Sustainability

Focus, the Mondadori Group brand, leader in popular science and a point of reference for science and current affairs, is launching new initiatives for students, teachers and users in 2021.

Next month sees the launch of Focus Academy, a new project by Focus and Focus Storia aimed at attracting kids from second level high schools to science and history with online training activities, in line with the alternating school/work programmes outlined in the relevant convention.

At the heart of this year’s programme are the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda 2030, a 360° awareness building plan that will involve the magazine, with special detailed coverage, the web, with the multimedia content of Focus.it, and, from February, a series of monthly webinars open to all with scientists and experts, to stimulate debate and develop awareness among the young about the actions necessary for our future and based around six issues identified by the editorial team: the risks to biodiversity; health; discrepancies in the distribution of energy; more sustainable cities; food for all; the risks to oceans; climate change.

“For Focus adopting the UN goals is only natural, given that they are about saving our planet, scientific and technological development, and the quality of human life,” explained Raffaele Leone, editor of Focus and Focus Storia. “The issues we have selected are part of the magazine’s DNA given our long-standing support for environmental sustainability, medical and technological research and the protection of biodiversity. That all of this coincides with the launch of the Academy is an added value. Kids are extremely aware of these issues. Indeed, they are an authentic driving force for governments and research. They expect that we adults commit to reducing our environmental impact and outline new ways of pursuing these aims. To discuss these issues with them will provide an added stimulus also for us.”

The classes that enrol at the Academy will connect once a week, for four weeks, with the editorial teams of Focus and Focus Storia, to experience, live, the creation of a popular science and history magazine. The students will be actively involved and will have the opportunity to try writing articles or conducting interviews that will then be selected by the team for eventual publication in subsequent issues of Focus.

Also Focus Junior, the brand for children between the ages of 8 and 12 who want to have fun discovering the world in a new and intelligent way, has adopted the UN Agenda by proposing for the Focus Junior Academy digital workshops dedicated to eight of the 2030 goals: health and wellbeing; quality education; clean and accessible energy; industry, innovation and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; underwater life; life on earth; and the partnership for goals.

The project, now in its third year, is designed to provide additional tools to assist the syllabus of primary and middle schools, in line also with recent directives which from this year include inter-disciplinary civic education. During the encounters, pupils will work in class on a detailed multimedia journalistic project with the editorial team that will be published on the Focus Junior web site and magazine. The January, February and March appointments of the Focus Junior Academy are already fully booked, with the participation of more than 150 pupils for each workshop.

Finally, for teachers, a series of webinars and monographs have been put together by Focus Scuola, the monthly magazine that supports primary and middle school teachers with the best teaching advice and suggestions to look more closely at the issues related to the UN Agenda 2030 and innovative teaching practices, though ideas, and best practice from experts in the sector.

“In this period of great uncertainty and social upheaval, Focus Junior has decided to reinforce its role in support of children and early teens in an effort to accompany them in their progress towards being future citizens,” said Sarah Pozzoli, editor of Focus Junior and Focus Scuola. “Our objective has become that of trying to ensure that education goes beyond knowledge and skills and is a method for creating a new forma mentis in order to imagine a more sustainable world, that is also more peaceful and free of social, gender and racial discrimination, in line with the guidelines of the UN’s Agenda 2030. And we will do this in our usual style and learning-by-doing approach, while stimulating curiosity and a sense of irony.”

This is how the Focus system is further reinforcing its offer in the education sector: from collaboration with institutions and companies, to school-based projects involving students, families, schools and teachers, and successfully developing activities and events that speak directly to the protagonists of the world of education thanks to an innovative and engaging didactic vision.
Focus is Italy’s most widely read magazine, with a total audience of 7 million readers and users (Source: Nielsen media impact data fusion, April 2020) and 2.9 million followers on social media channels (Source: Shareablee, November 2020).
Focus Junior is a point of reference in the world of kids, with an average monthly circulation of 100,000 copies (Source: Ads, Jan-Sep 2020), 589,000 unique users per month on its web site (Source: Audiweb, Jan-Oct 2020) and a community of 140,000 fans on social media (Source: Shareablee, November 2020).

