Thanks to an editorial initiative against food waste, our editor Anna Spinelli has won the 2022 Nudge Global Impact Award. During the gala evening at the Peace Palace in The Hague, in the Netherlands, an international jury listened to the presentations of the six finalist projects at the latest Nudge Global Impact Challenge and decided to give the award to Anna’s work.

The theme of the 2021/2022 edition was Balancing our planet: a clear appeal to the need to respond to the negative events affecting our planet, in primis climate change and the pandemic.

From this starting point, Anna Spinelli developed a manual to educate children aged 6 to 10 about waste in the kitchen, in collaboration with Too Good To Go, the leading app in the fight against food waste.
Besides describing how much food is thrown away around the world and the serious environmental and social effects this has, the book offers much useful advice on ways to achieve a significant reduction in kitchen waste. Recipes include a contribution from Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco.

The project has already been put into practice: “Il manuale antispreco di Too Good To Go”, published by Il Battello a Vapore, has been available in bookstores and online since 31 May.

Anna’s high-quality publishing initiative is also a perfect match with one of the pillars of our sustainability plan which, with regard to the environment, aims to help promote a culture that protects the planet and its eco-systems.

The Nudge Global Impact Challenge is an international personal development program for young professionals, whose purpose is to support the growth of future leaders in environmental, social and economic sustainability who will have a positive impact on the world. The initiative is organised by Nudge, a Dutch organisation that brings young talents, companies and no-profit bodies together to promote sustainability across the board.

Through the Challenge, which began in 2010, every year approximately 90 young professionals from all over the world are given the chance to meet, follow training programs and discuss leadership and sustainable development, and then go on to create and implement their own impact plan. The best plans are recognised with the Nudge Global Impact Awards and receive funding to support their implementation.

The Mondadori Group has been a member of the network of Nudge partner companies for five years. Every year, it selects its own potential sustainability leaders for the Nudge Global Impact Challenge. The initiative is one of a range of activities to foster the development of young talents, as well as Diversity & Inclusion and sustainability. Anna Spinelli is the second nudger from the Mondadori Group to win the Nudge Global Impact Award after Marta Mazza, editor of Mondadori children’s books, who won four years ago with her book “Guerrieri di sogni”.

This year’s winners besides Anna were Sanne Kruid, Peter Akkerman, Sofia Kavlin and Timothy Wabukoti.

The Mondadori Group has released its first Sustainability Plan – part of the 2021 Consolidated Non-Financial Statement – approved by the Board of Directors and endorsed by the Control, Risk and Sustainability Committee.

The document – a summary of which is available in the Sustainability section at www.mondadorigroup.com– identifies strategic areas, qualitative and quantitative targets, and actions in the short and medium term for the ongoing improvement of performance in the social, governance and environmental areas, consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.

In its first edition, the Plan focuses on three main areas of action:

1) enhancing people, content and places for education and culture;

2) promoting sustainable business success;

3) dissemination of an environmental culture and mitigation of impacts on ecosystems.

There are eight relevant guidelines that reflect the Group’s identity and mission.

“The path that has led us to defining our first Sustainability Plan originates in the awareness that our role as a publisher calls for an innate and growing attention and ability to pay heed to the different realities we engage with“, said Antonio Porro, CEO of the Mondadori Group. “The evolution of society and the changes brought by the economic and technological scenario have, in fact, transformed our context of operation and the demands of our main stakeholders, whose needs and prospects are crucial for the very innovation of the company and its sustainable success. We have therefore taken the decision to effectively pursue specific goals in our priority areas, embarking on a journey that will also bring us gradually closer to market expectations on ESG topics. These include the dissemination of an inclusive culture, with actions for the enhancement and growth of our people”, concluded Porro.

APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY

The Mondadori Group’s first Sustainability Plan is the result of an approach developed over more than ten years of reporting in the field of sustainability, which now unfolds further, building on a project that has a far-reaching and organic vision and intends to add its contribution to achieving eight of the 17 SDGs launched globally by the United Nations.
The document was defined in accordance with the materiality analysis conducted and aimed at identifying the elements of strategic interest to the Group’s activities.
Focus points deriving from relevant key frameworks were highlighted and benchmark analyses were performed, as well as specific assessments of the value chain.
With a view to stakeholder inclusiveness, the development of the Plan was also marked by multiple stakeholder listening moments, including through surveys that actively involved Management, employees, and other relevant stakeholders, such as teachers, readers, bookstore customers and financial analysts.

TARGETS OF THE PLAN

Targets were identified within the Sustainability Plan for generating shared value over the short to medium term in the social, governance and environmental areas.
The pursuit of many of these targets represents a preliminary step in defining additional areas of action which will be outlined, with a view to ongoing improvement, in greater detail in future updates of the Sustainability Plan.

On the Social front in 2022, these include:

• development and endorsement of a well-structured framework of KPIs for monitoring all D&I-related actions, with specific regard to the gender pay gap and gender balance;
• redefinition of all Group policies in the area of selection and career development in order to increasingly attract all kinds of talent and promote resources based on a wider range of uniqueness models;
• launch of the “Parenthood” project to promote more inclusive models for access to motherhood and fatherhood, removing existing biases and facilitating the return to work by enhancing acquired skills;
• development of the Hybrid working project for the shared definition of a new mixed working model – through the creation of synergies and redefinition of new values – and extension of training in the area of digitization and new forms of work to all the people in the Group;
• a growing number of initiatives and services to promote reading.

On the Governance front in 2022:

• definition and measurement of ESG indicators with the introduction, among the targets of the 2022-2024 Performance Share Plan addressed to top management, of the Impact Inclusion Index, a composite indicator that measures, at the end of the three-year period, the dissemination within the Group of the culture of inclusion, the increase in the number of women in top positions, and the gradual reduction in the pay gap for same roles held;
• development and implementation of a refresher plan for Board Members and Management in the area of sustainability;
• strengthening of the set of procedures and coverage of the areas of Privacy, Information Management and Cyber Security;
• increase in stakeholder engagement activities through the gradual expansion of engagement initiatives and validation of a specific policy on the topic, also in line with the recommendations of the new Corporate Governance Code;
• validation of an anti-corruption Policy.

On the Environmental front in 2022:

• extension to 100% of the School proposition of insights and fact sheets dedicated to environmental culture and promotion of such content in the Trade proposition;
• fulfilment for the publications of the Group’s ≈100% purchase of paper certified to international PEFC/FSC standards aimed at safeguarding and ensuring the proper management of forest ecosystems;
• pursuit of energy efficiency actions, also as part of property/building/store renovation initiatives, and further activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Which sustainability issues do teachers consider of greatest relevance to respond to the expectations of the world of school?

The Mondadori Group, Italy’s leading publisher of school textbooks with the Mondadori Education, Rizzoli Education and D Scuola publishing houses, put the question in an online questionnaire to approximately 5,000 teachers in primary schools (27%), junior high schools (28%) and senior high schools (45%) all over Italy.

The survey – which collected the opinions of educators – is part of the listening and stakeholder engagement activities promoted by the Group for its consolidated Non-Financial Disclosure.

The contributions from the teachers were taken into consideration during the drafting of the Group’s first Sustainability Plan: a project that identifies the areas and guidelines on which the Segrate-based Group will work in the future, with short- and medium-term objectives, to improve its social, governance and environmental performance. The Plan reflects the Group identity, mission and role as a publisher in society.

“Teachers are fundamental interlocutors for the Mondadori Group, which has always supported the spread of equitable and inclusive quality education, offering opportunities for reading and growth, entertainment and learning,” said Gian Luca Pulvirenti, CEO Mondadori Libri area Education. “Through our publishing houses, we support teachers, from primary schools to universities, with innovative, accessible content and teaching aids designed to contribute to the growth of the new generations; this is why we think that listening to the needs and expectations of the protagonists of our schools is a valuable opportunity for us to enhance and pursue the strategic and sustainable development of our activities,” added Pulvirenti.

