Pollica 2050 - Annual Report

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POL ICA

PROJECTS

AC T I V T I E S

FUT RE

POLLICA2050 REPORT 2021

A meeting of visions, approaches, and methodologies that gave rise to the beauty of cross-pollination, of mutual enrichment but also of the common will to create the foundation for a more beautiful, more equitable, and more sustainable future.




INDEX 06.

W HY FUTURE F OOD INSTITUTE ?

12.

W HY P OLLIC A ?

18. 26. 36. 142. 148.

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BEST PRACTICES: THE CITIES OF THE FUTURE ARE ALREADY HERE P aid e i a c a mpus TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE: THE IMPACT GENERATED IN POLLICa THE FIVE A C TIONS W E A RE L E ARN ING TOG E THE po l l ica 2050


“In a time when we talk about distancing ourselves from others, we need to procure a distancing from ourselves, to truly incarnate ourselves in the air of the world, to be partners in the light, to put ourselves at the service of things. Our calling is not capture. We are animals of thoughtfulness.” - Franco Arminio

ANNUAL REPORT 2021 This report is the result of the meeting of two seemingly distant worlds, a philanthropic enterprise, the Future Food Institute, which has always been fascinated by the greatest challenge of our era: being able to preserve the planet, feeding humanity in a healthy way and taking care of the ecosystem that welcomes us, and a small jewel of a village framed between sea and mountains, Pollica, where the time of tradition continues to mark rituals. A meeting of visions, approaches, and methodologies that has given rise to the beauty of mixing and cross-pollination, of mutual enrichment but also of the common desire to create the foundation for a more beautiful, fair, and sustainable future. The Paideia Campus is just the starting point of this shared and participatory journey, made of tangible and intangible impacts generated by Pollica with the community to respond to concrete, real, and local needs, but also to spread and disseminate the wisdom that this place has to teach the world. The lessons we are learning together testify to how much, especially today, the sense of possibility must be nurtured with determination, courage, ambition, collaboration, and care.

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1.WHY FUTURE FOOD INSTITUTE?

Food is life, nourishment, it is a vehicle of values, culture, symbols, and identity, food is sociality.

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Future Food Institute is the heart of an ecosystem that starts from food to face the great challenges of the future. Food is life, nourishment, it is a vehicle of values, culture, symbols and identity, food is sociality. Eating is an essential act for human life, but it requires awareness and consciousness. Food is the fil rouge connecting all the Sustainable Development Goals, it is at the base of the recent G20 Ministerials, of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP-26), and of national and local policies. The great challenge of our era is to be able to preserve the planet, feeding humanity in a healthy way and taking care of the ecosystem that hosts us. Studying food, both from the production and cultural perspectives, since 2014 Future Food Institute has begun to map the places and study the dynamics in which this revolution is happening, examining the dynamics of production and consumption today, tracking changes in food experiences and services, analyzing platforms, models, predictive trends and metrics, to unleash the regenerative power of food.

For this reason, the Future Food Institute has developed the Food for Earth Regeneration Toolbox, a tangible resource for bringing food and its added values to the center, as a means of generating impact on the entire world (even beyond the food system in the direct sense) and restoring the balance between humans, nature, and land. Composed of five areas, the five macro dimensions of which food is the protagonist in our daily lives (Climate Smart Ecosystems; Circular Living; Food Identity; Food Diplomacy; Prosperity), the Food for Earth Regeneration Toolbox is a tool used to "connect the dots" and the actors that make up the global and local landscapes, addressing political representatives, food authorities, local governments, but also entrepreneurs, scholars, and citizens.

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FOOD FOR EARTH

OUR TOOLBOX TO REGENERATE THE PLANET

CLIMATE SMART ECOSYSTEMS:

Climate change adaptation and mitigation is a dimension that can no longer be underestimated when considering food. This first area deals with the Planet and how food can be a trigger to promote climate-smart approaches and solutions, but also widespread regeneration.

CIRCULAR LIVING:

Embracing circular living means going beyond the traditional linear economy, characterized by the "extract - deplete - dispose" production model. Circularity means valuing food in such a way that waste is not an issue because it is avoided in the first place. Unlocking the full potential of products with efficiency and continuous management of resources. In this context, food is considered in its relationship with people in their domestic and urban dimensions.

FOOD IDENTITY:

Food plays a different role in different geographic areas, cultures, religions, and traditions. Food landscapes are defined as physical, organizational, and socio-cultural spaces where people encounter food and food-related issues, being an integral part of the cultural and social diversity of a given area. In this area of innovation, the connection between individuals and their community is considered.

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FOOD DIPLOMACY:

As an essential resource for human survival, food has played and still plays a central role in the relationship between people and their countries. Insufficient access to good quality food (and water), the effects of climate change on agriculture and natural resources, increased conflict, and climateinduced migration often have a common cause: food. Food can therefore influence interstate relations, diplomatic practices, as well as national and international balances in terms of politics and economics.

PROSPERITY:

Prosperity is traditionally conceived as mere economic growth. The consequences generated by overproduction, overconsumption, unsustainable patterns, and the paradigm of celebrating abundance have created deep flaws in environmental, social, and cultural ecosystems, and ultimately disadvantage the economic system as well. To ensure well-being in the future we should include all aspects holistically: financial gain alongside emotional, physical, mental, social, and human development. This area of innovation considers the added value of food when considering the relationship between people and businesses. In order to accomplish this, Future Food has been conceived as an ecosystem composed of a philanthropic soul that creates new models and culture, promoting training programs, spreading knowledge; and an entrepreneurial soul to promote innovation that works alongside institutions, companies in the agri-food chain and the local community, nurturing experimental research projects in industrial and social spheres capable of generating tangible impacts on the health of humanity and the planet. To do this, the Future Food Institute grows by keeping alive the dense web of relationships of which it is composed, facilitating connections between partners and actors, creating bridges of dialogue and connection.

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2.WHY POLLICA?

The true voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust


Ancel Keys, who moved there after the war to study the correlation between the local lifestyle and the epidemiological incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

BIODIVERSITY.

Pollica is a mosaic of many aspects, faces, and dimensions.

HISTORY

Center of the Mediterranean Basin, Pollica has always represented the etymology of the Mediterranean, Medium Terrae, sea among lands. Crossroads of different cultures, such as ancient Greek, Latin, and Arab, Pollica has hosted and welcomed thinkers, philosophers, poets, and traditions. Parmenides, the famous philosopher and physician of ancient Greece, as well as his famous students Zeno and Melissus, settled in Pollica. The legacy of the Archaeological Park of Velia is a precious testimony of this. But also poets and writers have spoken of this place, from Homer to Giuseppe Ungaretti.