For information and enrolments:

https://www.focus.it/education/academy/focus-academy-n

https://www.focusjunior.it/progetti-scuola-primaria/focus-junior-academy-scuola-di-giornalismo-con-focus-junior/

Happy Holidays from #NoiDellaMondadori.

On the occasion of these holidays, Mondadori Group supports Pane quotidiano, an association that since 1898 has been working alongside the neediest people, providing basic food supplies: every day, free of charge, to those in poverty and vulnerability, without discrimination of any kind.

Great success for the #CucinaEdonaConGiallo, the first social media charity challenge organised by GialloZafferano, the food media brand that is a point of reference for Italians in the kitchen, with more than 18 million unique users and 12 million fans, in support of the Fondazione Progetto Arca charity. 

A five-hour Christmas culinary marathon that involved ten exceptional guests: in fact the the site’s three faces  – Manuel, Aurora and Giovanni – live on social media from the kitchens of GialloZafferano, were joined on videolink by Francesca Barra, Saturnino, the comic duo Matricomio, Franz from Ale e Franz, the starred chefs Alessandro Negrini and Fabio Pisani from Aimo e Nadia, Viviana Varese from Viva, the blogger Ester Marra, the TikToker Aurora Cavallo, alias CookerGirl, in a special recipe-based contest. 

The event also involved users who were invited to post their creations inspired by the dishes presented during the live show, and in this way also contributing to the donation of basic foods to support families in need.  

Thanks to this charitable marathon, tomorrow will see the donation of 5,000 litres of Candia milk and almost a ton of Grana Padano cheese, which will be added to the food parcels that the Progetto Arca Onlus will distribute though its structure to 1,500 families across the country.

Once again GialloZafferano is close to its readers, users and their families by actively helping those in need in a cooking together initiative, for and with their loved ones. Thanks to the participation of its community. The live social media event reached an overall total of more than 2 million users on the Facebook, Instagram and YouTube profiles of GialloZafferano. 

The Commissioner General’s Office for Italy at Expo 2020 Dubai and Mondadori Media, a Mondadori Group company, announce a partnership for boosting Italy’s participation project in the forthcoming Universal Exhibition with cultural and editorial activities and events. 

The collaboration will involve a rich calendar of editorial events and initiatives both during the exhibition semester and over the course of the build-up year to Expo 2020 Dubai, which will start on 1st October 2021. 

The activities included in the partnership that Mondadori Media will arrange together with the Commissioner’s Office will help to enhance visibility of the main themes that Italy will bring to the attention of the people visiting the national pavilion and to those connected digitally to Expo Dubai, the first large-scale event after the pandemic and the first Universal Exhibition to be held in an Arab country, situated in the heart of the MENASA. (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia) region. 

“The Expo 2020 Dubai Universal Exhibition will be an extraordinary  showcase for Italian companies, as they will be able to communicate  to the world their “Made in Italy” know-how and excellences. As a  leading publisher, we could not fail to grasp this important visibility  opportunity for the entire country. In line with our mission, our aim is to  spread culture, ideas, entertainment and information through our  brands to the widest possible public,” explained Ernesto Mauri, the  Managing Director of Mondadori Group.

“The partnership with Mondadori Media,” declared Paolo Glisenti, the Commissioner General of Section for Italy at Expo 2020 Dubai, “will allow us to expand and promote participation in the first global event after the pandemic, an extraordinary opportunity for reaffirming how Italian beauty has come to be a strategic driver for sustainability, resilience and the country’s relaunching“.

Grazia, il magazine del Gruppo Mondadori diretto da Silvia Grilli, da sempre portavoce di temi di attualità, lancia il numero speciale dal titolo Non dimentichiamoci del pianeta. Un numero in cui Grazia ha chiamato a raccolta esperti e attivisti affinché la battaglia e l’impegno contro il surriscaldamento globale non passino in secondo piano, dopo che il Covid-19 ha costretto tutti gli Stati a rivedere le loro priorità.

