Strolling through the Valentino park in Turin, it is difficult not to notice a particular villa that seems to have come straight out of a fairy tale: it is Villino Caprifoglio, the former reading garden of the philanthropist Alberto Geisser built at the end of the 19th century. It is a special place due to its architectural peculiarity, which will now become the headquarters of the “base camp” project of 1 Caffè, the first digital non-profit organisation set up to support small Italian non-profit associations by spreading the culture of the gesture of giving. Among the founders is the Turin actor Luca Argentero.

Francesco Antonioli spoke about it with Silvia Meacci, general manager of 1 Caffè.

 

Watch previous episodes here.

The City of Turin intends to respond to the Call for Proposal European Urban Initiative – Innovative Actions (EUI-IA) with a deadline of January 19, 2023 as the lead partner and intends to identify the best project proposals and partnership for the subsequent co-design of the application. It has therefore published a Public Notice to seek partners with whom to participate in the EUI-IA Call.

Project proposals should focus on the theme of rediscovering and revitalizing historic villages in post-industrial cities through concrete and tangible actions and interventions centered on the three core values of the new European Bauhaus: sustainability, inclusiveness and aesthetics.

The objective of the projects should be to contribute to the rediscovery, enhancement and promotion of the historical value of the two Boroughs of the City of Turin, supporting their cultural/economic/artistic/social vocation by integrating local participatory development actions, cultural animation, accompaniment and social innovation and interventions to improve the quality and usability of public space.

Torino Social Impact is a lead partner with Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini of the SocialTech for Europe for Resilient and Responsible Ecosystems (SocialTech4EU) project, co-funded by the European Union, within the framework of the “Joint Cluster Initiatives (EUROCLUSTERS) for Europe’s recovery“.

This project is aimed at strengthening the resilience and innovation capacity, competitiveness, and sustainability of social economy ecosystems and of start-ups and SMEs of the social economy, with a special focus on technology social ventures. As one of the largest European social-venture startup programs, the project will provide them with support in the form of grants, vouchers and professional services.

So, we are sharing a survey that aims to understand the needs and blockers preventing Social Enterprises (SEs) to innovate, making the most of digital transformation, embracing the twin digital & green transition, and becoming more resilient.

Please find the link to the survey here. The deadline is February 28, 2023.

We appreciate how precious your time is and we would like to reward your effort:

• You get an invitation to join a European cluster of Social Enterprises and the European Map of Social Enterprises, so you can connect with other social enterprises across Europe, as well as other stakeholders in the social economy ecosystem (e.g. training and tech providers, incubators/accelerators, Universities;)

• You will get informed when the project will launch the Calls for vouchers/grants described above.

For any questions about the survey or the project SocialTech4EU, please contact info@torinosocialimpact.it

Discover more

SocialTech4EU

14.02.23 / SocialTech4EU seeks businesses and experts for the social economy

Introduction

Agenzia Nazionale Giovani, in collaboration with Ashoka Italia, promoted in 2021 the Gen C: Generation Changemaker call. Torino Social Impact is a partner of the initiative.

The project aims at fostering youth leadership by establishing a community of young people, aged 13 to 25, actors of change (changemakers), supported in this experience by Mentors aged between 25 and 35. The project is supported by a broad partnership of over 50 organisations.

In the second phase of GEN C (May 2022-July 2023) several initiatives will be implemented to promote youth empowerment through 5 pillars of work: engaging, capacity building, ecosystem building, policy-making and storytelling. Within these pillars, some specific initiatives will be carried out. Particularly in the first pillar of work, a new call for young changemakers has been opened and events dedicated to the youth network will be realised.

Objectives of the event

The event has multiple objectives. Specifically:

• Celebrating youth leadership;
• To award the 50 new young changemakers;
• To build an identity of young changemakers;
• To promote the exchange of ideas and projects between young people and partners;
• To guarantee visibility to the most innovative proposals;
• To offer a platform for cultural exchange on GEN C themes (ecological transition, digital transition, transition towards autonomy).

The target audience of the event

More than 100 young people will be involved. Specifically:

• Young changemakers who participated in the GEN C initiatives in phase 1 and the GEN C call phase 2;
• GEN C partners;
• ANG network representatives: EuroPeers, ANG InRadio;
• ANG Beneficiary Association representative.

The theme: DECISIONS

Sirene Kierkegaard: ‘Men are always at a crossroads […]’. 

It is hard to accept the idea that everything we do involves the exclusion of something else.  Start afresh. Even the simplest and most mundane actions like walking while balancing on the edge of a pavement on the way to work, trying to guess what a passer-by is thinking, giving coins to a beggar or smiling at someone, can change us, others and the world.

