Focus

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will be participating in National Space Day celebrations with a series of initiatives to promote research and the Italian space industry. The event is organized by the diplomatic-consular network, Italian Cultural Institutes and Italian Trade Agency Offices.

‘The strong support for Italian National Space Day reflects the priority given to space diplomacy, which is an integral part of our foreign and security policies and a tool for internationalising businesses,’ says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani. He reiterates that ‘by reinforcing the network of Space and Science Attachés working at embassies and consulates, [the Ministry] supports companies in seizing opportunities related to the new space economy to encourage investment.’

’This year’s edition,’ adds the Deputy, ‘is particularly significant in view of the International Astronautical Congress, which will be hosted by Italy in Milan in October 2024. This is why we wanted to launch “The Italian Spaceway” project, an exhibition on Italian space research and industry that will travel the world from now until late 2024.’

‘The Italian Spaceway’ is produced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the IAC 2024 Milan Organising Committee and curated by Focus, the science communication brand of the Mondadori Group. It recounts the contribution of Italian research and Made in Italy products in the development of space technologies, with a focus on sustainability. The exhibition presents an engaging and interactive experience to stimulate reflection on the need to protect space and preserve its sustainability in order to protect planet Earth.

Italy is a leading country in the space sector and among the first in the world in terms of activities and research: €7 billion of public investment in the 2021–2026 period, €2 billion in turnover, 300 companies, 12 districts and 6,000 employees.

Mondadori Media, the leading Italian multimedia publisher on social media and in the digital area, has exclusively entrusted Piemme, a concessionaire of the Caltagirone Group, with the sale of advertising spaces in Italy  in magazines, digital channels, social networks, apps and event sponsorships for the educational brands Focus, Focus Junior, Focus Pico, Focus Storia, Focus Scuola and Focus Wild.

“Piemme is the ideal partner to raise awareness about some of our brands, thanks to its important network of investors in strategic sectors for our Science area and its widespread presence in the territory”, said Carlo Mandelli, Mondadori Media CEO. “The collaboration, which started in January 2023 with Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni and Chi, is generating excellent results. The extension to the Focus system brands strengthens the path of diversifying business activities undertaken by Mondadori Media and the strategy of repositioning our product portfolio”, Mandelli concluded.

The agreement is part of a process, which began with the brands Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni, Chi, Guida Tv and Telepiù, of progressively expanding a strategic partnership that has proved successful thanks to the combination of the publisher’s leading position, on the one hand, and the expertise of the concessionaire, on the other.

“The exclusive partnership with Mondadori Media represents a significant step for Piemme in its strategy of expanding and strengthening its media platform, which is able to offer an increasingly excellent level of opportunities across print, digital, radio, TV and local events. The opportunity to manage the collection for these famous brands is a great responsibility for us: as well as being an iconic brand, Focus is one of the main standards for science and technology popularisation in Italy, with a huge fanbase that makes it well-known among the public”, declared Walter Bonanno, CEO of Piemme S.p.A. “We are thrilled to once again receive the trust of a leading and discerning publisher like Mondadori Media. We are confident that this innovation will further strengthen our collaboration and enable us to realise innovative projects that satisfy our customers and enhance the strength and diversity of the Focus brand on different platforms and channels”, said Bonanno.

Focus, in its different forms, is the brand leader in the popularisation sector in Italy with a fanbase of over 6 million users (social media accounts + Focus creators), more than 3 million unique users (source: Shareablee, 2022), a monthly circulation of over 136,000 copies (source: Ads, January – August 2023) and more than 3.3 million readers each month (source: Audipress 2023/2). Focus, Italy’s most widely read magazine, edited by Raffaele Leone, has been the standard for all science enthusiasts and the curious for more than 30 years: from technology to sustainability, from robotics to medicine, from AI research to space missions and nature. It has a unique editorial system divided into various subject areas and different channels, including magazines, websites, social accounts, video talks and podcasts. It also has a television channel, an exclusive academy for students interested in science journalism and, finally, a major event focusing on popularising science that completes the editorial offer: Focus Live.

Mondadori Media

Mondadori Media is Italy’s leading multimedia publisher, with a distinctive positioning and audience on the editorial market. Through its brands, the Mondadori Group’s social multimedia company caters to the passions of the Italian people – food, beauty, fashion, health and wellness , science and tech – and reaches more than 26 million unique users every month (source: Audiweb January-August 2023), with an overall fanbase of 100 million people (source: Comscore Shareablee + Pinterest Insight October 2023).

Piemme

It has six of the most important newspapers (Il Messaggero, Il Mattino, Il Gazzettino, Corriere Adriatico, Nuovo Quotidiano di Puglia and Leggo), websites (online platforms for the respective newspapers and licensed third-party sites: Aranzulla.it, Centro Meteo Italiano, Funweek.it), magazines (Molto, Mondadori and Gruppo Editoriale San Paolo), and TV (Telenova). Piemme also manages local advertising on Radio Subasio and on RCS media in its own areas. Piemme designs projects tailored to customer needs, creating multimedia campaigns that seamlessly integrate print and digital, radio and TV.