“Durante la quarantena abbiamo visto la natura ripren­dere i suoi spazi, i cieli ritornare tersi, gli animali circolare in città, i parchi diventare rigogliosi, il mare improvvisamente cristallino. L’assenza di traffico ha aiutato il taglio delle emissioni ma, con la fase 2, le macchine hanno ripopolato le nostre città, la plastica di mascherine e guanti riaffollato l’ambiente e il monouso tanto sotto accusa prima del Covid-19 è ritornato ora la regola. Il 5 giugno è la Giornata mondiale dell’Ambiente e l’8 quella degli Oceani, dedicata ai mari minacciati dalla plastica e dall’inquinamento. Noi di Grazia abbiamo colto le ricorrenze per creare questo numero speciale e ricordare ai leader mondiali l’impegno di proteggere l’ambiente”, ha dichiarato il direttore Silvia Grilli.

Tra le tante interviste in questo numero speciale i lettori troveranno l’opinione di Greta Thunberg, l’ecoattivista che ha portato il mondo in piazza per chiedere misure urgenti per l’ambiente. Poi l’emergenza sanitaria ha rallentato la sua campagna e lei stessa si è ammalata. Ora, però, la 17enne svedese è pronta per la sua nuova sfida: «Surriscaldamento globale e Covid», dice a Grazia «sono due crisi che devono essere gestite insieme».

Solo nel prossimo mese nel mondo verranno usati almeno mezzo miliardo di guanti monouso e un miliardo di mascherine. Una quantità di plastica che, se non smaltita correttamente, inquinerà città e mari. Esperti e attivisti spiegano al magazine come evitare il danno ecologico.

E ancora il tema dell’eco-femminismo: dalle attiviste africane che piantano alberi alle paladine della Foresta Amazzonica. Perché dove le donne rivendicano i loro diritti anche la protezione dell’ambiente fa un passo avanti.

Grazia accompagnerà le lettrici tra parchi naturali e riserve marine dove l’uomo ha rinunciato a sfruttare il patrimonio naturale: un viaggio nel Corcovado, una piccola Amazzonia nel cuore dell’America Centrale, dove piante e animali vivono in armonia lontani da minacce e inquinamento.

Il magazine racconta in questo numero i nuovi professionisti, figli della rivoluzione ecologica: giovani agricoltori che coltivano grazie a un’app, ingegneri che progettano palazzi capaci di produrre energia invece di consumarla, maghi della matematica che proteggono chi vive nelle aree a rischio studiando il clima.

Trovano spazio anche le creative digitali più influenti, pronte a curare il mondo con un nuovo stile, coloro che usano Instagram per parlare di abiti, cosmetici e cibo sostenibile e lanciano sfide ambientali ai follower.

«Magari non sarò io a cambiare la terra, ma farò di tutto perché ci riesca mio figlio Leo» dice Alessandro Gassmann a Grazia. Lo abbiamo visto fare la raccolta differenziata, pulire le strade di Roma e lanciare appelli contro chi sottovaluta i disastri ambientali. L’attore si confida con il settimanale cercando di fare un bilancio al termine di questo periodo di lockdown con uno sguardo ai tempi che verranno.

Milano dovrebbe diventare una città dove ciò che serve sia raggiungibile in meno di 15 minuti, con quartieri organizzati come piccole metropoli e nuovi modi di vivere gli spazi aperti. Il sindaco Giuseppe Sala parla a Grazia delle trasformazioni, tecnologiche ed ecologiche, necessarie all’indomani della pandemia. E spiega perché ha dedicato un libro ai cittadini che con le loro azioni cambiano il mondo in meglio.