Even if we don’t notice anything, with every step we take something happens: we are able to INFLUENCE what is around us.

It takes COURAGE to change things. Making decisions forces us to confront Fear: the fear of making a mistake, of choosing a road that is too winding, of not being up to it.  By choosing the path with the fewest obstacles, however, we always prioritise the option with the fewest worries. In this way, our decisions are fixed a priori and we live not only an unfree life but also an uninspiring one.

Today’s volatile and rapidly changing world constantly presents us with new crossroads.  However, the path of change cannot be imposed, it is about one’s own being and one’s own life purpose. Choosing, taking one’s PASSIONS into account, allows one to be an active protagonist of one’s life and to find one’s FREEDOM.

What decisions have we had to make on our path to change? And how can we, as changemakers, make decisions that are fair and forward-looking, for the good of all?

Programme

9h00 – 09h30 – Arrival and registration/accreditation

09h00 – 10h00 – Welcome & Networking

10h00 – 10h30 – Plenary. Institutional greetings and presentation of the day

• Lucia Abbinante – Director General National Agency for Young People
• Federico Mento – Director Ashoka Italy
• Andrea Abodi – Minister for Sport and Youths (TBC)

10h30 – 11h15 – Plenary. Deep connection

In a session dedicated to connecting participants, we will explore the theme of “decisions” through participatory methodologies that will allow participants to discover each other, get to know each other and dialogue in small groups.

11h15 – 11h45 – Coffee break

11h45 – 12h30 – Enabling youth leadership
In dialogue with:

• Alessia De Iulis – International Association for Cooperation and Education in the World;
• Alessia Garofalo – EuroPeers;
• Amaya Vizmanos – Young Changemaker Ashoka Spain; – Ena Peeva – Ang InRadio Networking.

12h30 – 13h30 – Inspiring talks – Young people and adults generating change together

• Davide Mazzanti, Italian volleyball coach and head coach of the Italian women’s national team;
• Susanna Croci – Generation Changemaker;
• Massimo Vallati – Ashoka Fellow.

13h30 – 15h00 – Lunch

15h00 – 16h00 – Plenary. Award ceremony for young changemakers.

16h00 – 17h30 – Parallel sessions. Workshop

In these sessions, the young people will be given the opportunity to take part in panels where different speakers and panelists will guide the participants through specific topics.

The workshops will be led by selected young changemakers

17h30 – 18h00 – The floor is given to the Gen C Partners.

Conclusions

Sloweb Association for 2022 proposes the fourth edition of the Digital Ethics Forum, two days with conference panels and special events to explore some of the most pressing issues concerning ethics in the design, production, distribution and use of digital technologies.

“What to do” is the focus that this edition wants to pursue. A popular, informative and experiential event, during the Forum we will ask what is happening in offices, companies and institutions to understand what is being done to accept, adopt and include digital in an ethical and sustainable way in everyday life.

For this year’s edition we have set up a division of interventions that follows a conceptual scheme whereby the ‘playing field’ of digital ethics involves three main subjects: institutions, companies, citizens. For each subject – which we ideally place in a triangular playing field, in fact – we want to address issues relating to the application of ethics in the digital domain.

We will therefore have three sessions

• the first (23rd afternoon) dedicated to what institutions do/should do, with a special focus on education and health;
• the second (24th morning) on companies, digital or not, including information companies;
• the third (24 afternoon) to citizens, and what is happening around responsible digital consumption

In addition, space has been dedicated to English-language speeches by experts in the field outside the Italian ecosystem to share best practices at an international level.

Last but not least, the Digital Ethics Forum is a free event and this year it has expanded from Turin to Rome as well, as a clear sign of growth.

Programme:

23 November

13-14 “Introductory speech”, Luciano Floridi
14-16:30 “Institutions: regulations and essential services”.

24 November

9-11:30 “Organisations: sustainability, identity, trust and data quality”.
14-16:30 ‘Users: from consumers to responsible citizens’.

For more than twenty years, Progetto Tenda has been working in the Turin area with people in difficulty and at risk of fragility, to strenght autonomy and promote encounters between people of different backgrounds. Understanding diversity is indeed the key to building a more peaceful, more open and fairer society.

With Cristina Avonto and Valentina Melchionda – respectively president and vice-president of the cooperative – we discover why welcoming is a key element of the impact economy.

Interview by Francesco Antonioli.

Watch previous episodes here.