The results of the survey

• 2% of the teachers who responded to the questionnaire said that “diversity, equity and inclusion” was a priority issue in meeting the expectations of the world of school;
• in second place was “promotion of reading and socio-cultural growth” (54.3%) through local action and educational initiatives in bookstores and schools;
• of the 15 issues suggested, third place was taken by “management of environmental impacts” (51.9%).

The survey also highlighted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) teachers consider of greatest importance, to be valorised in schools today:

• for more than 40% of the interviewees, guaranteeing inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG 4) is the priority goal;
• this is followed by action to combat climate change (SDG 13), for almost one teacher in three.

Many responses underlined the areas of schooling to which greatest attention should be paid in the future:

• more than one teacher in two (51.1%) indicated the need to adopt innovative teaching practices, in the interests of inclusivity;
• 7% of the respondents said it was important to have a specific education offer on sustainability issues and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development;
• 8% focused attention on initiatives to engage young people in civil society and the introduction of civic education;
• other areas of great interest are action to combat early school-leaving and promotion of initiatives to foster gender equality.

The initiatives of our publishing houses
These questions are examined on a daily basis not only through the content of school textbooks, but also through initiatives organised by the Mondadori Group for teachers and students, such as the launch of the Manifesto for gender equality and plurality by Rizzoli Education, the “#Leparolechesiamo, la scuola che vogliamo” project of Mondadori Education and the “La scuola è” Festival of D Scuola, for teacher training and the whole school community.
The Group also offers innovative tools, including: HUB Scuola, the integrated digital teaching platform of Mondadori Education and Rizzoli Education, with inclusive content for management of all educational needs; the many resources and activities of the Deascuola platform, including the brand new Deaflix inclusive learning service for all the basic topics of the main school subjects; on-going development of innovative user assistance services.

The Wom presents “Storie dall’Afghanistan” (Stories from Afghanistan), written by Afghan women who have found refuge in Italy. The series was produced in cooperation with Cospe, a no-profit association that promote rights and social justice in 25 countries around the world.

The report is a collection of eye-witness accounts of the crisis in Afghanistan. Dramatic, moving stories that could be told by many other women who have fled to Italy from Afghanistan, survivors who have escaped Taliban persecution but are living far away from their families, their loved ones, their rights as women, the free life and better future that should have been theirs.

The first stories posted on The Wom are by Reha Nawin, who escaped from the Taliban and reached Italy in August last year. Born in Kabul 37 years ago, she studied sociology at the capital’s state university. Today she lives in Florence with her husband and two daughters. The story of her life is, in part, the story of all those women who on 26 August did not manage to get into the airport and remained in Afghanistan.

«We had to wait two nights outside the airport before we could get in,» says Reha. «The Taliban would not give us permission to enter. There were so many people who wanted to escape. You saw such desperation in people’s faces, fear of the Taliban and sadness at leaving the country in such dramatic circumstances. Our Italian friends managed to help us and saved our lives».

«Giving a voice to Reha Nawin and the other young Afghan women is one of the ways we have chosen to raise the awareness of our readers, but also of our employees, about the importance of respect for human rights, and women’s rights in particular, and the need to make a tangible commitment to ensuring that diversity and inclusion are truly a constant of our being part of the Mondadori Group,» observes Mondadori Group Chief Diversity Officer Francesca Rigolio. 

The editorial project “Storie dall’Afghanistan” supports Cospe’s “Emergenza Afghanistan” campaign.

Find out more: The life, escape and hopes of Reha Nawin, an activist who fled from the Taliban

This year, for the festive season, the Mondadori Group has decided to support an important Emergency project: the Anabah maternity centre in Afghanistan.

This is the only specialised centre in a huge area that offers completely free gynaecological, obstetric and neonatal care and a prenatal pregnancy monitoring service to enable pathologies to be treated promptly. The Anabah maternity centre’s work is not limited to prevention and medical assistance: it is also a training unit recognised by the Ministries of Health and Education for the Afghan personnel – more than 40 people, all women – who work side by side with the centre’s international staff, receiving practical training.