Anche Sylvia Earle, pioniera delle oceanografe lancia il suo messaggio e a Grazia dice: «La Terra ha infinite risorse: se smettiamo di abusarne, si riprenderà».  Così come Joaquin Phoenix, attore premio Oscar e anche eco attivista che non si ferma mai. Durante l’emergenza coronavirus ha distribuito pasti vegani, chiesto di adottare mucche e denunciato gli allevamenti intensivi e i mercati di carne. «Perché la vita di ogni essere vivente», dice, «è connessa a quella di tutta la Terra.

In questo numero speciale non mancano moda e bellezza Eco: un servizio dedicato ai capi naturali scattato al Giardino botanico di Adelaide in Australia e una rubrica con gli accessori realizzati con la paglia, corda e  tela. La sezione della bellezza suggerisce alle lettrici i prodotti che tengono conto dell’ambiente sulla base di studi e progetti a salvaguardia di coltivazioni e specie in pericolo.

Electa is pleased to present #puntoeacapo, a collection of short digital stories –for the moment “filmed” from home – by writers, curators, creatives, editors and those working with the publisher, all sharing their different perspectives and activities. They will talk about books, exhibitions and the languages of art, from publishing to architecture, passing via museum bookshops.

The #puntoeacapo social feature of stories and accounts continuesthe Art and illustrated publishing experience through the faces and voices of curators, museum directors, archaeologists, art critics, artists, architects and designers. Born during the “lockdown” weeks, #puntoeacapo starts with Electa pondering its journey as a publisher and its role flanking museums. As we mark 75 years in publishing, we have started thinking about the Electa of today and of the future with many questions and some constants (old and new).

The first series of videos responds to a desire to revisit the#patrimonioitalia and rethink our cultural identity and past by conducting a Grand Tour through books, exhibitions, memories and emotions as we look to the future.

As the end of a more complex school year than ever comes closer, teachers at all levels and in all schools, are facing another big challenge: how to assess and grade students at a distance. A key moment in the teaching-learning process. Always a complex activity, in the current situation it is particularly difficult.

In fact, in distance learning, the grading process takes on a different aspect compared with what happens in the classroom. The moments for learning assessment (for example, individual or group activities, digital presentations prepared by pupils with feedback from teachers, the level of participation in lessons) go hand in hand and often replace traditional grading methods (tests and oral exams). The new context has heightened the need for support for the more fragile students and requires inclusive teaching tools and strategies.

Valid support for teachers about to engage in this delicate process is available from Mondadori Education that provides specific content, materials and tools for the certification of skills and the assessment of levels of learning, also remotely: a variety of tests on a range of topics and subjects, maps useful for revision, digital services for each subject and all levels, from primary to first and second level secondary schools. All, even in this emergency period, freely downloadable from the publisher’s web site.

The support path that the publisher offers to teachers will continue in the coming weeks also with a programme dedicated to preparation for the final year exams, as it will be structured this year and, from September, with a practical project for recovery activities in preparation for the new school year.

Of special relevance, regarding assessments, in the HUB Test platform, that is both intuitive and easy to use e semplice and allows teachers to easily manage tests: on the one hand with the possibility of accessing a complete and varied database, and, on the other, to create new personalised tests that can be easily shared with the class.

And then there are activities that focus on teacher training via webinars, with free participation, organised by experts from the publishing house, with explanations and ideas on how to assess, as well as the techniques for assessing both synchronous and asynchronous activities.

On the basis of what has already been done since the beginning of March, as an immediate response to the emergency, to make freely available the entire range digital content for distance learning – over 40 gigabytes of content and more than 12,000 gigabytes of video, audio, customisable maps, playlists, and facilitated texts for inclusion –  the commitment of Mondadori Education continues with the proposal of a complete path to support teachers in the three crucial phases of their work: revision and testing, final year state exams and September recovery programmes.