Raising capital is key for any start-up. One important aspect of it is certainly choosing the right partners but, on the other hand, it is also key to negotiate terms and conditions in the interest of the founders and shareholders, providing for the right protections and incentives to foster the company’s growth. Clear, effective and balanced commitments by the investors and founders, governance terms, exit rights are very important for the success of the start-up. For this purpose, the legal advisor shall be a proactive partner in the start-up’s growth.

This seminar, organized by ESA BIC Turin in collaboration with RP Legal & Tax, will provide key tips on legal aspects in raising capital such as legal nature of the main documents (term sheet, LOI, investment agreement), due diligence, main important clauses of the term sheet and investment agreement.

The speakers at the webinar will include:

• Marco Gardino, Partner at RP Legal & Tax
• Luca Egitto, Partner at RP Legal & Tax
• Leo Italiano, Program Manager at ESA BIC Turin

The event will be fully held in English language.

How to participate

The event, free of charge, will be held in presence in I3P’s headquarters in Turin, Italy. In order to attend in person, registration is required on Eventbrite.

In compliance with current safety regulations, the seats available in the event venue, I3P’s Sala Agorà, are currently limited to a maximum of 70.

About the organizers

RP Legal & Tax is a full-service law firm, founded in 1949, with over 150 professionals, 6 offices in Italy and partnerships with leading international firms. The firm is proud to offer innovative and valuable legal solutions across 25 practice areas – including one specifically devoted to start-ups and venture capital – through close-knit teams. For more information, visit the official website of RP Legal & Tax.

ESA BIC Turin supports entrepreneurs and start-ups in transforming their space-related projects into successful enterprises, offering financial incentives, strategic business consulting, scientific and technological support for the development of products and services, and direct access to a wide network of highly qualified industrial, financial and scientific partners. ESA BIC Turin is managed by I3P with the technological support of Politecnico di Torino and LINKS Foundation. For more information click here.

I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, supports the creation and development of innovative start-ups with high technological intensity and growth potential, founded both by university researchers and students, and by external entrepreneurs, providing strategic consulting services, coaching, mentoring, fundraising support and spaces. For more information click here.

The Global Social Business Summit kicked off on Monday, November 7, in Turin. For two days in the Centrale della Nuvola Lavazza, Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006 and ‘father’ of microcredit, brought together the global social business community for the annual event he founded in 2009, which this year came to Italy for the first time. In front of an audience of around 500 people from 45 countries around the world – including over 300 social entrepreneurs as well as exponents of global politics and economics, managers and scholars, representing about fifty international organisations – this Summit edition laid the foundations of a culture of peace through business to develop a three-zero economy: zero unemployment, zero poverty and zero CO2 emissions.

The day before the Summit started, Muhammad Yunus visited the Sermig Arsenal of Peace, welcomed by its founder Ernesto Olivero. The day at Sermig ended with the appointment “Cultivating a culture of peace with social business” a meeting with Turin’s young people, the 3 Club Zero and the Young Challengers. We talked about it here.

The opening ceremony on November 7 marked the official begin of the 2022 Summit. After the institutional greetings, it was Muhammad Yunus himself, together with Lamiya Morshed, executive director of the Yunus Centre, and Hans Reitz, CEO of The Grameen Creative Lab, who opened the proceedings, articulated through a series of thematic panels. The opening greetings also included a speech by Guido Bolatto, Secretary General of the Turin Chamber of Commerce, a long-standing promoter of TSI.

The first day’s meetings focused on topics such as energy, food, new financing instruments with social impact, technology, sport, and a focus on the coffee market in view of Agenda 2030, to continue the next day with further discussions on microfinance, social entrepreneurship, green mobility, public health, and circular economy. To access the full programme, and watch panel recordings, click here.

Many TSI’s partners attended the Summit: among them, Links Foundation and PerMicro brought their testimonies to the stage.

Also on November 7, the establishment of a Social Business Research Centre at the University of Turin was announced at the Yunus Social Business Academia Forum. For more details, read the news.

Those were all valuable opportunities to share ideas and results, create connections and learn good practices from the protagonists of local and global social business ecosystems, but also to spread public awareness on these issues, stimulating debate on the need to tackle inequalities in our society and promote the common good.

The Global Social Business Summit – which so far has been hosted in various countries around the world, from Mexico to Austria, from Malaysia to France, from Germany to Kenya – is promoted by The Grameen Creative Lab and the Yunus Centre, with the organisational support of the Italian tech media company TMP Group spa, which proposed Turin as the location. A choice that rewards an internationally recognised model in the social business sector also thanks to the work carried out in the area by Torino Social Impact, partner of the event together with the Turin Chamber of Commerce, City of Turin, Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, Sermig, Tourism Turin and Province, University of Turin, Talent Garden and other Italian and international players such as Quid, Neoma Business School x KPMG, H-Farm, Circ, Az.imut. To these are added, in the role of sponsor, the Lavazza Group, which played a leading role in the event as well as hosting it, and the initiative’s historical partners: BNP Paribas, present with a large delegation also involving the Italian structure of its subsidiary BNL, and the organisations of the network created by Professor Yunus Friends of Social Business, Yunus Sports Hub, Yunus Environment Hub, YY Ventures.