More than 351,500 examinations were performed in 2019 and 56,329 children have beenborn at the Anabah maternity centre, which has become a reference point for maternity and neonatal care not only in Panjshir, but in the surrounding provinces too. The unit can currently accommodate around 650 births a month and is named after Valeria Solesin, the Emergency volunteer killed during the Bataclan terrorist attack in Paris on 13 November 2015.

«It was the end of 2001 when we decided to open a maternity centre in the beautiful but very closed Panjshir valley, one of the few areas in the country that the Taliban had never managed to conquer. Even so, conditions for women were no less easier. Many people told us we were crazy if we thought that a unit “run by women for women” could have a future up here in the mountains. I have to say that we ourselves had some doubts, on more than one occasion, but our meeting with these strong and resolute women, the enormous need and the credibility that our work give us in the local communities made us even more determined to move ahead with our ambitious project.» Rossella Miccio, president di Emergency

Find out more at “A quiet revolution” and how to support the project on the Emergency website.

Wishing you happy holidays from everyone #NoiDellaMondadori.

Focus, the Mondadori Group brand, leader in popular science, is strengthening its commitment to safeguarding the planet with a special issue produced in collaboration with the WWF.

An extraordinary project that sees Italy’s most widely read popular science monthly, a point of reference for science, nature and technology enthusiasts, travelling with the organisation’s researchers to examine – through the authoritative lens of the editorial team – the projects that for 60 years the WWF has pursued in order to protect and endangered land and species.

The project, which brings together Focus and the WWF, will lead to a special report that aims to share with the whole of the brand’s community – of 5.2 million users and readers (source: Nielsen Media Impact Data Fusion, May 2021) – the message that, now more than ever, our defence of the environment cannot be postponed. An initiative that is the first stage of a journey that in 2022 will see Focus celebrate its first 30 years with a series of activities and special events.

“Since 1961, the WWF has been fighting for the protection of nature and ecosystems. And it does so because it understood, before others, that humankind’s wonderful journey has also endangered the planet’s delicate balance. So, we travelled around Italy and the world with the WWF to learn more about the nature reserves they defend, the work they do, the wild places, the plants and the animals that live there. We observed the amazing nature of the earth so that we could tell you about it. And, once again, we did it in awe and admiration, with an amazement that we never want to lose.” said Raffaele Leone, editor of Focus.

“Focus proved to be an extraordinary travelling companion that enabled us to talk about the work we did in our first sixty years, from the challenges we have overcome to those we still have to face, aware that our wellbeing also depends on the wellbeing of the nature that surrounds us. Today we know that in the next 10 years we will have to do much more than what has been done in the last 60 years if we are to face the climate crisis and reverse the trend in biodiversity loss. In the last 60 years we have seen the world undergo profound transformations and even the WWF has changed in that time, but one thing will never change: our absolute determination to create a future where people can live in harmony with nature,” said Donatella Bianchi, president of the WWF Italy.

This initiative is the result of a multi-year commitment that Focus has been engaged in to raise awareness and promote the sustainable development goals of the UN 2030 Agenda through initiatives that involve readers, students and teachers across all its channels, which make the brand an important multimedia platform of reference for such issues.

At the heart of this special edition of Focus are reports, first-hand accounts and encounters by journalists from the magazine’s editorial team, exceptional protagonists of the expeditions conducted together with WWF experts.
A journey through the pages of the magazine that will accompany readers around the world with exclusive stories and a selection of unpublished images of the territories explored and their inhabitants.

In Paraguay visiting environments where nature still reigns supreme: an expedition to the heart of South America, which begins in the Chaco area, a territory increasingly threatened by the expansion of livestock breeding and extensive agriculture and which continues from the Pantanal area to the Atlantic forest.

And then in central Africa with a visit to the protected Dzanga-Sangha area where gorillas – overwhelmed by poaching and further threatened by both pervasive and silent deforestation and diseases such as Ebola – are protected and admired by tourists thanks to an “habituation” project launched by the WWF in the 1990s.