SCIENCE.

The birth of the first modern western school of Medicine, the Salernitana Medical School, originated in these places in the 9th Century, where traces also date back to the first woman doctor, Trotula De Ruggero. But Pollica has not only hosted, it has also attracted prestigious minds of science, such as the American scientists Margaret and

Morphological and hydrogeological diversity (geo-diversity); diversity crop variety (agrobiodiversity); landscape diversity; diversity of flora and fauna (bio-diversity). Immersed in the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni where there are 28 European Environmental Agency Sites of Community Interest (SCI), and 8 Special Protection Areas. Pollica is also part of the network of Biosphere Reserves of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program since 1997, part of the UNESCO GeoPark Network since 2010, and of the exclusive UNESCO World Heritage List, as "cultural landscape" of global significance. It also borders with two marine protected areas, the Marine Protected Area Santa Maria di Castellabate, and the Marine Protected Area Costa degli Infreschi e Masseta, areas where it is still possible to find the Posidonia oceanica, considered a true indicator of the well-being of the waters and the marine ecosystem in general. These are biological beauties that blend with the agro-biological ones, the result of a long evolutionary history marked by the slow rhythm that maintains the balance between Nature and Humanity: in Pollica there are more than 30 products recognized as Slow Food presidia.

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CONVIVIALITY.

Food is so much more than energy and nourishment. Food is family, experience, inclusion, and community. Food is identity. In the Mediterranean basin, commensality and conviviality have become aspects of cultural heritage to be preserved and enhanced. Pollica, one of the seven emblematic communities of the Mediterranean Diet, which became an intangible heritage of humanity in 2010, is the undisputed spokesman of this lifestyle, a lifestyle that in food and with food pursues its Mediterranean identity, a ritual of deep respect for nature, in a dynamic balance, archetype of adaptation, resilience, and evolution.

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culture.

Mediterraneity is often defined as the "particular way of interpreting and living the most ancient social act of humanity: eating, which constitutes the synthesis of a set of elements and values proper to a geographical, historical, ethical, and cultural place: the Mediterranean basin." No wonder then that Pollica, a crossroads of cultures, has taken strength from cultural cross-pollination, of cultural diversity the foundation for inclusion and of the richness of culture, a natural and cultural landscape worthy of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


INTEGRAL ECOLOGY.

Over the course of time and thanks to the work of the former Mayor, Angelo Vassallo, Pollica has become a virtuous example of what constitutes the valorization of the territory and the protection of the environment. For more than ten years, the Cilento coast has gone from being anonymous to becoming a source of luster and local pride: following the expansion of water purifiers in the seaside villages of Acciaroli and Pioppi, Legambiente, the Italian environmentalist association, recognizes it as one of the pearls of the Italian sea. The commitment of Vassallo's administration pioneering efforts towards differentiated waste collection and the fight against building speculation and land consumption: battles that continue to be substantiated today, with the Mayor Stefano Pisani.

Pollica then is the result of the balance of all these faces and elements. As in the past, today Pollica continues to represent a PRECIOUS PLACE OF MEETING. Like the one between Stefano Pisani, current mayor of Pollica and Sara Roversi, serial food entrepreneur.

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The Mediterranean Diet, as a lifestyle, is an example of the perfect balance between what is good for humans and what is right for the planet. - Sara Roversi

"Starting from Pollica, a town that has become a symbol of lawfulness thanks to the courageous example of Mayor Angelo Vassallo, is a gift, but for those of us who work to form future generations it is also a declaration of renewed responsibility. The path traced with incredible foresight, consistency, and concreteness by Mayor Angelo Vassallo is a source of great inspiration for those who are called to create the future and form positive agents of change. His story teaches us that we have to start from protecting our territory, taking care of the land, and respecting nature in order to plan a prosperous future for the community. The Mediterranean Diet, as a way of life, is an example of a perfect balance between what is good for humanity and what is right for the planet. Today, downstream of a pandemic that has upset the balance of the world, following the path traced by a pioneer, a true example for new generations, and in a territory that is the cradle of our culture, a model for the enhancement of biodiversity and a symbol of the struggle for environmental protection, each educational experience takes on a unique value that allows us to understand how much places as well as politics can contribute to building a better future." - Sara Roversi, Founder of Future Food Institute President of Future Food Mediterraneo srl - Benefit Society

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Pollica is a city that for centuries has been forged through determination, resilience, and will.

It's really hard to say what's going on in Pollica: you can only live it. Believing strongly and committing oneself to one's ideas means transforming them into real actions. Pollica is a town that for centuries has been forged through determination, resilience, and will. Still today, it represents a community, which has become an emblematic symbol, in which the important thing is how one lives, not what one earns; in which happiness originates from essential things, from simple and daily gestures, from the sharing of values anchored in the territory. Pollica would not exist without Cilento, just as it would not exist (as we know it today) without the dense network of exchanges, relationships, encounters, stratification of cultures generated for hundreds of years around and through the Mediterranean. It is the result of innovations transformed into traditions. I firmly believe that Cilento and Pollica are capable of becoming an example of what the future of the world can be, only if it is able to balance its local cultural heritage with the curiosity to open up to the new, to other cultures, to international visions capable of ensuring its propensity for improvement, adaptation, and mixing. The same mixture that has shaped the Mediterranean as we know it today." - Stefano Pisani, Mayor of Pollica

- Stefano Pisani

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3. GOOD PRACTICES: THE CITIES OF THE FUTURE ARE ALREADY HERE

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The cities of the future need first and foremost to sustainably feed a growing population, given that 70% of the world's population, which is increasing exponentially, will live in urban areas by 2050. To this, it must be added that natural resources, already scarce, are being exhausted and that each year we run out of annual natural resources to survive earlier and earlier. Those who claim that to satisfy the growing demand for food, we must produce up to 60% more, do not take this fact into account. Instead, it is clear that we must produce better, waste less, distribute better, innovate, adopt precision methods and, when necessary, use techniques without soil or that allow us to use up to 80% less water. The cities of the future need urgent measures today, to design sustainable scenarios in which access to healthy and wholesome food is guaranteed for people and the planet. Cities where food can express its dimensions of diplomatic leverage, capable of including and bringing together multi-ethnic populations, and therefore able to cope with increasing migration, also due to climate change, co-caused by unsustainable agri-food systems. Cities where food can express its dimension as a pivotal element of circular life systems. Cities that are the bearers of territorial and cultural identity, where food marks the rituals and represents the glue of conviviality, meeting, and relationships. Cities in which, from food and with food, we can increase collective prosperity, the pivot of well-being that goes beyond GDP to unfold its value of balanced wealth, made up of all forms of sustainability, not just economic which only measures a monothematic and partial aspect of wellbeing.

