Varese
x = independently organized TED event

This event occurred on
November 18, 2023
Varese, Lombardia
Italy

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Ville Ponti
Piazza Litta 2
Varese, Lombardia, 21100
Italy
Event type:
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Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.

Andrea Toreti

Senior Scientist
Andrea Toreti is a Senior Scientist at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, where he leads the European and Global Copernicus Drought Observatory. His research focuses on climate change, climate extremes, impacts, and adaptation, also making use of artificial intelligence to recreate, simulate, monitor, and predict the interaction between humans and nature. Andrea is a member of the steering committee of the Mediterranean Climate Variability and Predictability Initiative (MedCLIVAR), a member of the Science Policy Interface Committee of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and co-chair of the modeling group of the ITU-WMO-UNEP Focus Group on AI for Disaster Management and the EU group on Water Scarcity and Drought.

Anna Berti Suman

Researcher and activist
Anna Berti Suman, besides being an experienced lawyer in cases of environmental and climate justice in South America and Northern Europe, is a researcher and activist in the field of civic environmental monitoring. She enthusiastically leads the project Sensing for Justice, which investigates the potential of evidence provided by citizens when used in court to demonstrate environmental damages. She obtained a PhD in the Netherlands with the project Sensing the Risk, studying how civic monitoring can influence risk management, particularly following environmental disasters. Anna is passionate about public engagement in science, art-based research methods, and slow ethnography.

Carlotta Sarina

Artista climatica
Sarina “Lotta” Carlotta fonde l’essere attivista, cantante e musicista per diventare un’artista climatica. Convinta che la voce sia l’arma più potente contro l’indifferenza, canta, suona e scrive perché sente che grazie a queste forme creative sia possibile creare un ponte tra messaggio e individuo. Lotta oggi porta il suo spettacolo “Detonazione” in tour tra Italia ed Europa. L’opera in tre atti vuole sensibilizzare il pubblico sulla crisi climatica e generare una reazione, “che possa trasformarsi in un’onda d’urto che catturi gli occhi di chi guarda altrove”.

Cecil Konijnendijk

Global Urban Forester
Cecil Konijnendijk is first and foremost passionate about trees and forests, and for over thirty years, he has been studying and teaching their importance for our cities. Currently, he is the co-director of the Nature Based Solutions Institute, a think tank for greening cities worldwide. He has worked in over 30 countries, providing consultancy to national and municipal governments and international organizations such as the United Nations. Cecil is also an honorary professor at the University of British Columbia.

Dario Fornara

Research Director
Dario Fornara is Research Director of the Davines Group - Rodale Institute European Regenerative Organic Center (EROC) in Parma, Italy. Between 2014 and 2022 he worked in the Agri-Food Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Belfast, UK, as project leader of the Terrestrial Ecology and Soil Biogeochemistry research programme. Dario has been involved in research, education, and dissemination activities to demonstrate the multiple beneficial effects of biodiversity and regenerative practices on soil health. He authored and co-authored +90 scientific publications and has been involved in Networks of Excellence including the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Soil Carbon Stock Changes of the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership promoted by FAO, the Working Group of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) on Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) management, and the Integrative Research Group of the Global Research Alliance.

Giovanni Ludovico Montagnani

Attivista
Giovanni Ludovico Montagnani ha 33 anni, un dottorato in ingegneria elettronica nucleare, è un attivista per il clima, un atleta e un papà. Nel 2020 ha contribuito a fondare il collettivo Ci Sarà un Bel Clima, organizzazione che tramite incontri di divulgazione e festa, ha l’obiettivo di rendere più efficaci le iniziative a favore dell’ambiente. Nel 2023 il collettivo ha lanciato l’iniziativa degli Stati Generali dell’Azione per il Clima per raccogliere tutte le voci e le realtà dell’attivismo italiano e creare un interlocutore comune capace di favorire il dialogo tra attivisti e politica.

