Florence’s Wired Next Festival
Florence’s Wired Next Festival will welcome visitors all this weekend, from Friday September 27 to Sunday, September 29 in various spaces in Palazzo Vecchio. Technology is what connects all aspects of our life: Florence’s Wired Next Festival offers an in depth look at the intertwining of technology with politics, cinema, health, gender, space exploration, and much more. Despite its name, this festival is catered for audiences that enjoy these facets of society and are intrigued by the technological impact on these subjects.
While admission is free for the event, registration is required for the event and to attend some of the lectures. Registration is required entry is first come first serve. All guests may bring their own headphones to listen to the translation of the talks in English.
Scheduled on Saturday from 1 – 1:30 pm, 5 Star House is a lecture not to miss which will unfold how Casaleggio influenced an entire country using the technological advances in the internet. This session offers the interesting perspective of a judicial expert, Nicola Biondo. Biondo has served as a court appointed expert for the prosecutor’s office of Milan, Brescia, and Palermo. Biondo also held a position in the 5 Star Movement in the Chamber, the lower house of the Italian Parliament. He concurrently co-authored the book, “Il Sistema Casaleggio” with Marco Canestrari, technological evangelist. Co-speaker at the 5 Star House, Canestrari managed the blog of Beppe Grillo while he was working at Casaleggio Associati, founded by the late Gianroberto Casaleggio and now managed by his son, Davide Casaleggio. He also co-wrote ” 19 July 1992: A state massacre” with Salvatore Borsellino (2010). Join Biondo and Canestri in their tell all of the utilization of the Internet to influence the masses.
Additionally on Saturday (11:30 am – 12 noon), Ferzan Ozpetek will remark on the portrayal of health issues in world of film in his lecture, Cinema and Cancer, Real Story or Distorted Reality. Ozpetek has received a plethora of praise and awards for his works, “Hamam,” “The Ignorant Fairies,” “The Front Window,” “Loose Cannons,” and “Veiled Naples.” Ozpetek is currently working on film La Dea Fortuna, that will be released in the end of November 2019.
On Sunday from 10:30 – 11 am, Lidia Carew and Mariafelicia de Laurentis will present The Female Universe has No Boundaries, offering their perspective on violence on women and the gender gap. Carew is striving to break down the walls of gender violence with her formation of the “Lidia Dice” association. This association assists those who have talent reach their dreams. De Laurentis has received many awards including the Breakthrough Prize 2020 in Fundamental Physics for the iconic first photo of a black hole.
In a different room at Palazzo Vecchio always on Sunday between 10:30 and 11, speaker Roberto Vittori celebrates the 50-year anniversary of landing on the moon in his session titled, One Step Away from the Moon. Vittori explores the technological triumphs since this landing and will identify the current transition from space exploration to a space economy. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) chose Vittori as an astronaut in July 1998. Since then Vittori has collected over 2000 hours in 40 different types of space craft and currently is the spatial issues officer at the Italian embassy in Washington.
Visual effects manager Jonathan Symmonds of television series Game of Thrones, director Gianni Costantino of the hit comedy Tuttopposto, the first transgender mayor of Italy Gianmarco Negri, director of Change.org Italia Stephanie Brancaforte, the women who created the first robot Barbara Mazzolai are a few of several other influential people who will be speaking at the Wired Next Festival. For more information, visit the event’s website. (allison tearjen)