With over 18,000 visitors, the format of the Focus Festival of Knowledge, held for the sixth consecutive year in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, is confirmed to be a winner. For three days, this major event attracted an active and interested public audience, who had the opportunity to engage with the scientific world and experience the most innovative technological advances, meet and listen to communicators, experts and professionals in information, medicine, science and sports, as well as immerse themselves in worlds of virtual reality.

“We have once again travelled from the stars to the deep sea, from space missions to genetics, from plants to robots, from animal noises to artificial intelligence, giving this edition of Focus Live — entitled Visions — a fun overview of science and knowledge, research and history.  And we got to experience it hands-on by offering immersive virtual reality experiences, samples of the metaverse, and workshops for adults and children. We also mixed genres by combining science, music and theatre. But the most spectacular “vision” was the record turnout and participation of thousands of curious, attentive and enthusiastic people. They are the best reward for our efforts and encourage us to always do better,” said Raffaele Leone, director of Focus.

The more than 70 sold-out events featured eighty personalities, including scientists, researchers, astronauts and communicators, along with active participation in games, workshops, edutainment, interactive experiences and meetings in the Experience Area. There was clear awe and interest in the more than 40 installations, starting with the giant and colourful animals of Cracking Art. Lots of children flocked to the kids area for the Geronimo Stilton show and all the playful and scientific activities organised by Focus Junior, Focus Pico and Focus Wild, in collaboration with Mondadori Education, Way Experience, Shake and UniversiKid.

Providing an exceptional backdrop, the National Museum of Science and Technology was divided for this special initiative into five major thematic areas (Technology, Sustainability, Science, Space, Medicine and Health) with three separate stages — the Main Stage, Speakers’ corner and Creators’ corner — for talks and meetings.

Tons of content contributed to the success of Focus Live Visions: from the surprises of the Animaloids — robotic quadrupeds such as HyQ Real1, capable of challenging humans (and win!) at Twister — to quizzes animated by Stefano Bartezzaghi; from the physics experiments of Vincenzo Schettini, the star professor of TikTok, to the lunar earthworms of the future, to the sustainable comics of activist Altares; from the Telegatto delivered to Carlo Conti to the experiences of sportsmen such as freediving champion Mike Maric. Plus sailing icon Giovanni Soldini as a hologram, former soccer coach Arrigo Sacchi, astronaut Roberto Vittori, communicator Barbara Gallavotti and philosopher Luciano Floridi, immunologist and scientific director of Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Alberto Mantovani, and Stefano Mancuso, Italy’s most influential botanist, together with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Milan guided the audience in discovering the intelligence of plants. Evolutionary scientist and communicator Telmo Pievani and actor Marco Paolini closed the packed three-day schedule with a science show dedicated to Charles Darwin, one of the most visionary scientists in history.

Also confirming the brand’s strength and formula for success were the hundreds of thousands of views and social media interactions related to live broadcasts, with posts and videos shared on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter. All the content was widely captured by the print, digital radio and TV media, and will remain available on Focus.it, the website of the monthly magazine Focus, which has seen peak views these days due to Focus Live events. The content will be enriched with extra contributions to continue to intrigue and win over fans, both young and old.

This edition of Focus Live was developed through the support and collaboration of the Civic Aquarium of Milan, Italian Air Force, Asi, Biokip Labs, CNR, Enea, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Giotto (Fila), IIT, Il Piccolo Teatro, INFN, Joint Research Centre, Italian Navy, Milan Civic Museum of Natural History, Milan Symphony Orchestra, Shake srl, Milan Civic Planetarium, Polytechnic University of Milan, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, University of Padua and Way Experience.

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event organised in partnership with the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, Mediamond and numerous other entities:

MAIN PARTNERS: Koelliker Group
PARTNERS: Carglass, Honor, Humanitas University
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER: European Commission
CONTENT PARTNERS: AIRC, CDI, Mondadori Education, Opera San Francesco, Rilegno, TUV SUD
ART GUEST: Cracking Art
TECHNICAL PARTNER: Lete
OFFICIAL RADIO: R101
KIDS AREA powered by Focus Junior

Progresses of Artificial Intelligence in science and everyday life, robotic zoos, time travel in Virtual Reality, and even science-themed escape rooms, insights on medicine, sustainability, and novel points of view: that’s Visions, the theme that will be explored and experienced at Focus Live 2023, a project created by Mondadori Media, Mediamond and Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, scheduled November 3 to 5. 

The Festival of Knowledge conceived and organized by Focus – the Mondadori Group magazine directed by Raffaele Leone as well as the most widely read monthly magazine in Italy by enthusiasts and those curious about technology, science sustainability and innovation – reaches this year the sixth edition and confirms its successful format that, in 2022, won and involved more than 15 thousand visitors in attendance and obtained more than 250 thousand interactions on social media.

