Popular science

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.