IDEAS is the acronym of “Italian Dialogues on Excellence, Arts and Science”, an original project conceived and produced by the Foreign Ministry’s Directorate General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation and consisting in a series of documentary portraits of Italy as a virtuous, dynamic, polycentric country.
The first season of the series consists of five episodes, each lasting about 12/15 minutes and available with subtitles in English, French and Spanish.
Each episode tells the story of a geographical area, a community and a project embracing a specific sector: enterprise & social; science & research; architecture & design; art & heritage; scenic & performing arts. Five strong core sectors providing a choral portrait of a Country attentive to ethical issues and priority values: environmental sustainability, scientific and technological development, urban regeneration, social integration.
The web series is an integrated promotional tool available to the Foreign Ministry and its Network to continue to spread the story of a new, young, resilient, creative and dynamic Italy, documenting creative projects, entrepreneurial skills and innovative resources.
The episodes can be streamed anywhere in the world on the project’s YouTube channel and the ideasitaly.com website. IDEAS will also open dedicated accounts on Facebook and Instagram, linked to the @ItalyMFA channels and the “italiana. lingua cultura creatività nel mondo” portal.
THE EPISODES
AN ENERGETIC IDEA. Livia Cevolini and her super sporty eBikes.
Sector: Enterprise and Social
Livia Cevolini, CEO of Energica (the first “Made in Italy” brand of super sporty eBikes) highlights the potential of the automotive sector, which has always been associated with the image of Italian excellence and is now ready to grasp the challenges offered by sustainability.
A HORIZONTAL IDEA. A “Community House” at Belmonte Calabro.
Sector: Architecture & Design.
Orizzontale, a Rome-based collective of young architects focusing on the urban regeneration of peripheral and marginal neighbourhoods, illustrate some their projects, including the “Casa Comunità”, a community house at Belmonte Calabro serving as a multipurpose creative hub and an example of social integration and local development.
A CONTEMPORARY IDEA. Gianluca D’Incà Levis takes art up into the Dolomites.
Sector: Arts & Heritage.
Gianluca D’Incà Levis, curator of the “Contemporary Dolomites” project (on the border between contemporary art, regeneration of industrial sites and revitalisation of mountain environments), speaks about how sites like the Villaggio Eni at Borca di Cadore can be transformed into cultural engines and take on new ideal and social meanings.
A TECHNOLOGICAL IDEA. Francesca Santoro and the future of microchips.
Sector: Science & Research.
Francesca Santoro, a biomedical engineer at the Naples-based Italian Institute of Technology, and the first Italian to receive the “Under 35 Innovator ITALIA and EUROPE” award from the prestigious MIT Technology Review, speaks of the hybrid artificial synapsis project she is working on with her team: a breakthrough study on the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson and Alzheimer.
A SPECTACULAR IDEA. Simone Merico is the “engineer of emotions”.
Sector: Scenic & Performing Arts.
Simone Merico, executive producer at Balich Worldwide Show (a cutting-edge company organising Olympic ceremonies, special projects and large-scale events), explains the approach and vision of one of the most widely known and appreciated creative Italian companies worldwide.
