The 2024 edition of the Festival of Science and Philosophy will take place in Foligno (11-14 April) and in Fabriano (12-13 April). This event was presented this morning in the area in the presence of the Culture Councilor, Chiara Biondi, the Beauty Councilor of the Municipality of Fabriano, Maura Nataloni, Maurizio Renzini and Pierluigi Mingarelli, respectively President and Director of the Foligno Experimental Science Laboratory, written by Alessandro Stellotti, President of the Rotary Club of Fabriano, and Francesca Sergey, the teacher and volunteer at the event.

The event bears the subtitle “Virtute e Canoscenza”, which is intended as a tribute to Dante and to man’s desire to expand the horizons of his knowledge, as well as a tribute to the first printed edition of the Divine Comedy, composed in the year Foligno in the year 1472. The festival targets and involves young people and high school students. The latter includes comprehensive institutes, secondary schools and all members of civil society. The theme of this edition is “The Mediterranean: from the cradle of science and philosophy to a scenario of challenges of change.”

“It is an event that the city of Fabriano is hosting for the second time, together with the nearby city of Foligno in the Umbria region, where it has already reached its thirteenth edition – explained Councilor Biondi – it is a very positive signal, which means how successfully culture and knowledge are able to create relationships. “And fruitful exchanges and cooperation that go beyond defined borders and thus include regions and people.”

“Involving young people – continued Biondi – in the process of reflection and experimentation in critical thinking is a concrete option for an analytical and reasoned approach towards sensitive topics such as those proposed.”

The Festival of Science and Philosophy is promoted by the Experimental Science Laboratory of Foligno ODV, in collaboration with the municipal administration and the Rotary Club of Fabriano.

“It is a cultural event of great importance – declared Chancellor Nataloni – for the quality of the contents and speakers. It is a moment in which culture is the basis of the innovation and sustainable development that we want to offer to our lands. A moment of meeting between two cities, Fabriano and Foligno, which have had common points for centuries, in art and paper. And industrial development. Two cities position themselves as internal reference areas for future development through an innovative project proposal.”

This event represents a contribution to the development of critical thinking among children, and is capable of making them aware of the changes that change the destinies of entire peoples.

The Mediterranean, as the organizers explain, is a sea “in the middle of the lands”: it is almost an agora, that is, a square, to which different peoples look and meet. This sea has been the scene of the birth, growth and decline of civilizations, and is a region rich in history, science, culture, art and economics, but even today it remains a place of conflicts and wars. In the thirteenth session of the Science and Philosophy Festival, space will be given to the necessity of searching for peace, the history of Mediterranean civilizations, and problems of today and the future such as migration, climate change, scientific research, and artificial intelligence.

“Science is an instrument for peace, it overcomes all borders and conflicts, and seeks to achieve the well-being of society – said Pierluigi Mingarelli – Artificial intelligence is spreading on a large scale, posing a real challenge to society and modern thought. Therefore, science is a tool to confront the fundamental challenges of the future of the Mediterranean region And for the future of new generations and communities around this sea.”

Representatives of the thirteenth edition will be four figures of Italian culture: Edoardo Poncinelli, physicist, geneticist, writer, scientific communicator; Silvano Tagligambi, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy of Science, University of Sassari; Roberto Battiston, experimental physicist, University of Trento; Massimo Arcangeli, Professor of Italian Linguistics, University of Cagliari.

The program of this edition is very rich and includes cultural itineraries, activities and conferences aimed at an adult audience and students, with the Mediterranean at the center of ideas. The conference calendar will allow each participant to build individual itineraries across the different sections.

There will be a section called Experimenta: a cultural container for laboratory activities in the scientific field, where 13 types of laboratories will be held, not only for students.

All activities will be free to enter.

Information about the event programme: https://beta.festascienzafilosofia.it