In the cities of the future, food represents the most direct gateway to natural ecosystems. It is the primary link between humanity and nature and the barometer of the relationship between human beings and the Earth. All this must represent the basis on which to build the cities of the future. Food is the epicenter of the cities of the future and from it derives the mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis, the most urgent challenge that humanity is facing. In this scenario, Mayors are the first presiders in the implementation of sustainable urban planning and urban society management policies, starting with food. The Mayors of the cities of the future, are those who can and must redesign cities today, to accommodate the needs of new generations and build prosperous societies, implementing new models. Mapping examples of local excellence that are emerging in Italy and around the world is crucial to understanding who and how to make territorial regeneration a concrete reality.

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3.1 Vision and strategy The communities analyzed and studied have a clear vision that brings them to the fulfillment of the sustainability goals proposed by the United Nations. These communities have a strategic plan that defines the plans and means to advance the implementation of specific sustainability goals and objectives, especially in the three areas of environment, economy, and sociocultural characteristics. Communities establish and maintain systems that allow assessment of progress in achieving the sustainability goals and are accessible to community members and other stakeholders. An example of excellence Video Sustainable City - YoutTube in this case is the "Sustainable City" of Dubai which keeps track of its own environmentally friendly progress with constant monitoring of consumption and emissions of the city itself.

3.2 COMMUNITY AND SOCIO-CULTURAL DIMENSION By now, it is clear that restarting with a sense of community is critical for any area that wants to begin a regeneration process. Residents and stakeholders of the cities studied are enabled to create a healthy and livable community through their direct involvement. They actively participate in community life, thus creating a common identity. In this new identity, the various social and cultural contexts are clearly recognized and included. The community of the town of Sciacca in the province of Agrigento has understood this very well and has created the Widespread Museum of the 5 Senses. This project stems from a pact that the community of Sciacca made to get out of a period of crisis and Sito del Comune di begin to promote the identities of the area that become resources of an Sciacca entire community. From the Community Pact was born the Community Cooperative "Identity and Beauty" with the aim of ensuring METHOD, GOVERNANCE, and SKILLS to support the citizens of Sciacca in the processes of enhancement and promotion of historical, artistic, cultural, and gastronomic heritage. The community cooperative accompanies citizens in offering quality tourism and hospitality through professional coordination, specific skills, and training.

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This change of perspective and the rediscovery of our territory aim to create opportunities for development and sustainable growth for an entire territory. Or again the case of the municipality of Malegno, in the province of Brescia, where a real educating community was born via a group committed to ensuring the growth of young people especially in remote places or with apparently few opportunities. This initiative has guaranteed Malegno the Cresco Award as Italy's First Most Sustainable Municipality in 2020.

3.3 ENVIRONMENTAL REGENERATION

Sito del Comune di Malengo

From territories for territories, regenerating starting from local identity and resources. This is the fundamental point of environmental regeneration. The communities identified incorporate energy systems that improve energy efficiency and rely on energy from renewable sources. This is the case of the municipality of Ostana, in the province of Cuneo, where there is a widespread and shared policy of recovering ancient mountain buildings with a focus on sustainability. In addition to the enhancement of Occitan culture and tourism, Ostana has focused on the recovery of land for agricultural purposes and primary resettlement, with attention to social inclusion. The communities identified incorporate water management systems that reduce water loss and increase water use efficiency: this is what we will see with our Pollica example. Solid waste management that reduces waste generation and increases reuse, recycling, and environmentally responsible disposal is also a key part of these best practices. Not least, the community pursues a food system in which food is more sustainable, local, and healthier, going hand in hand with a reduction in food waste.

Sito del Comune di Ostana

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These are THREE CRUCIAL DIMENSIONS, deeply connected to each other, which also see the Municipality of Pollica readily in the forefront, because a clear vision of the future, commitment and hard work are crucial ingredients to bring large cities as well as Italian villages to a truly sustainable future. All this from the point of view of a Slow City, that is linked to the movements of the earth and the indigenous rhythms of the local community.

VISION AND STRATEGY:

THE HEART OF THE MUNICIPAL URBAN PLAN 2021 Through the Municipal Urban Plan 2021 FOODSCAPE, the Municipality of Pollica has set the new objectives of an urban development, which start from the respect and regeneration of local environmental and landscape characteristics, of particular rarity. • Landscape care: the preservation of peri-urban agricultural activities will be promoted, limiting their transformability, enhancing the system of historical gardens, typical of urban

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settlements of Cilento. Territorial parks of supra-municipal importance: a series of territorial parks of supra-municipal importance will be established which, appropriately linked together, will form the backbone of the municipal ecological network. Realization of a public agricultural park: on Mill’s hill to be destined for equipment on the theme of the Mediterranean Diet. Regeneration: with this classification, the municipal urban plan aims to encourage the recovery of abandoned agricultural activities, also using the regulatory opportunities offered by the law, for former agricultural areas that fall under landscape plans and quality agricultural land.

COMMUNITY AND SOCIOCULTURAL DIMENSION:

THE VALUE OF COLLABORATION •

Cities 2030 is a European project aimed at supporting and promoting 100 European cities in their systematic transformation towards climate neutrality by 2030. The collaboration includes 41 European partners, distributed across 19 countries, of which Pollica is a Living Lab and a strategic node of the network. The project aims to connect short food supply chains in four years, bringing together cities and regions, consumers, strategic partners, industry, civil society, start-ups, and universities to form resilient and sustainable food systems and to transform cities into hubs of experimentation and innovation.


On November 30, 2021 Pollica led the Vision webinar, a moment of presentation to the other Living Labs and European cities, on their local pride and challenges, but above all of the vision of Paideia Campus in light of the national and local legislative and political contexts. •

New European Bauhaus, promoted by the European Commission, is a creative and interdisciplinary initiative that brings together a meeting space to design future ways of living, located at the crossroads of art, culture, beauty, social inclusion, science, and technology. It brings the Green Deal to our places of life because beauty means inclusive and accessible spaces where dialogue between different cultures, disciplines, genders, and ages becomes an opportunity to imagine a better place for all. It also means a more inclusive economy where wealth is distributed and spaces are accessible. The Future Food Institute, partner of the New EU Bauhaus project, has included Pollica as a Living Lab and strategic node of the European network.

