the first European festival on creativity

2014 Programme

Event #1

Mario Calabresi

Rediscovering Reason in Order to Avoid a Shipwreck

Italian public debate has for some time now been stifled by emotions and sensationalism: rational thinking has been set aside and the consequences can be read first and foremost in our information as well as in our political reasoning. In times when social networks are capable of greatly accelerating discussions in which images prevail over words, it has been urgent and necessary to propose, with conviction, secular and rational debates, and to attach greater value to the words we use. In recent months, two stories have been enlightening in showing us the extent of our fear and irrationality: the debate triggered by the operation known as Mare nostrum, with the arrival by sea of tens of thousands of people from North Africa, and the stem cell case, the alleged treatment for neurodegenerative diseases that has turned out to be a huge scam. Both stories succeeded in triggering some very aggressive campaigns on the part of associations, political parties, and ordinary citizens. At certain points it was almost impossible to reason and allow for even the most elementary comparison between ideas. The role of information, in a healthy democracy and in one that functions, today more than ever, must be that of offering citizens the tools to think, to allay their fears, to keep from being overwhelmed by images and emotions. But this role must be played out forcefully and clearly. We mustn’t allow ourselves to be paralyzed by populism and irrationality, and we mustn’t surrender to the idea that the priorities of the public agenda are dictated by decibels or aggressiveness.

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Mario Calabresi

writer and journalist, born in 1970 in Milan, has been director of the daily newspaper La Stampa since 2009. He has worked as a Parliament reporter for ANSA and for La Stampa’s Roman headquarters. He was central editor-in-chief of la Repubblica, and in 2007-2008 he was the New York correspondent for the same newspaper throughout the presidential campaign and for Barack Obama’s election. He has written Spingendo la notte più in là. Storia della mia famiglia e di altre vittime del terrorismo (2007); La fortuna non esiste. Storie di uomini e donne che hanno avuto il coraggio di rialzarsi (2009); Cosa tiene accese le stelle. Storie di italiani che non hanno mai smesso di credere nel futuro (2011), all of which have been published by Mondadori. His most recent book is called A occhi aperti and it contains interviews with ten great photographers who describe moments when history came to a standstill in a photograph (Contrasto, 2013). In 2011 he conducted the TV programme “Hotel Patria” for Rai 3.


All theevents2014


   

Event #1

Mario Calabresi

Rediscovering Reason in Order to Avoid a Shipwreck

Event #2

Francesco M. Cataluccio

The Epidemic of Immaturity: from Peter Pan to Harry Potter

Event #3

Roberto Esposito

Growing Up Is Hard

Event #4

Philippe Petit

Creativity: the Perfect Crime

Event #5

Emanuela Grimalda

Le difettose (The Flawed)

Event #6

Alessandro Barbero

How Do Wars Break Out? World War I

Event #7

Sofia Bignamini

The Explosion of the Mutants

Event #8

Davide Comazzi, Antonio Piotti, Laura Turuani

Other Mothers, Other Fathers, New Adolescents

Event #9

Peter Cameron, Marco Missiroli

One Day this Creativity Will Come In Handy

Event #10

Mauro Ceruti

Europe Risks a New Self-Destruction

Event #11

Massimo Recalcati

Can One Forgive in Love?

Event #12

Giorgio Diritti

The Discovery of the Birth of a Film

Event #13

Matteo Lancini

“Vivervirtuale”

Event #14

David McCullough jr.

Kids, You Are Not Special!

Event #15

Silvia Vegetti Finzi

New Grandparents for New Grandchildren

Event #16

Katia Provantini

Surviving Middle School

Event #18

Oscar Farinetti

Lots Can Still Be Done, This Is Why the Future Is Marvellous

Event #19

Paola Mastrocola

The Death of Study

Event #20

Paolo Cornaglia Ferraris, Marcello Massimini

The Secret of the Consciousness and its Measurement

Event #21

Christian Raimo, Michele Serra

All Unhappy Families Are Like One Another

Event #23

Alessandro Barbero

How Do Wars Break Out? World War II

Event #24

Fabio Geda

Absolute beginners

Event #26

Anita Nair

New Identity of the Indian Woman

Event #27

Andrea Boeri, Luca Molinari

A Dialogue on the Spaces (and the Things) We Inhabit

Event #28

Luigi Zoja

Generational Crisis, Male Crisis, Italian Crisis

Event #29

Stefano Arienti, Franco Farinelli

Journey and Adventures in Knowledge

Event #30

Errico Buonanno, Chiara Valerio

My Children, Imaginary Marxists

Event #31

Cesare Moreno

School Drops-Out and Their Antagonists

Event #32

Alfio Maggiolini

From Being Kids “Against” to Being Responsible Ones

Event #33

Chiara Saraceno

Inheritance, Tradition, Generational Changes

Event #34

Beppe Severgnini

Creating Doesn’t Mean Improvising

Event #35

Elena Riva

The Myth of Perfection in Contemporary Femininity

Event #36

Marco Belpoliti

Matteo and His Seven Shirts

Event #37

Salut Salon

The Night of Fate

Event #38

Amedeo Balbi, Antonio Pascale

Matter and Freedom: A Dialogue on Free Will

Event #39

Alessandro Barbero

How Do Wars Break Out? The Falklands War

Evento #25

Daniele Novara

Arguing Is Good for You

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