Spain – Design, “ITmakES” promotes new know-how between Italy and Spain

In order to support new Made in Italy products in Spain, the Italian Embassy in Madrid is launching a series of projects entitled “ITmakesES”. The initiative, which has enjoyed the support of all the Italian business institutions in Spain, stems from the creative contaminations that have come about between Italian and Spanish designers, creatives, makers and startuppers, drawing on the contribution and experience of the Italian entreprises operating on the Spanish market. The first key instrument of the initiative is “ITmakesES”, a dynamic digital platform that will contain the first projects, and future ones, and act as a point of reference for their launch, development and visibility. It will be a source of knowledge, a place for people to meet virtually and promote change and innovation, allowing the various players to interact, gather information, develop mutually beneficial projects and promote new dynamics between Italy and Spain. Given its cross-cutting nature, design has been identified as a starting point for this new approach, and multiple interconnected projects are being developed. These include Vivace. Il design italiano si muove a Madrid e a Barcellona [Lively. Italian design moves in Madrid and Barcelona] opportunities for public participation in urban spaces and districts of Madrid and Barcelona, leading up to the 2017 Salone del Mobile in Milan; Io lo so fare! [I can do it!]: maker culture course for teachers and pupils of Italian schools in Madrid and Barcelona and internships at Fab Labs in the two cities, and lastly The Fab Linkage: a workshop held in Madrid and involving Italian and Spanish Fab Labs, leading up to the 2017 Maker Faire in Rome. All the initiatives are part of the integrated strategy to promote Italy abroad called Vivere ALL’Italiana [Living the Italian way], launched by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (conceived and developed with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, with the Ministry of Education, the Dante Alighieri Society and RAI).