“Having reached the sixth edition, I can say that this knowledge festival is increasingly Focus and increasingly Live,” says the director Raffaele Leone. “More and more Focus because the spirit is that of the magazine: to increase knowledge by stimulating curiosity and fun. More and more Live because we are striving to find formats and events that are not just a live meeting with scientists or popularizers but in which we experiment with all available technologies (augmented reality, viewers, samples of the metaverse) to “immerse” ourselves in knowledge. If we then add other disciplines that we enjoy such as music, theatre and science, you go a full circle.”

Focus Live, open to the public and completely free of charge (reservation required), for the past six years has aimed to illustrate with popular language the horizons of human knowledge: from physics to medicine, from biology to genetics, from environmental advocacy to technology to digital communication. Innovation, creativity and curiosity will be the guidelines of this special edition, which will feature over a thousand square meters available to visitors, with 40 installations, five thematic areas and a very rich program of meetings, talks, workshops, performances, in the company of nationally and internationally renowned scientists, popularizers and creators.

This year’s Festival of Knowledge once again comes to life at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia, the largest technical-scientific museum in Italy, a bridge between the past and future of scientific culture for 70 years. In this edition, the audience will be able to range between artificial intelligence, interactive digital art installations and Virtual Reality.

Among the protagonists of Focus Live 2023 will be, among others: navigator Giovanni Soldini, who will speak in the form of a hologram, Ilaria Capua, who will bring her show on circular health together with actress Antonella Attili, immunologist Alberto Mantovani, the physicist Alessandro Vespignani, the botanist Stefano Mancuso who will try his hand at a performance straddling science and music with an ensemble of the Milan Symphony Orchestra, the president of the CNR Maria Chiara Carrozza, the philosopher Luciano Floridi who is one of the foremost experts on artificial intelligence, disclosers such as Barbara Gallavotti, Silvia Moroni (sustainable talk), Massimo Temporelli, TikTok star professor Vincenzo Schettini, explorer, mental coach and environmental popularizer Alex Bellini and TV host and author Carlo Conti, who will receive the Telegatto from the director of Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni, Aldo Vitali.

Also on stage will be astronauts including Roberto Vittori, sportsmen such as Mike Maric, former world freediving champion, and former AC Milan and national team coach Arrigo Sacchi, who will talk about technology and artificial intelligence in soccer.

Closing the packed three-day schedule will be evolutionary scientist and popularizer Telmo Pievani and actor Marco Paolini, in a science show dedicated to Charles Darwin, one of the most visionary scientists in history.

What’s new
There are many new features in this edition, starting from new formats on stage: from Ted’s with VR experiences to quizzes with the audience-for example Stefano Bartezzaghi will engage the audience in a space-themed crossword puzzle -to special events, to exclusive theatrical or musical performances. The exhibition area will enclose five major thematic islands, Technology, Sustainability, Science, Space, Health curated by scientific or publishing partners that will alternate with sponsor activities: visitors will be able to attend interactive workshops, as well as interface with robots and bots powered by Artificial Intelligence, experience the thrill of simulators for time and space travel, and experience science-themed escape rooms and games. The works of Cracking Art will animate the Museum’s outdoor spaces, marking the 30th anniversary of the art movement that has always linked its creations to the themes of the relationship between nature and artifice, sustainability and the environment. More than 200 square meters will, finally, be dedicated to the Kids area,with experiments, workshops, meetings and games by Focus Junior to bring the youngest children closer to S.T.E.A.M. subjects.

Reservations to events can be made starting from today, Tuesday, October 17, at www.focuslive.it. Two shifts: morning (10 am to 2 pm) and afternoon (2 pm to 8 pm). Those who wish to stay all day can of course book tickets for both half days.

Looking forward to Focus Live 2023
There will be many initiatives leading up to Focus Live 2023. After the meeting on dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History in Milan, the concert lecture on Mahler organized by the Milan Symphony Orchestra and the real time travel in Virtual Reality by You Are Verdi, which allowed the many people present to experience the Milanese city, between the premiere of Nabucco at La Scala, the turmoil of the Five Days and the spirit of the Risorgimento of those years,on October 21 at the Civic Aquarium of Milan double date, at 18:30 and at 20:00, with La musica del mare: an unmissable opportunity to listen to the voices and songs of fish, corals and cetaceans, with marine biologist Sabina Airoldi, head of research at Tethys Institute in the Pelagos sanctuary. And not to feel too nostalgic about Focus Live 2023,on December 2, at the Ulrico Hoepli Planetarium in Milan, at 21:00, Adriano Fontana, an Inaf astrophysicist, and one of the scientists who routinely use the Webb telescope, will explain to the public how it works and present us with the latest findings.

This edition of Focus Live is realized thanks to the support and collaboration with Acquario Civico di Milano, Aeronautica Militare, Biokip Labs, CNR, Enea, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Giotto (Fila), IIT, Il Piccolo Teatro, Infn, Joint Research Centre, Navy, Milan Civic Museum of Natural History, Milan Symphony Orchestra, Shake srl, Milan Civic Planetarium, Politecnico di Milano, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, University of Padua and Way Experience.