The issue also features the story of the search for whales and dolphins in the waters of our own seas: a direct testimony of the experience lived on board the Blue Panda, the WWF ambassador ship, which last summer crossed the Mediterranean Sea spreading its message on the importance of safeguarding the marine ecosystem.

Further enhancing the project, there is also a programme of special content available on the Focus.it website and on the brand’s social channels – which reach more than 3 million followers – with many additional insights, interviews and exclusive images and videos on WWF projects to satisfy the curiosity and interest of users.

A multichannel and circular offer which, from the magazine is developed and enhanced on Focus’s digital channels, confirming the brand’s successful formula that combines the contribution of authoritative voices of international standing with an always fresh and rigorous look with an unmistakably clear and direct style that is able to reach an ever-wider audience.

Guarantee an inclusive education for everyone: this is the goal Oxfam is setting out to achieve together with Mondadori Store through the new Christmas project “Wrap up a book, gift a future”.

The initiative marks the start of a partnership that will continue over the coming years, with Mondadori Store and Oxfam joining up for the first time on activities intended to help the most vulnerable members of society.

A concrete commitment from Italy’s leading bookstore network to contribute to the education of children and adolescents living in difficult social environments. Oxfam has been engaged in programs to combat education poverty for more than 20 years in Italy and around the world.

This Christmas, Oxfam’s work to help the weaker members of society can be supported with the “Wrap up a book, gift a future” project: until 24 December it will be possible to have Christmas presents wrapped by one of the more than 100 Oxfam volunteers at the 73 Mondadori bookstores taking part in the initiative in the main Italian cities.

With a small donation, a contribution can be made to the Oxfam and Mondadori Store program to guarantee equality and equal opportunities for scholastic success for students in difficulties, so helping children and adolescents currently at risk of exclusion from education in Italy.

Donations to the project may also be made online, through the special Oxfam page on oxfam.it/mondadorif.

Since the pandemic began, Oxfam has intensified its work in favour of thousands of students and teachers, to fight scholastic dispersion and poor education by improving access to socio-educational services for families in financial difficulties. An inclusive intervention – implemented together with junior and senior high schools, local authorities, universities, foundations and organisations in the voluntary sector – which has generated training initiatives and support for teachers and parents; laboratories and remedial courses to help students who have fallen behind in the last very difficult academic year; educational and play activities in parks in Italian suburbs hardest hit by the social unease generated by the pandemic.

“The pandemic has affected everyone, but in different ways. Kids who were already experiencing difficulties have suffered the most, falling behind and lacking the means to react to the severe impact of the emergency. We’re thinking about children who don’t have the tools to follow online lessons, above all about a generation we don’t want to lose and need to put back on an equal footing as soon as possible,” said Roberto Barbieri, general manager of Oxfam Italia. “In Italy, even before the pandemic, 10 million people lacked the resources to resist the emergency. So we need to make every possible effort, starting with schools and students, to prevent kids from leaving school early, which is the first step towards definitive social exclusion. Thanks to the work of the Community Centres we have already reached thousands of people since the pandemic began, but there is still a great deal to do and we have to do it together. With Mondadori Store we shall be even more effective in helping kids not to give up on their future.”

“Every day through our bookstores across the country we work to promote and spread cultural values, which are the bedrock for the growth of the individual and community cohesion,” said Mondadori Retail CEO Carmine Perna. “With the launch of this important cooperation agreement with Oxfam, we shall be at the side of people who risk exclusion, bringing our commitment to support education: thanks to the work of the volunteers and the awareness of our customers, we can certainly make a difference in creating new prospects and a more inclusive future for children and adolescents.”

About Oxfam
Oxfam is a global movement of people who fight inequality to overcome poverty in more than 60 countries. It saves and rebuilds lives in emergencies, promotes sustainable development and works to build a future without inequality where essential rights are guaranteed for everyone, everywhere, and no one is left behind.