“The emergency that we have faced, and continue to live with,” underlined Aaron Buttarelli, editorial director of Mondadori Education, “has all of a sudden obliged Italian schools to reconsider, in a very short period of time and often without adequate tools, the entire teaching-learning process. We have always been on the side of teachers and students in the pursuit of innovation and the digitalisation of schools, with a range of services for day-to-day teaching which has now taken on enormous relevance. Including the evolution of the textbook, which is no longer a static printed support but thanks to digital has become both live and dynamic, for more personalised learning, with language and formats able to inform and stimulate interest in learning.”

A commitment that is rewarded by the success among teachers and demonstrated by the data traffic metrics on the platform which has recorded a user base of some 1.5 million active users,  to which have been added, in the last two months,  more than 400,000 new registered users, with an increase of 30 times in the use of  Virtual Classes, more than 15 times for Tests and 6 times for the use of reading Apps and traffic on the site that has grown by 8 times on a daily basis.

The HUB Test offer, is part of the services offered by HUB Scuola, Italy’s most extensive database for digital teaching, and which features a number of other tools, including: the Virtual Class, an environment for the management of teaching activities and courses, exchanging comments, setting assignments and homework and monitoring progress; reading Apps to use digital books; HUB Campus for more detail on different subjects; and the HUB Scuola channel on YouTube with over 1,700 videos, organised in playlists.

Focus Junior, the Mondadori Group magazine that is a point of reference in the world of kids, has launch a daily programme of content to support and entertain children kept away from school by the current health emergency.

Science, history, technology, fun and games: every day on the web site www.focusjunior.it – which reaches an audience of over 500,000 unique users every month (Source: Audiweb, January 2020) – and the Facebook and Instagram social network channels, Focus Junior offers a range of background materials, creative activities and brand new experiments, in line with the brand’s characteristic edutainment philosophy, which aims to stimulate and engage children while having fun.

Like a real day at school, starting at 9 in the morning, with news and the facts of the day, continuing at 11 am with revision of the rules of mathematics and grammar.

At 1 pm and then at 7 pm, background materials in Italian, maths, history, science, with a wealth of curiosities to discover.

At 4 pm, it’s time for creativity with special workshops: videos led by Focus Junior experts, with a range of ideas for things to try at home to exploit manual skills and learn new things, from Harry Potter’s magic potion, which involves chemical reactions, to the construction of a video projector to recreate a little cinema in your bedroom, and much more.

The kids are also invited to talk about their daily activities at home on video, a selection of which will be posted each day on the Instagram profile of Focus Junior.

Readings, recommendations and online events with writers and personalities: also when the doors of bookshops are closed and the streets deserted, Mondadori Store remains a socio-cultural beacon reaching out to Italian families in their homes with an offer of books and entertainment and bringing readers, booksellers and authors closer together.

As a way of supporting its public, providing moments of relaxation and support in this new day-to-day existence, the Mondadori Group’s bookstore chain has launched “Mondadori Storie”: a daily programme of content on Facebook and Instagram to accompany readers from morning – with some of the great openings of novels, both classics and new titles – till night-time – with stories for children, suggested by children – and to engage fans with thematic challenges and keep the whole family entertained thanks to social events with special guests.
The Mondadori Store week of events on social networks begins with a good-mood look at the stars, every Monday morning with a literary horoscope before continuing with book presentations, readings and workshops aimed at parents and children of all ages, with expert recommendations on how to best face time away from school. Artists and authors will meet the public also in videochats and respond to users’ questions and curiosities.

And, coming soon, a brand new free personal shopping telephone service for readers called “Il tuo libraio” (Your bookseller): a direct line of communication with Mondadori Store booksellers, available to customers to provide reading suggestions, advice based on preferences and new tips, with also the possibility to buy books and have them delivered, for personal use or as a gifts.
Full information will be available on the Facebook and Instagram pages of Mondadori Store.
Fiction, non-fiction, miscellaneous and classic titles, as well as cartoons and children’s books. In fat, on the web site  Mondadoristore.it it is possible to choose from a selection of over 1 million titles, as well as music, films, stationery, toys and e-Readers.