Focus Live is a Mondadori Media event organised in partnership with the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Mediamond and numerous others:

MAIN PARTNERS: Koelliker Group
PARTNERS: Carglass, Honor, Humanitas University,
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS: European Commission
CONTENT PARTNER: AIRC, Mondadori Education, Opera San Francesco, Rilegno, TUV SUD
ART GUEST: Cracking Art
TECHNICAL PARTNER: Lete
OFFICIAL RADIO: R101
KIDS AREA powered by Focus Junior

For the 2023/2024 school year, numerous initiatives aimed at teachers, students and families have been organised. All conceived by Focus, Focus Scuola, Focus Junior and Focus Wild, the brand leaders in publishing in Italy for the Mondadori Group, which, once again this year, are confirmed as promoters of innovative educational proposals for the school world.

With the start of the school year, the Focus Scuola website will, as always, be available to teachers with news, insights and useful tips to make their lessons more engaging and inclusive.

The Focus Scuola Newsletter, curated by the editorial staff of Focus Junior in collaboration with a team of specialised, professional journalists, is back. The Newsletter, which has more than 20,000 Italian teachers already subscribed to it, is aimed at primary and secondary school teachers. The main goal is to provide ideas and playful and innovative proposals to get the students more involved during lessons. Each week Focus Scuola Newsletter offers topical insights for lectures and group work, ideas for science labs, STEAM worksheets to make science a more exciting subject, in-depth features explained in a simple way to explain complicated topics, and features on innovative teaching methods and classroom management thanks to advice from top experts. In addition to being able to preview all Focus initiatives for the school world, teachers will also have the opportunity to share class projects with the entire registered teacher community.

Here is the link to subscribe to the Newsletter.

Starting in October, the Academies by Focus Junior, Focus and Focus Storia which, every year, involve hundreds of classes and thousands of students, will resume.
Focus Junior’s Journalism Academy, aimed at young people in primary and secondary schools and in which more than 500 classes and over 10,000 students took part last year, includes a three lessons course dedicated to media and environmental education. The first two events explain how to create a magazine, how to write an article, and how to recognise fake news in a simple and fun way, while the third deals with climate change and ecological transition. The goal of the Focus Junior Academy is to encourage critical thinking and inform the youngsters on two topics that are crucial today in order to become informed citizens. The Academy is organised in collaboration with the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Pseudosciences (Cicap) and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (Cmcc).

“Thanks to the Academies’ initiative the editorial staff of Focus Junior help schools and teachers throughout Italy to explain complex issues through engaging storytelling that captures the attention of the youngest learners,” said Sarah Pozzoli, Director of Focus Junior. “We journalists have the same goal as teachers: to raise future citizens who can think critically and adopt a more sustainable lifestyle”, she concluded.

The Academies of Focus and Focus Storia, aimed at students in secondary schools and in which more than 100 classes and over 2,500 students participated last year, involve a course of four events during which young people step into the shoes of actual editors for each issue, actively participate in source and image research, attend editorial meetings, and are involved in analysing the commissioned work and publishing content on the various social channels, where their proposals and ideas will be added and promoted.

Raffaele Leone, Director of Focus, thus reiterates the importance of establishing synergistic collaboration with schools: “The school world is doubly important to us: on the one hand because we feel that teachers and their educational mission are close to our hearts, and on the other hand because discovering a dialogue with the new generation, who increasingly keep themselves informed through additional tools and channels besides print media, is a strong motivation for us. We’re dealing with a positive two-way exchange: showing how to make a science magazine gets young people involved in the topics covered, in reading, in researching sources. Seeing how they draw on tools other than print prompts us to create formats and languages that are more suited to them. We can say that Focus is one of the most innovative tools on the market in terms of dissemination and multimedia, with its magazines, website, social media platforms, podcasts, Academies and live events that make the annual Focus Live a success,” concluded the Director.

Completing the Focus offer for schools for the 2023/2024 school year is a great new feature: the Focus School Camp, innovative educational projects aimed at all Italian schools on all levels, representing a revolutionary way of thinking about and experiencing educational trips. A comprehensive new proposal that starts with classroom training, moves through practice during camp, and ends with the development of a final digital project that will be presented in class and posted on the Focus School Camp digital bulletin board. The themes of the School Camp by Focus Junior, Focus Wild, Focus and Focus Storia are varied, and designed specifically to meet any educational needs of different school classes and age groups of students.

After the great success of two editions of the Focus Junior Summer Camp, the Focus School Camp is again collaborating with Sunnylife, the market-leading tour operator in the school trip and summer camp sector.

Finally, teachers will also be able to subscribe to the Focus brand magazines this year using their Carta del Docente and, from mid-October, the Bonus Scuola returns, allowing educational institutions to apply for a subsidy for subscriptions and magazines purchased during the school year by making a specific request to: sgc@mondadori.it.