About Mondadori Store
Mondadori Store is the largest network of bookstores in Italy: a cultural organisation active across the country through more than 500 stores in large cities and small towns alike, and online through the e-commerce website Mondadoristore.it and the bookclub formula. In addition to books, its core offer, it organises entertainment experiences, events and multi-channel services, reaching more than 20 million customers every year.

Mondadori – libri per ragazzi is launching the new series “Io dico no” [I say no]: a series of books, each one dedicated to a current issue explained through ten key words by highly qualified authors.

Each chapter presents practical examples, anecdotes, ideas to develop critical thinking. Paths to build awareness, to think about issues together at school and at home, to say no to injustice.

The series opens with two books:

Viviana Mazza – Kibra Sebhat, I say no to racism. 10 words to understand the world

What does it mean to have a privilege, a white skin, when you are not even aware of it? What does it mean for someone when they leave everything behind to try and make a better life elsewhere? What does a young foreigner wanting to acquire Italian citizenship have to deal with?
The authors look for an answer to these and other questions, showing us how the prejudices at the root of racism are much more widespread than we think; but they also take us down a different path, where diversity is seen as an enrichment, co-existence as a necessary objective, anti-racism as the only possible response.

Viviana Mazza is a journalist on the foreign desk of “Il Corriere della Sera”. Her books, published by Mondadori, include Greta. La ragazza che sta cambiando il mondo and Storia di Malala, the first book in Italy to tell young people about Malala Yousafzai.
Kibra Sebhat, born in Rovigo in an Eritrean family, is an Afro-Italian native of Milan. She works in corporate communication, journalism and video productions. She was a member of Rete G2 – Seconde Generazioni, a non-partisan organisation that promotes the rights of the children of immigrants without Italian citizenship. Since 2012, she has been a contributor to “Il Corriere della Sera”.

Alberto Pellai – Barbara Tamborini, Io dico no al bullismo. 10 words to understand the world

There are victims of bullying, bullies, and the many people who witness these acts every day at school, on the sports field, online. How does it feel to be marginalised or mocked because of one’s appearance or diversity? What thoughts and emotions are triggered inside a bully and the person they target? What strategies can be used to protect oneself or others from the threat of bullying?

With strongly empathetic writing that examines even the most difficult emotions, the authors teach us that the first and most important thing to do is ask for help, and that a decisive response to bullying is possible when a group becomes a team.

Alberto Pellai is a physician, developmental psychotherapist and researcher at Milan University. In 2004 the Italian Ministry of Health awarded him a silver medal for merit in public health. Together with Barbara Tamborini, he is the co-author of many parenting and psychology best-sellers.
Barbara Tamborini is a psychopedagogist and writer. She holds educational workshops in schools and training courses for teachers and parents. Together with Alberto Pellai, she is the co-author of a number of parenting and psychology best-sellers.

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.

Rizzoli Education, the Mondadori Group educational publishing house, long engaged in providing educational content and innovative products for learning, is adopting an awareness programme that aims to give schools increasingly inclusive models.

Conscious of the responsibility involved in the production of teaching materials, Rizzoli Education is also promoting a series of concrete actions that place increasing attention on issues such as gender equality, which is also at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Starting from these inspiring principles, the project aims to bring the educational community, both female and male students, their families and teachers closer to the values of gender equality, multiculturalism and inclusion, precisely because plurality of thought is able to offer new opportunities.

Based on these keywords, Rizzoli Education has developed a manifesto, a declaration of values and intentions that was outlined today by Alessandra Porcelli, the editorial director of Rizzoli Education.

“We present a manifesto that is an expression of the values we believe in and the inspiring principles that guide our entire business and that we have matured thanks to our many years of collaboration with Irene Biemmi, a specialist in gender pedagogy at the University of Florence.

As publishers, we constantly deal with such issues, which are of increasing interest, not only in the media and in everyday life, but, in particular, in the world of education and textbooks. Issues on which there is still a long way to go and to which we want to contribute. We do it and we will continue to do so, thanks to the opportunities that we have every day to work alongside with teachers in the development path of new generations. Citizens that we hope will learn to be aware, free from prejudices, and stereotypes of any kind and able to respect and enhance difference,” said Alessandra Porcelli, editorial director of Rizzoli Education.

