Sold-out in Free Mind Foundry to kickstart a more sustainable and resilient future
Sharing noteworthy ideas for a safer and cleaner world: this is the objective of the TEDxCataniaSalon, an event organized by TEDxCatania and held on 3 July at the Free Mind Foundry campus, which allowed you to listen to inspirational talks from national and international experts on the sustainable future of our planet.
The speakers exposed their most effective solutions to answer five fundamental and interconnected questions on the following topics: materials, energy, transports, nature and food.
The first talk, on the topic of materials, was held by Matteo Vitale. PhD student at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the University of Catania, the engineer from Catania presented a concrete example of circular economy which sees the creation of an innovative material from a resource widely spread in Sicily, oranges. The processing of citrus waste has excellent technical and acoustic insulation properties which could allow it to be used both outside and inside buildings.
The second talk, on the topic of energy, was held by Sara Di Mario. Winner of the Women Powering Smart Energy European Award for Operations 2021 and CEO of the company Hazel Energy, Sara Di Mario is active in investments and consultancy services in the Renewable Energy sector.
The transports topic was addressed by Marco Pavone, Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, where he is Director of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory and Co-director of the Stanford Center for Automotive Research. The expert illustrated the possibilities for developing autonomous systems, with particular attention to self-driving cars, autonomous aerospace vehicles and future mobility systems as well as innovative car-sharing models that allow the reduction of polluting emissions.
For the nature theme, the speech by Giuseppe Addamo. Awarded the prestigious Forbes award which recognized him among "the 100 young leaders of the future under 30", the young Catania excellence created Vaia Cube, a musical amplifier built with wood recovered from the over 42 million trees felled by rain during the storm in Triveneto in October 2018, the largest Italian forestry catastrophe of the last 50 years. The purchase of a musical amplifier helps to plant a new tree, the company has already managed to plant more than 5200.
The last talk on the topic of food was given by Rosa Palmeri, PhD and teacher of various three-year and specialist degree courses at the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Catania and winner of the 2015 International Award from Unido, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. The Professor presented her research to the audience at TEDxCataniaSalon focused on the eco-sustainable processing of prickly pears, from which it is also possible to derive by-products that can be used in various sectors of the agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
After the coffee break offered by FMF Bar & Restaurant, the interactive workshops were a moment of aggregation and discussion that complemented the talks well, allowing the sharing of concrete actions to address the challenges of climate change.
We are proud to have hosted TEDxCataniaSalon 2021 and to be a Partner of TEDxCatania every year to support the diffusion of noteworthy ideas that can be transformed into actions to contribute to change, the positive one, for a better, more resilient and sustainable future.
The aim of Free Mind Foundry is to create as many synergies and relationships as possible because it is together that we grow and can change.
Having received the first feedback on the event, we are happy that the participants returned home inspired by the talks, enriched by the dialogue generated by each workshop, entertained and enthusiastic about sharing a memorable experience outside!
TEDxCataniaSalon Talks coming soon on the ted.com website