Focus, Focus Storia, Focus Junior and Focus Wild launch the first School Camps edition, a new project conceived in partnership with Sunny Life, a company specialised in tourism and cultural travels for children between 6 to 18 years of age and affirmed tour operator of the Focus Junior Summer Camps.

The School Camps provide innovative and complete educational offers focused on students and teachers, starting from in-class training to on-field experience at the camp and ending with the drafting of final summary in digital format.

The Focus system brands pursue their licensing development through this initiative, by further extending their educational offer to educational trips: real training, interdisciplinary and customised courses – using the tested STEAM approach – to spread knowledge on scientific and mathematical subjects with the help of other disciplines such as art, history and architecture.

Such activity, designed for primary and secondary school students, aims to stimulate and involve the youngest by exploiting knowledge and developing skills. Such project asserts the attention of the Focus, Focus Storia, Focus Junior and Focus Wild brands towards both the education of the youngest and highly topical issues, such as sustainability and inclusion.

In addition to being real learning workshops, the 2023/2024 School Camps allow children to live truly unforgettable experiences under the guidance of professionals.

• Focus, a leading brand of scientific information, provides a package of ideas specifically designed for secondary schools and studied around the most current educational topics, with particular interest and insight into the technical, scientific and technological fields.
• Focus Storia, a magazine dedicated to the most striking historical and cultural facts and great protagonists of the past and present, offers a special catalogue conceived for secondary schools and designed to revive those places in which traces of our history are still evident.
• Focus Junior, a point of reference in the kids’ segment, suggests experiences developed to introduce topics such as innovation, sustainability and inclusion to primary and secondary school students – through a multidisciplinary and transversal approach – always according to the needs and age of such young learners.
• Focus Wild, an intergenerational brand dedicated to the world of animals and nature, provides primary and secondary schools with a vast repertoire of experiences conceived to specifically attract the students’ attention towards the most current and urgent environmental issues, always in an engaging, fun and exciting way.

Verona, Milan, Genoa, Rome, Pompeii and Matera are just some of the destinations planned for the School Camps of Focus, Focus Storia, Focus Junior and Focus Wild. All destinations were selected by the Mondadori Group brand among the vast range of cruises and school trips suggested in Sunny Life’s catalogue.

The complete and updated catalogue will be available on the following link: http://focuscamp.it/.

Focus, the Mondadori Group brand that’s the leader in popular science, is on the newsstands this month with a special issue dedicated to the latest advances in cancer research.

An updated guide full of insights to let readers discover the latest innovations and therapies, including experimental and anti-cancer: from the analysis of DNA alterations to vaccines, from proton therapy to targeted treatments that are more customised and effective, as well as the tools and perspectives that Artificial Intelligence can offer in this field.

A report – created with the collaboration of specialists from the most important Italian universities and centres of excellence at the forefront of cancer research worldwide – which underlines the role of Focus as a leading magazine for an audience of readers and users who are passionate about the great scientific and technological issues, including in the field of medical information.
Thanks to a clear and direct style and a careful and dynamic look at everything that is innovation, the brand reaches an audience of 5.5 million readers and users and 3.6 million followers on social networks every month.

“What emerges today with increasing evidence from oncological research,” says Raffaele Leone, Director of Focus, “is the variety of treatments and therapeutic approaches”. Cancer is a disease that has always been with us, a ‘malignant natural error’ that is nevertheless facilitated by harmful habits (smoking being the most typical) and pollution in the surrounding environment. It is a cellular mutation that often has the ability to camouflage itself so as not to be intercepted and neutralised. Today we are able to invent increasingly customised and targeted cures against the various types of mutation, to unmask them and attack them”, concludes Leone.

In the new issue of Focus we will talk about projects with an international scope, such as Palm (Pediatric Acute Leukemia of Myeloid origin), but also Italian projects such as the Molecular Tumor Board, a national network to standardise procedures and create a network of consultancies throughout the country.

Through numerous fact sheets – which have also been created thanks to the contribution of scientists and experts – the most widely read monthly magazine in Italy sheds light on the importance of prevention through vaccines against Hepatitis B and HPV, and the possibility for smokers to get free lung scans with the aim of raising awareness and giving hope.

The creation of such a rich and in-depth report has been possible thanks to constant contact with research institutes, universities, hospitals and foundations, which Focus has always collaborated with to keep its readers informed and updated.