ENVIRONMENTAL REGENERATION:

THE POWER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The year 2021 was for Pollica the year of the launch of the new system of separate waste collection, a system that has actively involved citizens and that has led the Cilento village to obtain for the first time in the history of the municipality the record of over 80% of separate waste collection in the month of August, with a local average of 82.06%.

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4. PAIDEIA CAMPUS

INCUBATOR AND EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY FOR ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION

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We have decided to start again from those same ingredients that have always distinguished the longevity and the farsightedness of Pollica, to enclose them in one big project. We call it the Paideia Campus: Paideia because it refers to the concept of pedagogical development in force in ancient Greece, to that path of integral and continuous education in which the role of humanity is placed in relation to the environment that surrounds us: history, culture, biodiversity, ecology, conviviality, and science. Campus because Pollica, cradle of the Mediterranean Diet, is an ideal place and a concrete example of integral ecology, just starting from the diversity of places with different vocations that together facilitate those casual collisions necessary to promote learning in the field and the birth of innovative projects.

The Paideia Campus is conceived as an experimental hub where you can learn and experience directly the Mediterranean way of life, develop innovations to meet the challenges of the future, and strengthen relationships with the environment and among people to create a stable and resilient community. These are the elements at the heart of integral ecological regeneration. Pollica is History, Science and Innovation, Ecology, Biodiversity, Convivio and Arts and Culture.

Pollica is History, Science and Innovation, Ecology, Biodiversity, Convivio and Arts and Culture.

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EPICENTER OF THE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

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GROWTH

A PLACE FOR LEARNING AND CO-CREATING - THE MEDITERRANEAN SCHOOL

By choosing Pollica as a model place to learn and replicate a prosperity that is good for us and fair to the planet, the city can become an open-air campus of regeneration, where young people from Italy and around the world and teachers learn the principles of Mediterranean Life.

Objectives: • • • • • • • •

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Fight educational poverty; Create local employment and prosperity; Regenerative agriculture, fisheries, and sustainable agriculture; Blue economy; Biodiversity Enhancement; Water Resource Enhancement; Protection of the Mediterranean environmental and cultural heritage; Promotion and dissemination of the ethics and traditions of the Mediterranean diet.


A model for the Mediterranean school: FEEL, KNOW, SUSTAIN. The School of Feeling:

MODEL

We need a school charged with senses, emotions, and content. We need to bring school back to being a generator of experience, of memories, of dreams, and a stimulator of attention, of passions and challenges, of true inducers of knowledge growth. This is the first phase of education, which consists of reflecting on the "why" and being inspired.

School of Knowledge:

Knowledge is about acquiring skills and tools to be able to enhance the resources you have. We need to experiment and to do so by responding to the needs of society. This is the second phase, in which we learn from the good practices of humanity and nature, in and from the different places dedicated to teaching.

The School of Sustaining:

The opportunity of a crisis is often the motivational basis for activating a change, a transformation. We need to help teachers and young people understand the relationships between territories, food systems, and climate change to address current challenges. In the School of Sustaining, everyone can cooperate, participate, and contribute to the preservation of the Earth.

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CARE

EXPERIMENT, PROTECT, CONNECT - THE MEDITERRANEAN LABORATORY

The M.E.D. Lab is the laboratory for the development of the ecosystem around the Mediterranean Diet (from the acronym M.E.D.: Mediterranean Diet, Ecosystem, Development). Its mission is to promote an integral ecological approach, capable of generating prosperity through the enhancement of a new entrepreneurial culture, one capable of pursuing a model of collective well-being (the so-called One Health approach). There are three main areas of intervention:

1. NATURAL ECOSYSTEM to promote regeneration starting from food and the environment. It is crucial to the campus to support the Mediterranean agricultural supply chain, sustaining the quality of iconic crops and developing techniques to increase resilience and adaptability to climate change. The campus will serve as a place to support and train farmers in the Mediterranean area, as a place to recover ancient agro-ecological

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and regenerative practices, to preserve the legacy of the Mediterranean Diet but also for the exchange of best practices and expertise.

Objectives: • • • • •

Circular Economy; Regenerative agriculture, fisheries, and sustainable agriculture; Blue economy; Biodiversity Enhancement; Water Resource Enhancement;

2. COMMUNITY

to promote tourism and smart lifestyles. The lab focuses on models of sustainable development for the community and with the community.

Objectives: • • •

Climate-smart living; Hospitality and sustainable tourism; Repopulation of Italian villages and rural areas through the prototyping of services to facilitate the use of the territory;


• •

Enhancement of the UNESCO heritage; Protection of the Mediterranean environmental and cultural heritage.

3. The care of the INDIVIDUAL, promoting individual health and enhancing the heritage of the Mediterranean Diet.

to know how to transform the natural raw material into a work of art. Innovative development is therefore based on the dialogue of humanistic knowledge with scientific knowledge, digital technology and traditional know-how to promote collective well-being.

Objectives: Protection of Mediterranean environmental and cultural heritage; • Research and experimentation laboratory on: 1. anthropological research; 2. nutritional value, longevity, microbiome; 3. product development; • Promotion and diffusion of the ethics and traditions of the Mediterranean diet. This is a lab based on the concept of technology in its fullest etymological meaning. In ancient Greek "techne" means "manual skill, art, craft," that is something very related to humanity and our ability

The methodology behind the prosperity thinking mindset [...], starts by listening to the territory in which it is located, and then acting in accordance with its needs.

COLLECTIVE PROSPERITY MINDSET

MINDSET

To aspire to a form of shared and inclusive prosperity means to perfectly combine economic growth with social and environmental well-being, through a method that knows how to put people, the territory, and the planet at the center of the project. The methodology behind Prosperity Thinking starts by listening to the territory in which it is located and then acting in accordance with its needs. Talking about prosperity is very different from talking about development: behind this idea lies the importance of taking into account emotional, physical, mental, and cultural prosperity.