THE ‘YUNUS SOCIAL BUSINESS RESEARCH CENTRE’ IN TURIN

The Social Business Research Centre of the University of Turin will soon be established. The announcement on Monday 7 November 2022, on the occasion of the Yunus Social Business Academia Forum held in the Aula Magna of the ‘Luigi Einaudi’ Campus. Five University Departments are involved in the establishment process: Economics and Statistics “Cognetti de Martiis”, Culture, Politics and Society, Economic-Social Sciences and Mathematics, Law and Management and the School of Business Administration (SAA). The planning phase is now open to define the objectives and topics of interest of the Turin centre, which will have the function of enhancing and coordinating the many research and public engagement activities in the field of ethical finance and sustainable economy.

“The willingness of researchers to set up a Social Business Research Centre in our University is a novelty that makes the entire academic community proud,” says Rector Stefano Geuna. “The centre will be part of the prestigious network established by Professor Muhammad Yunus, whom I sincerely thank for this extraordinary opportunity and for his presence at the University of Turin. We are grateful to Professor Yunus because with his studies he showed a way and then, with his work, opened up new perspectives in the field of social enterprise and ethical finance.
The birth of this centre represents a concrete opportunity for growth, both for the University and its strategic activities, and for our territory. I am convinced that we are thus actively investing in a new business culture, to trace new development trajectories that our city and our region deeply need”.

Yunus Social Business Centre (YSBC)

A Yunus Social Business Centre (YSBC) is a hub for social business in universities around the world, following the principles of Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. YSBCs are created in collaboration through an agreement between the Yunus Centre and the university with the aim of spreading the concept and practice of social business among university students and researchers. YSBCs conduct research, teaching, academic programme and curriculum development, action research, and knowledge-sharing events in social business such as competitions, workshops and seminars, among others. YSBCs also find new and innovative means to expand the concept of social business among students and researchers and also outside the university, in the community and in the region.

The event occurred on the occasion of the Global Business Summit 2022.

Vasté impresa sociale is glad to announce the opening of its new restaurant, the Vasté Bistrò San Salvario. 

Vasté Bistrò San Salvario is a relaxing and familiar place, where you can have breakfast with croissants and cakes of our production, enjoy a delicious lunch break or have a snack with our homemade ice creams and other surprises for young and old.

The official opening will take place next Friday 11 November in via Berthollet 13, in the new venue born from the commitment to the local area and to the people of Vasté Impresa Sociale and the social cooperative Progetto Tenda.

It will be an opportunity to try the delicacies of our menu, which combines our two gastronomic souls, Piedmont and the world. You will find many different dishes, including appetizers and first courses, and homemade desserts, without forgetting our craft beverage.

An opportunity to meet and get to know each other, and celebrate together the birth of our new bistrot in San Salvario, a place that welcomes everyone, always open to the cultures of the world.

The event will start from 17.00 until 22

“I Breathe Poetry” is the capsule collection of VANNI sunglasses designed by artist Catalin Pislaru- winner of the VANNI #artistroom prize at Artissima 2021. A collection of exploratory eyewear, drawing from the visual universe of the young Moldovan artist. The bi-dimensionality of a design on canvas meets the tri-dimensionality of a pair of glasses, united by a taste for courageous colours pairing.

An international jury judged his work capable of offering an original perspective on reality, and on eyewear design. And so it is: Catalin conceptualises a pair of shield sunglasses, in unisex and women’s models, constructed with layers of coloured acetate—just like his paintings, stratifications of symbols and colour on wood or aluminum.

“The project “I breathe poetry” is the metaphorical synthesis of every project that I’ve undertaken. As far back as when I was a student at the Academy in Monaco, I had written that phrase with a marker on the door of the studio: for me it was a motto to follow, and even today it continues to be a reference point for my research.

Collaborating with designers for an eyewear project has been incredibly enjoyable; I’ve had the opportunity to learn much about the world of design, as compared to the art world. I decided to design sunglasses for their introverted nature, because they hide the eyes, the gaze, intended for a young audience, belonging to a rebellious musical subculture like Trap, or hip-hop.”