This issue made use of the valuable collaboration of:
IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas [Humanitas Clinical Institute Research Hospital]
San Raffaele Hospital
National Cancer Institute
European Institute of Oncology
Umberto Veronesi Foundation
Airc Foundation
abmedica
RevoLuTion_Innovation in Cancer Care 

And it involved:
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University
Italian Association of Medical Oncology
Centro di riferimento oncologico (CRO) di°Aviano [Aviano Oncology Referral Centre]
Centro di Senologia del Policlinico San Martino di Genova [Centre for Senology of Hospital Policlinico San Martino of Genoa]
Oncohematology Clinic of Padua
MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital
Italian Pulmonary Screening Network
Italian Society of Oncological Urology
University of Milan
University of Palermo
University of Turin
University of Melanoma, Oncological Immunotherapy and Innovative Therapies IRCCS INT-Pascale Foundation of Naples

Focus, the Mondadori Group brand leader in spreading scientific knowledge, has completed its first 30 years and is looking to the future with Focus Next 30: a multi-touchpoint special project which will accompany readers and users throughout 2022, exploring key themes in science, technology and the environment and examining the innovations that will fuel development in these areas over the next 30 years, with contributions from distinguished international figures.

The initiative leverages the strength and the successful formula that have always characterised the brand.

Focus has been a household publication since 1992, satisfying people’s curiosity and desire for knowledge with an unmistakeable clear and direct style which, combined with contributions from scientists and specialists, has made the brand a go-to magazine for a community of 5.2 million readers and users (source: Nielsen Media Impact Data Fusion, May 2021).

In its 30 years, Focus has been a reliable source of information on science, technology, the environment, medicine, nutrition, lifestyles and sustainability, in print, on the web, on social media, through local events such as Focus Live, through Academy for schools, TV and podcasts: a complete multimedia information platform, making new discoveries accessible and exciting for an ever growing public, helping readers and users distinguish fake news, learn about history and make their way in the various branches of knowledge.

The great questions of yesterday, today and tomorrow will be at the heart of the Focus Next 30 special project: a year of events and discussions on all the brand channels to get ready for the changes coming in the next 30 years. The journey begins with the innovations recounted by Focus since it was first published and will move ahead – with the faces of tomorrow, chosen from the top names in the scientific community – to look at how our world will change.

“We want to give this 30th anniversary the meaning that any birthday can have: to change, grow and become even more what we already are. Out of interest, I leafed through the issues from the first year of Focus, 1992. Two things struck me straightaway: the same sense of eager curiosity we still have today and the incredible strides that have been made in science, technology and medicine in just thirty years. So, with each issue, you’ll find the format that came to mind. It will be a fascinating journey through the past, present and future, highlighting the extraordinary capabilities of scientific research, the speed of improvement, our aptitude for progress through intelligence and the human soul,” said Raffaele Leone, editor-in-chief of Focus.

Renewable energy, sustainability, medicine of the future, home automation, mobility, food, cybersecurity and much else: for each topic, every month Focus will turn to an international specialist, young talents from the worlds of science and information, who will share their vision with the brand community, offering a new perspective on the future.

In the latest issue of Italy’s most widely read monthly magazine, on the news-stands from 22 January, the cover story will look at digital medicine, intelligent apps that follow patients and the growing use of technology to link physicians and patients remotely. The magazine will also examine the volcanic eruptions forecast in the first issue from 1992, to discuss the future of this discipline.

Another important feature in the new issue will be fourth-generation nuclear energy, particularly of interest given the possibility that the European Union will include it as a sustainable source of energy. The nuclear question will be linked to a survey to investigate the opinions of Focus readers and users. The questionnaire will be available on the brand website and social profiles, which will also publish its findings.

The Focus Next 30 project will continue throughout 2022 on all the channels of the Focus system with a circular dynamic offer: in the magazine readers will find a theme-based dossier starting with an article published in 1992, the first year of Focus, to investigate the changes and developments that have taken place since them and the forecasts and expectations for the coming years.

On Focus.it, users will be able to look in detail at the themes covered by Focus Next 30 in a special section providing in-depth features and exclusive video-interviews on the theme for the month.
On social media, Focus Next 30 will offer a range of content designed to engage the brand’s 4 million fans (source: Shareablee e Insight, December 2021), with live content, posts, surveys, quizzes, as well as podcasts – where Focus currently has more than 2 million downloads – with the Focus Storia special documentary series “Focus Next 30, dal passato al futuro”.

The Focus Next 30 initiatives will culminate with the new edition of the Focus Live event, an important festival of knowledge hosting researchers, scientists, explorers, artists and communicators, with a packed schedule of meetings and activities. Starting in the spring, this year’s Focus Live, to be held in November, will be flanked by a series of live and digital events, including talks, meetings and round tables on the subjects covered by Focus Next 30.

Surrender to the suggestive biodiversity of the sea and the secrets of its extraordinary ecosystem through the language of illusion. Until 31 January 2022, the University of Milano-Bicocca is hosting “IllusiOcean™”, an exhibition conceived and coordinated by Paolo Galli, professor of ecology at the university, and created in collaboration with Mondadori Media and the National Museum of Cinema in Turin.

The aims of the exhibition dedicated to the sea include raising awareness – among civil society, schools of all levels, the academic world and the scientific community – of the importance of achieving the sustainable development objectives for oceanic sciences set by the United Nations for the decade (2021-2030) of oceanic sciences, in particular Goal 14: to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

The exhibition is an interactive experience divided into three thematic areas.

