and the other young Afghan women is one of the ways we have chosen to raise the awareness of our readers, but also of our employees, about the importance of respect for human rights, and women’s rights in particular, and the need to make a tangible commitment to ensuring that diversity and inclusion are truly a constant of our being part of the Mondadori Group,» observes Mondadori Group Chief Diversity Officer Francesca Rigolio. 

The editorial project “Storie dall’Afghanistan” supports Cospe’s “Emergenza Afghanistan” campaign.

Find out more: The life, escape and hopes of Reha Nawin, an activist who fled from the Taliban