Jacopo Bencini

Policy Advisor
Climate diplomacy and international policies expert for ecological transition, Jacopo Bencini collaborates with the Italian Climate Network association, leading a delegation of experts and activists to the UN climate negotiations every year. He is also actively involved in a research project bridging electoral programs and climate engagement. With a background in international relations, he has collaborated with the European Commission, the African Union Commission, Chatham House, worked as a researcher at the German Development Institute (IDOS) and the International Centre for Climate Governance. He is a co-author of studies for the UNFCCC and the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union. Jacopo also collaborates with NGOs focusing on peace and sustainable development.

Katie Hill

Policy Advisor and Activist
Social entrepreneur, policy advocate, researcher, executive director, and activist: Katharine Hill embodies a sophisticated and dynamic fusion of these roles. After living six years in Eastern Europe, she pursued an MBA to connect the dots between values, sustainability, business, and politics, transforming an ideal into a concrete project aimed at improving the way business is conducted: in the interest of the environment, society, and yes, even shareholders. Katie is the founder of a social enterprise in Bulgaria, has created two investment funds, and led the spread of the B Corp movement in the United Kingdom and Europe between 2015 and 2022. In 2024, she took the role of Co-Chair of B Lab Global, the nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet

Maria Chiara Pastore

Scientific Director of Parco Italia
Maria Chiara Pastore is the research coordinator for Stefano Boeri Architetti and has been an assistant professor at the Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, since 2019. Her research areas include urban afforestation, the relationship between architecture and nature, fragile landscapes, and adaptive planning, particularly in African cities. Her research areas include urban afforestation, the relationship between architecture and nature, fragile landscapes, and adaptive planning, particularly in African cities. She is Member of the editorial board of Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Scientific director of ForestaMI, Member of the research project "Learning from Disasters: Methods, Tools and Techniques for Resilient Urban Areas," a project of the Politecnico di Milano studying the most significant seismic events in Italy over the last 50 years.

Sara Capuzzo

Presidente ènostra
Sara Capuzzo, presidente della cooperativa energetica ènostra, è da sempre impegnata nell’ambientalismo, nella divulgazione e promozione della transizione partecipata dalle fossili alle rinnovabili. Dal 2005 al 2014 è stata Vicepresidente e Responsabile Comunicazione di EnergoClub Onlus per lo sviluppo di progetti di mobilità sostenibile, educazione ambientale, efficienza energetica e campagne di sensibilizzazione per la transizione energetica dal basso. Sara, oggi, è anche co-coordinatrice del Gruppo di lavoro Comunità energetiche e autoconsumo diffuso dell’Associazione Italia Solare.

Serena Camere

Head of Design and Product
Serena is an industrial designer who focuses on sustainability and materials, particularly on shaping the aesthetics and technical performance of bio-based materials for a sustainable transition in the interior design sector. The core of her research explores the cultural and aesthetic significance of products as channels for interpreting the contemporary world. Serena is currently a Partner and Head of Design & Sales at Mogu, a start-up dedicated to the development and scalability of consumer products based on mycelium technologies (a network of cells derived from fungi). She holds a Ph.D. in Design from the Politecnico di Milano, following a dual degree program at the "Alta Scuola Politecnica" of the Politecnico di Milano and the Politecnico di Torino in Industrial Design. She has also studied and worked at TU Delft (NL), where her research focused on the use of cultivated materials (algae, bacteria, fungi) for product design.

Ugo Vallauri

Co-Director of The Restart Project
Ugo Vallauri is co-founder and co-director of The Restart Project, a charity fixing our relationship with electronics.Restart encourages people to repair their electronics, shares open data highlighting recurrent barriers to repair and pushes for legislation for the Right to repair. It is a founding member of the European Right to Repair Campaign, a coalition pushing for the universal right to repair. This means legislation requiring manufacturers of all consumer products to design for repairability, while providing access to repair manuals, affordable spare parts and long-term software and security updates for everyone. Ugo is a Fellow of the Ashoka Foundation.

Organizing team

David
Mammano

Varese, Italy
Organizer