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AWARENESS

HANDING DOWN VALUES, WELCOMING THE FUTURE: POLLICA 2050

Many families have begun to move from Pollica to larger or better equipped cities. This brings with it dangerous risks: that of seeing entire municipalities disappear and, with them, their priceless cultural, environmental, and natural heritage. Pollica 2050 was born to co-create, together with the people of Pollica, a stable and resilient community in Pollica and Cilento, starting from the urgency to create awareness, in order to hand down in the future a heritage that is a source of inspiration for Italy and the whole world.

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Objectives: • • • • • • •

New entrepreneurship of local knowledge; Seasonal adjustment of tourist flows; Promoting Smart Living; Hospitality and sustainable tourism; Repopulation of hamlets and rural areas; Protection of the environmental and cultural heritage of the Mediterranean; Fighting School Dropout.


APPROACH

"Moving from "I" to "we" is the basis for lasting change in actual structures, patterns, and ultimately events.

THEORY OF CHANGE There are several ways to generate lasting change. One is by doing it in an ecosystemic and holistic way, starting with the value of the individual and the power of food. Inspiration: Each of us, each individual, has incredible potential to effect change. So each of us can find inspiration from simple aspects, even within our own community, such as caring for food, caring for those who feed us, caring for the larger community. Learning: Only an in-depth understanding of the problem can solve it. Theoretical, frontal, passive learning has proven to be ineffective. Instead, it is necessary to facilitate a process of comparison and mutual stimulation through discovery

and reflection. Learning from the inner wisdom of nature, learning from practical experience, and learning with others is much more powerful. Regeneration: Just by reshaping the agri-food system for the better, starting from the local fabric, it is possible to regenerate the planet instead of depleting it, strengthening ties within communities, allowing collaboration between multiple subjects and global prosperity. These are the foundations for an integral regeneration, which is not only environmental, but also landscape, social, cultural, and economic. Support: Through food and education, we can reconnect with the community: the physical, digital, local, global community that shares experiences and knowledge and works to create a better world and facilitate the transition to the sustainable development framework. Innovation: It happens when inspiration becomes action. Innovation is stimulated when different actors and different voices collaborate and co-design solutions. Moving from "I" to "we" is the basis for lasting change in actual structures, models, and ultimately events. Because nothing happens in silos, every single action has a cause and generates an effect across the entire ecosystem. Impact: It's our key to measuring success.

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5. IMPACTS

TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE GENERATED IN POLLICA

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. -Theodore Roosevelt

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What we tried to do was combine all the ingredients we had at our disposal, together. Education, innovation, and community. Diplomacy, circularity, identity, prosperity, climate intelligence. History, science, ecology, biodiversity, conviviality, culture. Because everything is inextricably interconnected. And yet, as in any self-respecting recipe, the role of the "binders" is central, those elements that hold together and amalgamate ingredients that would otherwise be disparate. In all the activities at the base of the Paideia Campus, the binding agent for us is CARE, the care of the ECOSYSTEM that is substantiated and manifested only if implemented in a parallel CARE OF THE INDIVIDUAL and the COMMUNITY. Only in this way is it possible to make Pollica an incubator of integral ecological regeneration, at the service of the whole world, at the service of the Mediterranean, but first of all at the service of the local community.

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TECHNICAL PARTNERS Exhibits and design

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I Love Italian Food wants to bring into the project its know-how and expertise in the enhancement of Italian ‘Designation of Origin’ and ‘Protected Geographical Indication’ products through training programs aimed at catering operators and through narration (video productions and talk shows). Over time, I Love Italian Food has also become an international community that works with over 12,000 experts and influencers of Made in Italy in the world, and in recent years has reached 3 billion social contacts, has held over 100 international events, and obtained more than a billion video views. I Love Italian

Food wants to create in the village of Pollica a Media Center capable of producing events and hosting talk shows and video productions to enhance the products, producers, and iconic supply chains of the Mediterranean Diet. I Love Italian Food in collaboration with the Mediterranean School of the Future Food Institute wants to bring incoming activities for Italian chefs in the world, influencers, and buyers transforming them into true ambassadors of the Mediterranean Diet in the world and promoting local products.

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KNOWLEDGE #INNOVATION #COMMUNITY #CLIMATE INTELLIGENCE #INTEGRAL ECOLOGY #BIODIVERSITY #CONVIVIALITY

BOOT CAMP POLLICA

September 2020

Future Food and FAO, Food & Climate Shapers Boot Camp: Mediterranean Edition - Pollica For six days in September, Pollica became the destination of our first Boot Camp Mediterranean edition in presence after the Lockdown. It was an occasion to inaugurate a new season of training programs, based on active and experiential learning, right on the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the nomination of the Mediterranean Diet as a UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity. In a journey from inspiration to action, the entire Boot Camp, co-organized with FAO is set up with a multi-disciplinary, intergenerational, gl-ocal approach.

Boot Camp FFI/FAO Mediterranean Edition - Pollica 2020

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In a journey from inspiration to action, the entire Boot Camp, co-organized with FAO is set up with a multidisciplinary, intergenerational, gl-ocal approach.

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KNOWLEDGE Inaugurated in the setting of the Archaeological Park of Velia, the Boot Camp was structured in a series of lectures, initiatives, events, moments of conviviality, field trips to discover the Cilento specialties and the local community, and ended with a hackathon in which participants were asked to prototype concrete solutions to real problems of the community. With us were distinguished professionals, scientists, researchers, representatives of international institutions, journalists, sustainability experts, philosophers, scientists, chefs, startuppers, and entrepreneurs.

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KNOWLEDGE #INNOVATION #COMMUNITY #CIRCULATION #CLIMATE INTELLIGENCE #ECOLOGY

HACKATHON IN THE SCHOOL

FOR THE VILLAGES AND MEDITERRANEAN CHALLENGE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TOWN OF POLLICA March 19-20, 2021

500 PEOPLE

Education and the future represent two areas that intertwine, cross-pollinate, influence, and nourish each other. And yet, today the consequences caused by an educational system incapable of truly training young people are evident, still too oriented towards frontal, theoretical lessons, providing answers rather than raising questions and stimulating critical thinking in students. From this need the Hackathon in the School was born, a project organized by the Future Food Institute in collaboration with Cosmopolites and the Love for Knowledge Association and Education Foundation, to open the school to the experience, teaching, and listening to those professional and institutional realities that are real actors in society. Starting from collective challenge-based learning, the Hackathon in the School involved more than 500 people, including high school students (440), teachers (47) and mentors (22). Eight were selected as the top challenges that need to be addressed starting in the school to redesign the future together.