The collection “I Breathe Poetry” is created entirely in Italy, in a limited series of 200 pieces, available on VANNI Showroom in Turin or online

THE VANNI #ARTISTROOM PRIZE

Alessandra Girardi, promoter of the prize, recounts: “The VANNI #artistroom prize at Artissima will complete its second edition in 2022. It was born with the intention of exploring the possible contaminations between the genius of contemporary art and eyewear design, and awards the winning artist, apart from a cash prize, the opportunity to inspire a capsule collection of auteur eyewear. It is an occasion for us to bring new stimuli into the eyewear sector, letting creativity flow with a process that is more typical of art, but which we then bring into the industrial framework of design to render it replicable. We’ve been keeping an eye on the art world for over 15 years, with interest and curiosity: in 2019 VANNI opened its collaboration with Artissima, the contemporary art fair in Turin, completing its first capsule collection of auteur eyewear with Christian Chironi.”

The capsule collection and the exhibition by artist Catalin Pislaru can be visited at the VANNI showroom from 5 November to 3 December 2022.

What are the needs related to the care of the elderly? What opportunities for innovative solutions on issues that affect us all?

On Friday 25 November from 4.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. IST partner SensoArgento proposes a guided Focus Group activity with the aim of collecting feedback, ideas and suggestions expressed by a heterogeneous group of individuals from the world of elderly care.

The group will be invited to freely and spontaneously discuss a selection of useful and significant vertical issues for the improvement of home care for the elderly. The ideas generated by the discussion will then be translated into concrete actions to help families in need.

Led by industrial designer Andrea Strippoli and digital entrepreneur Marcello Chiesa, each of the discussion tables will highlight the main issues in elderly care and collaboratively propose solutions.

Each table will consist of families, caregivers, doctors and entrepreneurs.

The Focus Group will take place in the premises of the Circolo del Design, Via S. Francesco da Paola 17, Turin.

Let’s do something concrete for our future and that of our loved ones: let’s participate in the realisation of a new vision and new solutions for the third age by sharing experiences!

PARTICIPATE

From 24 October to 6 November kicks off the first edition of Diffusissima, the off-site event of Torino Art Week that brings contemporary art to city spaces, involving people in events, workshops and vernissages throughout the territory.

With the support of the City of Turin, the Chamber of Commerce and Torino Social Impact, Diffusissima is the offspring of Artàporter, the matching platform between artists and businesses, and makes its objective to rethink the commonplaces of art, imagining a new way of experiencing it. Far from being just another contemporary art fair, it is a project that takes works and emerging artists out of the canonical places and into the ordinary places, understood as those frequented every day by people to meet them in their daily lives, giving anyone the chance to fall in love with a work of art and take it home immediately, whether it is on the wall of a bar or in a hotel lobby.

A new map for the Turin of art

Bringing art outside museums and art galleries also means creating new inclusive and unusual tourist routes, following in the wake of the MAUs, which involve above all a young tourism that, according to data for 2021, spends twice as much as the flows to which Turin is accustomed.

Finding your way is easy, with the map in digital and paper format that allows you to find your way around the numerous hosts and events. More than 100 commercial activities (hosts) are involved in the exhibition of 100 emerging artists, while 25 venues have been chosen for events and vernissages.

Some prestigious locations are important touch points, venues for events involving internationally renowned artists, such as debates, exhibitions and concerts. The Super Hosts of Diffusissima 2022 are the Porto Urbano (Murazzi del Po), Otium Pea Club in Lingotto, Pos.to and Wellness Creative in Pozzo Strada, the Innovative Square Center in Mirafiori and Open Baladin in Piazzale Valdo Fusi.

The inauguration of Diffusissima was held on 24 October at Eataly with guests Andrea Concas, who presented his NFT project, and Alvin with his new art projects, including Artoy, on a day when Catawiki representatives also discussed the current situation of online art, together with new start-ups in the art field.

Not just partners, but co-creators

Alongside Artàporter’s historical partners, such as Baladin and Lefranc Bourgeois, the auction house Catawiki joins Diffusissima by launching two thematic auctions, one of which is offline for the first time: simply scan the QR code next to the work on display to enter the site and place your bid.

Driatec and Affini are also joining Diffusissima, along with Distillerie Subalpine, which has launched a Call for Artist with Artàporter to create the new Turin Dry Gin label.

Call for Artist

For the occasion, several Call for Artists were launched in collaboration with Knowhere Studios and Lefranc Bourgeois in the fields of photography and painting to allow new artists to exhibit at the first edition of Diffusissima. In addition, Artàporter has activated a Funding Pitch on Patreon and the fees collected will allow emerging artists to receive scholarships to participate in master classes and finance artistic residencies to develop their creative projects.

The Diffusissima programme and map are available here.