The first area consists of four rooms and two corners, each examining an aspect of the sea: from the biodiversity of tropical marine ecosystems to the problem of plastic pollution.

The exhibition path begins with a corner dedicated to “Virtual Reality” where, thanks to 3D viewers, visitors can explore the wonders of the world’s coral reefs and discover the process of coral restoration. It is also possible to simulate the sensory experience of an underwater geyser and enjoy an special natural spectacle.

In the “Sottomarino delle illusioni” (Submarine of Illusions) visitors can dive into the depths of the Maldives, an archipelago that hosts some of the world’s largest coral reefs: an area of over 4500 km² of extraordinary biodiversity and nearly 300 different species of coral. In this room, visitors will have the opportunity to get to know the marine organisms that shelter here. But to do this, they will have to sharpen their senses: walking from one side of the space to the other, where they will see the figures shrink or enlarge and algae and fish that transform into strange shapes.

The “Stanza degli specchi” (Room of Mirrors) places us among schools of jellyfish, fascinating marine animals that are found in seas around the world, where they float, driven by currents. And among the luminous umbrellas of these creatures, we can also see traces of the all-too-human threat called pollution.

This room was designed with the support of master glassmaker Fabio Fornasier from Murano, who created glass jellyfish using the traditional manual method and reproduced – also in glass – some of the many plastic objects that infest our seas.

The room “Mare sotto i Riflettori, il cinema racconta gli oceani” (The Sea in the Spotlight, the cinema and the oceans) is the result of collaboration with the National Museum of Cinema in Turin. This section offers a new interactive experience with all the magic of underwater filming, with clips, objects and unique curiosities. “The relationship between man and then sea has always been one of the recurring themes in the history of cinema,” said Domenico De Gaetano, director of the National Museum of Cinema, “our fascination with the underwater world lends itself well to illusions and special effects and we are delighted with this prestigious collaboration, which allows us to show another fascinating side of the Seventh Art.”

The sea is a treasure chest containing many different species of animals and plants: some are easy to spot, others hide and blend in. To recognise them, you need an expert eye, patience and a lot of attention. In the “Labirinto dei segreti marini” (Labyrinth of marine secrets) children from three to five years old can have a lot of fun looking for them and getting lost among the walls of this special room

The second corner, “Messaggio in Bottiglia” (Message in a Bottle), takes us back in time, to when letters were placed in glass bottles and thrown into the sea letting the currents carry them ashore. Fortunately, today we no longer need to throw a message into the ocean to communicate with the world: but through the “ocean that is the web”, visitors can launch their own message of hope to be launched on social networks using a virtual glass bottle.

The second area of the exhibition features 30 giant photographs, taken by some of the greatest experts in underwater photography – including Massimo Boyer – and depicting the evocative illusions created by nature that make our oceans so spectacular: the mimicry of some species of fish, for example, or the phenomenon that generates the effect of underwater waterfalls in Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.

The third block is dedicated to the work done by high -chool students from the Vittorio Veneto and Luigi Cremona scientific high schools in Milan and the Emilio Sereni Agricultural Technical Institute in Rome. In recent months, around 500 students participated in the “Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l’Orientamento” (Paths towards Crossover Skills and Orientation) by designing and creating parts of the exhibition: reconstructions of models of the seabed, scientific games, illustrative posters, drawings and audio guides for visitors.

“With IllusiOcean the Milano-Bicocca University takes another important step towards restarting after the pandemic, inviting schools, families and citizens to discover an exhibition dedicated to the sea. We are delighted to inaugurate this exhibition which, thanks to the language of illusions, is not only great fun, but also encourages us to reflect on one of the priorities set by the UN 2030 Agenda: the protection of the health of the sea. It’s a challenge in which our researchers are engaged every day in the study of sustainable development solutions for the protection of the marine ecosystem,” said Deputy Rector, Marco Orlandi.

The exhibition is free and open to the public every Friday from 11am to 6pm and on Saturdays, twice a month, at the same times, at the Galleria della scienza (Buildings U1/U2, 1^st floor, Piazza della Scienza, Milan).

Entrance is by reservation only and you can book on the  illusiocean.it website and present your green pass (vaccination passport) at the door.

In addition, every Tuesday and Thursday morning, from 8am to 10am or from 11am to 1pm, by writing to illusiocean@unimib.it, you can book guided tours for schools.

Thanks to collaboration with Mondadori Media, from the end of October the “IllusiOcean™” exhibition will also be available online, exclusively on the website of Focus, Italy’s most widely read monthly, a reference point for fans and enthusiasts of technology, science, nature, medicine and innovation. By accessing the dedicated section of Focus.it., users can navigate in immersive mode inside the rooms of illusions and discover, in a virtual journey, many curiosities about the sea and its inhabitants.