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ITALY

For each challenge, different groups composed of teachers, mentors from industry companies and experts, classes of young people from all over Italy: Liguria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Lombardia, Puglia, Lazio, Calabria, Abruzzo // Chiavari (GE), Trieste, Portici (NA), Pavullo (MO), Conversano (BA), Piacenza, Poggiomarino (NA), Castel San Giovanni (PC), Seregno (MB), Rome, Sacile (Pordenone), Santa Severina (KR), Desio (MB), Teramo, Parma, Varese, Como, Bergamo, Ceccano (FR).

At the end of the hackathon, only one team was proclaimed the winner for each category of the challenge, people who had the opportunity to reach Pollica on Europe Day and started prototyping their ideas. A path that has really involved students as true protagonists of change!

Cosmopolites - Hackathon Nella Scuola 2021 [Amore Per Il Sapere; EUducation; Future Food Institute]

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KNOWLEDGE

COSMOPOLITES 2022

POLLICA IS PARTNER OF THE PROJECT

December 20, 2021

The Italian Minister of Ecological Transition (formerly known as the Minister of the Environment) Roberto Cingolani was our guest at the Cosmopolites meeting with 17,000 Italian high school students for a question and answer session with the kids. The challenge of ecological transition lands in schools!

17.000

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THE CASTLE OF PHILOSOPHICAL THE BOYS PAIDEIA 26 - 31 July 2021

The Castle of the Princes Capano welcomed the Istituto Comprensivo G.Patroni Pollica, to tell the story of the Castle of the Princes Capano, the complexity of the Mediterranean Diet, and how a healthy lifestyle can be in line with the environmental requirements of our planet.

A week-long retreat for 30 Italian philosophy professors and young researchers to investigate the essence of BEING and its forgotten role in modern society. Participants were involved in local activities and discoveries, such as visits to the archaeological site of Velia but also work sessions and direct meetings with local farmers, beekeepers, cheese makers and olive oil producers.

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KNOWLEDGE #INNOVATION #SCIENCE #CLIMATE INTELLIGENCE #HISTORY

AGRI-CULTURES WELLNESS YOUNG PEOPLE June to September 2021

POLLICA YOUNGS

In June 2021, we worked with some young people from Pollica to teach them what it means to enter the world of entrepreneurship. With them, we carried out a 10-day course at the Castle of the Capano Princes that started from the dreams and frustrations of the young people of Pollica, from within the challenges that characterize the territory but also from the potential that the local context can offer. By applying innovative methodologies of coaching and Design Thinking, the project aimed to discover and enhance hidden values, creating new opportunities and distributing beauty for the collective wellbeing. In order to achieve this goal, the first phase of the project was knowledge oriented:

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understanding the target, defining the final objectives, and mapping the local stakeholders in order to increase the awareness of young people about the surrounding territory, its potential, and main difficulties. Working with young people rather than for them was the added value: increasing real connections, interactions also reactivating the sense of unity that still characterizes these places so full of culture and history. The territorial themes have awakened an active interest and a sense of pride to lead young people to start talking about their business ideas even outside of "class hours." New communication skills were improved, to be more effective in public speaking and more engaging in the idea-sharing phase.

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KNOWLEDGE

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KNOWLEDGE #INNOVATION #CONVIVIALITY #CIRCULARITY #PROSPERITY #CULTURE

TRAME MEDITERRANEE Spring - Summer 2021

Trame Mediterranee's experimental intensive school/work alternation program took place over two weeks following the three phases of Future Food learning: inspiration, aspiration, and action. The first week we focused on theoretical lessons explaining the Mediterranean Diet, climate change, and the Sustainable Development Goals. The second week, together with the students of the "Cosmopolites" project, we visited the custodians of the Mediterranean Diet, including Silvia of Tenuta Chirico, Edmondo della Petrosa, the Nuovo Cilento Cooperative for oil, Pasquale the beekeeper, and Paola de Concilis for wine. Combining trekking activities to discover the Mediterranean biodiversity together

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#INNOVATION #CONVIVIALITY #CIRCULARITY #PROSPERITY #CULTURE

COSMOPOLITES Spring - Summer 2021

The students of the "Cosmopolites" project joined the students of the "Trame Mediterranee" project in Pollica, where they visited the custodians of the Mediterranean Diet, including Silvia of Tenuta Chirico, Edmondo of Petrosa, the Nuovo Cilento Cooperative for oil, Pasquale the beekeeper, and Paola de Concilis for wine.

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KNOWLEDGE Combining trekking activities to discover the Mediterranean biodiversity together with Fernanda from Cilentamente, we visited the Zenone hills and the Velia Archaeological Park. The third part of this training was focused on ‘action.’. We prototyped a gastronomic path for the community of Pollica in three phases, representing the values of the Mediterranean Diet according to them - care of the self, care of the environment, and care of the other. The groups jointly exhibited their work, including the Charter of Values of the Mediterranean Citizen, the Mediterranean tool and a photographic exhibition that is still present at the entrance to the castle.

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KNOWLEDGE

EDUCATIONAL TRIPS

NOMENTAN INSTITUTE

Rome

In order to follow up the fruitful collaboration that begin in 2020, on the occasion of the program carried out in partnership between the Park and Future Food Institute, FAO (United Nations) and the Mediterranean Diet Study Center Angelo Vassallo of the Municipality of Pollica; continued with the event of support of Director Zuchtriegel to the project "Paideia Campus" for the Princes Capano Castle; we proposed the memorandum of understanding aimed at implementing several cultural promotion initiatives for the enhancement of the archaeological site in the context of the Mediterranean Diet.

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On Monday 25th October, together with the Mediterranean Diet Study Center "Angelo Vassallo," we began to propose a journey through time to discover the heroes, treasures, values, and virtues of Mediterranean life, to understand the evolutionary processes of a lifestyle, that of the Mediterranean Diet, globally recognized as the healthiest and most sustainable. Starting from the Archaeological Park of Velia, the students were engaged in three days of inspiration, scenarios and co-design to draw together the future of the school in transition to the integral ecological regeneration.