The manifesto will be presented during a live streaming event organised by Rizzoli Education featuring the participation and testimonies of a range of voices from the worlds of journalism, research, publishing, business, the arts and sport.

They include, the sociolinguist Vera Gheno, the journalist Francesca Mannocchi, the swimmer Federico Morlacchi, the professor of pedagogy Dario Ianes and Francesca Rigolio, Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Human Resources for the Book Division of the Mondadori Group, who underlined:

“Education has always been a fundamental lever for the redistribution of skills and for the best allocation of talent in the labour market and the Rizzoli Education project fully perceive this spirit and interprets its role in a proactive and innovative way,” said Francesca Rigolio, Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Human Resources for the Book Division of the Mondadori Group. “The organisation that a community, and so a company, gives itself has significant consequences on the structure of the opportunities, not only material, that are available to the people who are part of it. By creating a specific Diversity&Inclusion function, the Mondadori Group aims to improve the balance of opportunities offered to its staff, while promoting an inclusive culture against discrimination”, concluded Rigolio.

The event organized by Rizzoli Education will be an opportunity for a reflection and an exchange of the inspiring principles of the publishing house’s project:

Saying no to stereotypes and prejudices.
Valuing people and not their gender. There are no predetermined roles, only female or only male. Women and men are equals in society and in any other context in which they can express their skills and personality.

Looking at plurality and inclusiveness.
Conscious of the changes taking place in society, Rizzoli Education aims to stimulate an inclusive and respectful vision of differences, in line with the principles of fairness and equality, equal opportunities and non-discrimination, adopting an attitude that values differences and reflects a plural and multifaced world.

Language affects reality.
Language and the way we express ourselves are the tools that affect the perception of oneself and others. This is why Rizzoli Education has undertaken to use both verbal and visual language in textbooks that contributes to deconstructing the stereotypes conveyed by language through the research of inclusive and neutral solutions and that do not express prejudice.

Helping to reconfigure the imagination of younger generations.
This commitment is aimed at proposing non-sexist female and male representations and avoiding other forms of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination, providing more open, aware and free models for both female and male students. The hope of Rizzoli Education is that younger generations, to whose education the company’s books contribute, will be able to expand the possibilities of building their own identity and planning their future, in both educational and professional contexts, as well as in their life choices.

These are the inspiring principles that Rizzoli Education carries out in its daily activity as a publisher of books for schools, making use of the scientific advice of experts on issues of gender and plurality.

Through its collaboration with Erickson, Rizzoli Education has also implemented a series of guidelines focused in particular on issues of gender equality developed by Irene Biemmi.

These indications have resulted in a handbook that has been shared with all the people involved in the creation of textbooks: authors, illustrators, picture researchers, and editors. The overall focus is on a balanced representation of genders, i.e. the protagonists and authors, with a specific focus on textual and visual language through inclusive solutions which leave no space for stereotyped or conventional visions in textbooks.

This project is the result of Rizzoli Education’s many years of experience, both in the development of guidelines on gender equality issues and on content supervision aimed at ensuring compliance with the publishing house’s inspiring principles.

In fact, in 2018 Rizzoli Education, again in collaboration with Erickson and Irene Biemmi, launched the Obiettivo Parità (Objective: parity) project for primary schools: a programme specifically monitored and overseen by Irene Biemmi for the selection of anthological content, language, illustrations and of gender balance in entire works in general.

Five years after the launch of Obiettivo Parità, Rizzoli Education has decided to extend its attention to the principles of gender equality to all of its production, broadening the spectrum of values with a more general reference also to plurality, as featured in the manifesto.

The full presentation of the Rizzoli Education manifesto will be available in live streaming today on the Rizzoli Education YouTube channel https://rizzoli.page.link/41021 today from 4:30 pm.

The Rizzoli Education illustrated manifesto for gender equality and plurality has been realized by Nicolò Canova.