“The Milano-Bicocca University exhibition organised by Professor Paolo Galli on the optical illusions and the sea is original, stimulating and fun. Three adjectives that have always been part of the DNA of Focus and it was therefore natural for us to offer our partnership to IllusiOcean.  A partnership that, in addition to narrating and describing the exhibition, allows people to visit the exhibition also virtually on Focus.it,” said the editor of Focus, Raffaele Leone. “It is original because it is the result of an original and creative idea; stimulating because it wants to encourage us to reflect on the wonders of the sea and the need to preserve them; fun because it communicates playfully with the special effects of optical illusions. How could Focus not be there?”

And the experience with “IllusiOcean™” is not limited to the exhibition. Throughout the exhibition period, a rich programme of initiatives promoted by Focus and Focus Junior, the magazine that is a point of reference for kids, has been planned to raise the awareness of readers, teachers and students about the marine world and explore the issues raised by the initiative. Starting from the issue of Focus on newsstands this month, which is entirely dedicated to the importance of water: from the cycle of the sea, the planet’s real liquid engine, to the life of the cetaceans that populate the waters of our peninsula, to the story of the coral clinic in the Maldives, with lots of other special unmissable content.

Every week, on focusjunior.it and the magazine’s social media channels, young people can also find insights and curiosities on the issues raised by the exhibition, but not only. In fact, they can also share photos, articles, ideas and suggestions for looking after the seas and oceans with the editorial team, using the email address focusjunior@focusjunior.it: and the most original content will be published both online and in the magazine. “Children, and young people in general, are worried about climate change and the future of the planet: so, as always, Focus Junior gives voice to their thoughts and ideas,” said Sarah Pozzoli, the editor of Focus Junior.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Società italiana di Ecologia (Italian Society of Ecology) – (S.It.E), the Lombardy Region and the City of Milan.

INTERNI, the Mondadori Group’s interiors and contemporary design magazine, starts the year with an international issue dedicated to Phygital Design that combines physical and digital experiences. And there is a range of initiatives planned for the year: two events in Milan in April and September, and a media partnership with the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

INTERNI Phygital Design and the Index Design Guide

Completely in English, with translations of the text in Italian at the back of the magazine, this issue of the magazine develops the theme of communication in the chain of creativity.

“Communicate. Never before has this word taken on such a rich variety of a meaning,” declared Gilda Bojardi, editor of INTERNI. “The pandemic and physical distancing has obliged us to reinvent how we share ideas and plans and forced us to experiment with the possibilities offered by digital media in support of the physical. But we have also realised how important direct contact is in transmitting the immense combination of values from which the products of Italian design take shape. We therefore find ourselves at an important turning point in which we have to rethink the very essence of the act of communication, or rather the content of such communication, which, when we’re talking about design, must move, but also tell a story about identity, culture and values.”

To produce this new issue, INTERNI asked companies how the digital-real mix has changed the way in which they present themselves. We also carried out a survey among communication professionals to ask them about how they see the transformation that is underway. The picture that emerges is both dense and stimulating: year zero of the ‘phygital’ era it will lead to experimentation, to a breaking free of the consolidated approach to design communication, and the creation of new ways of talking about historical Italian know-how

As a supplement the new issue of INTERNI, Design Index Guide is a unique directory with over 8000 Italian design addresses: the producers and the products, where and what to buy, the designers, the photographers, the publicists, the publishers, the trainers, the organisers, the exhibitors.

Also available in a digital version and online on all mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and on desktops at: https://www.internimagazine.it/designindex/

Events and special initiaitives

INTERNI, is a point of reference in design which, thanks to its creative strengths, has developed a system of parallel publications that have transformed it from a monthly magazine to a brand capable of creating events and initiatives, also abroad. In fact, during the year many initiatives aimed at reigniting the creative spirit of Milan and beyond.

Following the great success of the 1st edition of INTERNI Designer’s Week 2020 – which recorded a reach of 18 million users on the brand’s digital and social media channels and physical visits by over 60,000 people from Italy and abroad – from 12 to 23 April the magazine will launch the 2nd edition in Milan of this urban event dedicated to industrial and furniture design, with a focus on aspects of sustainability, the circular economy and mobility. With print and digital guide, on and off-line visibility will be given to the presentations of new product collections by the most important Italian and foreign companies will present at their respective flagship stores, showrooms and special locations.

From 4 al 19 September, for the FuoriSalone 2021, INTERNI will has planned an event-exhibition called Creative Connections. Staged in the courtyards of the University of Milan and inside the amazing Orto Botanico of Brera, the exhibition aims to establish a link between creativity, ideas and people from different cultures and countries.

And finally, to enhance with cultural and publishing activities and events, the project for the participation of Italy at the upcoming Universal Exposition, INTERNI will be the media partner of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. A collaboration that will include events and publishing initiatives during the six-month long exhibition and the period leading up to Expo 2020 Dubai, which will begin on 1 October 2021.

INTERNI January-February will be on newsstands from Wednesday 20 January 2021.

For more information, please go to: www.internimagazine.it