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KNOWLEDGE #ECOLOGYINTEGRAL #CIRCULARITY #CLIMATE INTELLIGENCE #BIODIVERSITY #CONVIVIALITY #HISTORY

FFI/FAO BOOT CAMP POLLICA September 2021

The Food & Climate Shaper Boot Camps aim to identify, train, and engage participant ‘Climate Shapers, bringing together changemakers from around the world to co-design tangible strategies and innovations that accelerate action on climate and SDGs, facilitating the transition of the broader society to the sustainable development framework. The Pollica 2021 Boot Camp, included in the official calendar of All4Climate - the project of the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition in collaboration with the World Bank's climate change communication program "Connect4Climate" - was aimed at deepening the concept of integral ecology. Regeneration was the key word and the center of gravity of the newborn Campus Paideia, connecting all the dots and lighting the way to a brighter and more sustainable future, regenerating both the environment and the community. In a path from inspiration to action, Pollica once again welcomed professors, startuppers, entrepreneurs, chefs, researchers,

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diplomats, and farmers. From Pollica and its beauties, our Climate Shapers went on a journey to unveil the origins of the Mediterranean Diet, through the Velia Archaeological Park, discovering its myths, its knowledge, through its products, such as olive oil, anchovies, mozzarella, and aromatic plants.

The Pollica Boot Camp is a unique opportunity to finally talk about Cilento and unite all the resources that this immense treasure chest of beauty and jewels offers, thus becoming a priceless heritage. - Mario Salvatore Scarpitta Sindaco di Camerota


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KNOWLEDGE But it was also an opportunity to create and co-create concrete solutions to the area's current challenges, guided by the inspiration and experience of experts, researchers, professors, diplomats, farmers, and entrepreneurs.

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CARMELO TROCCOLI - Direttore Generale Campagna amica

PHILIPPE BIRKER - Climate Farmers

MARIO SALVATORE SCARPITTA - Sindaco di Camerota

YASMINE CATHELL - Soil Sommelier

SARA GENTILINI

ANGELO RICCABONI

GIANNI LORENZONI - Professors Emeritus at Università di Bologna

DONATA MOLISSO - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Materias

STEVEN FINN - Vice President of Food Waste Prevention, Leanpath

CRISTINA PETRACCHI - Leader, Fao Elearning Academy

ANDREA BARISELLI - Fondatore Thalea

- Coordinatrice del Network Geofood e Projet Manager di Magma Unesco Global Geopark

SONIA MASSARI - Direttrice Future Food Academy

- Presidente Fondazione Prima, Barcellona, e Santa Chiara Lab, Università di Siena - Co-Chair UnN SDSN Europe

At Pollica you learn to Feel, Know, and Sustain. You become responsible for your own learning and learn to use the systems mindset to address collective challenges in your communities. - Sonia Massari Direttrice Future Food Academy 57


KNOWLEDGE

Get the right tools to understand the complexity of today's society and be ambassadors of change for sustainable and inclusive development.

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#ECOLOGY #PROSPERITY

TRAINING TEACHERS AND SCHOOL LEADERS

September 2021

At the beginning of the 2021 school year, we carried out a training course designed for teachers that aimed to redefine the output profiles of students, to regenerate Italian schools devastated by a year and a half of Integrated Digital Education, social distancing, and consequent deterioration of the relational fabric of young people. The mode of training was built on three phases. A phase of inspiration, where teachers retraced the steps of the development of Western philosophical thought at the Archaeological Park of Velia, followed by a phase of aspiration, where they began to define, in an inclusive and participatory way, the challenges of today's schools. Finally, a phase of action, to outline and co-create in a Hackathon, together with their own students, already participants

of the experimental intensive experiential training program "Trame Mediterranee." The new profiles for the younger generation, can accelerate the longed-for ecological transition in schools and give the opportunity to Italian secondary school children to get the right tools to understand the complexity of today's society and be ambassadors of change for sustainable and inclusive development.

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KNOWLEDGE

A phase of perspiration, where they began to define, in an inclusive and participatory way, the challenges of today's schools.

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KNOWLEDGE #IDENTITY #PROSPERITY #INTEGRAL ECOLOGY

S.O.F.I.A / AGENDA 2030

TEACHERS AND MASTERS OF THE MUNICIPALITIES OF CILENTO The territory teaches: the principles of the Mediterranean Diet for the 2030 Agenda is a training course designed for teachers of the comprehensive institutes and high schools of Pollica. It is a program of inspiration and co-design to resonate together the future of schools in transition to an integral ecological regeneration, to rediscover the community dimension of knowledge, the relational dimension of life, the freedom and taste of knowledge. Structured in three phases, inspiration, aspiration, and action, the program analyzes the different dimensions of integral ecological regeneration, moving from food diplomacy, food identity, circular life, prosperity, and climate-smart ecosystems, and then co-planning and co-imagining with teachers a model of Integral Ethics, starting from the basic values of the Mediterranean Diet - conviviality, history, science, tradition, innovation, biodiversity, and harmony with nature. How to bring the territory into the classroom? What is the Mediterranean?

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What does it mean to regenerate cultural diversity and Mediterranean ecosystems? These are all aspects addressed during the course before the concrete instructional design phase.


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Local varieties with high added value, typical of the Mediterranean Diet model, such as Cilento yellow tomato, Saragolla wheat, Salella ammaccata olive, Cicerale chickpea.

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INNOVAZIONE #COMMUNITY #ECOLOGY #IDENTITY #BIODIVERSITY #CULTURE

WATER IN OUR HANDS

RESTORATION OF THE SOURCE CANNICCHIO March 2020

Agriculture represents one of the main economic activities of the Italian System. It is an activity that is substantiated in the social fabric and in the safeguarding of natural resources that guarantee its functioning. Starting from the centrality of this primary sector and the high risks of water stress that affect the South of Italy, we started from the interventions on the local water infrastructure, reactivating channels of the secondary irrigation source Cannicchio, a hamlet of the municipality of Pollica. Coinciding with World Water Day, March 22, 2020, we launched the project, in collaboration with the Ente Idrico Campano and Finish, to optimize the local use of minor water resources through a multifunctional approach to protect the natural flow of water in nature, limit the phenomena of hydrogeological instability caused by the infiltration of water into

the subsoil, but also encourage the use of water taken for agricultural and drinking purposes. With the aim of returning to a quantity of water equal to 64 million liters (32 for agricultural and drinking uses and 32 to protect natural ecosystems), this intervention has a direct impact to enhance agriculture and specifically the production of local varieties with high added value, typical of the model of the Mediterranean Diet, such as the yellow tomato of Cilento, Saragolla wheat, Salella ammaccata olive, and Cirleale chickpea. In this way, thanks to the reactivation of the secondary source, small farmers will be able to autonomously have water for their gardens.

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INNOVATION

WATER IN OUR HANDS

June 17, 2020

World Day Against Desertification and Drought: launch of the Water in our Hands project, in collaboration with Finish, National Geographic, and the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI). Water in our hands is one of our answers to protect the Italian excellence at the base of the Mediterranean Diet.

DIGITAL EVENT 2020 EVENT COP26 MILAN 2021 Finish - Acqua nelle nostre mani

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INNOVATION #ECOLOGY #SCIENCE #EDUCATION #CIRCULATION #EVENT

PHILOSOPHY MEDITERRANEAN ECO-DESIGN LAB August 2021

The objective of the Philosophy Mediterranean Eco-Design Lab, which sees in "philo" the link that connects the Mediterranean philosophy of life, capable of generating long-term well-being for humanity and the environment, with the regeneration of the territory and the possibility of giving infinite lives to a waste such as plastic, is to transform a problem into an opportunity to create something new, re-evaluate an object in terms of upcycling, give voice to one's creativity, and do so in accordance with the needs of the environment, while creating an object that has a value for the community.

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In this high-tech laboratory, the community can touch the meaning of the concept of circular economy, transforming plastic waste that spoils the beauty of the beaches of Acciaroli, Pioppi, and beyond, in value and beauty, through the design and subsequent 3D printing of new objects. The Philosophy Eco-Design Lab is part of the larger project of Pollica 2050, born with the intent to create a virtuous model of territorial regeneration, designed especially for new generations, to address the depopulation of villages and rural areas, heritage to be protected and handed down, and land to discover and live. The lab, conceived and cocreated by the Future Food Institute and the Municipality of Pollica, in collaboration with the Youth Forum of Pollica, is designed by young people and for young people. The main objective is to encourage youth to create design projects capable of giving new

life to plastic waste that pollutes our seas, reconciling environmental protection and regeneration of the territory.

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INNOVATION #PROSPERITY #SCIENCE #ECOLOGY

MEDITERRANEAN FOOD LAB November 16, 2021

In celebration of the 11th anniversary of the recognition of the Mediterranean Diet as a UNESCO Intangible World Heritage, we officially opened the Mediterranean Food Lab, the new research and innovation laboratory based on traditional Mediterranean ecological knowledge. Traditional knowledge contains a priceless heritage of understanding of the environment for sustainable management, which has survived millennia of development and has been strengthened by the crosspollination of cultures that have traveled the roads and navigated the waters of Mare Nostrum. The Mediterranean Food Lab was created to safeguard this heritage and bring innovation to allow this body of knowledge to thrive in the future, so that it can be the starting point for sustainable development in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Food Lab was born as a spinoff of the Food Alchemist Lab, the research and development

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laboratory that supports industry in the research, creation, and prototyping of healthy and sustainable products, and has become a capillary arm for research and development in the Mediterranean. In this way, thanks also to the collaborations between the various laboratories that will be established in the ecosystem of the Paideia Campus in Pollica, it will be a real hub for research, innovation, and creation of a community around the long forgotten traditional ecological knowledge, to promote sustainable consumption and production of food in the Mediterranean area, planting its roots in an ancestral conception of the environment.

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COMMUNITY #EVENTS #DIPLOMACY #CULTURE #EDUCATION

WORLD DAY OF SUSTAINABLE GASTRONOMY June 18, 2021

Coinciding with the World Day of Sustainable Gastronomy, the Future Food Institute, Mediterranean Diet Study Center "Angelo Vassallo," and the Municipality of Pollica organized two days dedicated to the Mediterranean Diet as an iconic example of Gastronomy and Sustainability. Understanding the genesis of the Mediterranean Diet to discover the relationships that nourish humanity and the environment, in a time flow that sees the mixing and evolution of Mediterranean cultures, was the basis of the Conference - Mediterranean Diet: Mediterranean relationships under the lens of food, a conversation between Sara Roversi, President Future Food Institute and Elisabetta Moro, Director MedEatResearch, Center for Social Research on the Mediterranean Diet at the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa. The conversation focused on understanding how to resurface the virtuous relationships that bind people so closely to the Mediterranean territory.

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In the town of Pollica, we dedicated to Margaret Haney, the name of the street leading to the Castle of Pollica, home of the new Living Lab of the Future Food Institute and seat of the Center for the Study of the Mediterranean Diet. Margaret Haney was the scientist, explorer, and storyteller who, together with her husband Ancel Keys, lived and studied the Cilento lifestyle, coining the definition of the Mediterranean Diet. And it is on the occasion of the Day of Sustainable Gastronomy that it is worth highlighting the virtuous examples such as the lifestyle of the Mediterranean diet that have been consolidated over the centuries and that today can give us valuable insights to plan a restart.

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COMMUNITY

MEDITERRANEAN DIET, ACTIVISM AND FOOD DIPLOMACY July 23-24, 2021 This second event focused on the strategic role of the Mediterranean Diet as a tangible example to be promoted for a reconciliation between humanity and nature and for a renewed recognition of the role of people in the environment. The Swiss Ambassador to FAO, Pio Wennubst, brought to this ideal cafeteria the theme of innovation, presenting the project Bites of TransFoodmation, aimed at changing the agri-food chain through disruptive technologies and innovative ideas from young people. Potito Ruggiero, a 13-year-old Climate Shaper, presented in the enchanting setting

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of the Princes Capano Castle in Pollica, where the Paideia Campus is located, his book "We're watching you," written together with Federico Taddia. Finally, the Italian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Marco Alberti, presented his book "Open Diplomacy,”, underlining the crucial role of diplomatic work as a connector between different stakeholders. In this framework, we also presented the research "Nutrition Unpacked" on which we have worked intensively together with our global community and our partner Dole.

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COMMUNITY

GOOD MORNING TALKS Following the training program livestreamed from the Princes Capano Castle, Future Food Institute and the students of the Hotel and Agrarian Institute "Lazzaro Spallanzani" interviewed, in the form of Instagram Lives, the custodians of the Mediterranean Diet, the actors of those "Trame Mediterranee" of Cilento who, daily, live the Mediterranean. To them, there is great honor and burden of handing down, with the aim of making known to the digital public, the history and the values of those who live and preserve the Mediterranean territory, safeguarding the environment, educating the new generations, or simply preparing a meal for their loved ones.

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JAZZ FESTIVAL “Viculieddi in Jazz” July 2021

Pollica came to life with the Jazz Festival. The community actively participated in the Jazz Festival "Viculieddi in Jazz" by organizing the food trail for the community of Pollica, described above, on the Margaret Haney road leading to the castle!

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COMMUNITY #EDUCATION #HISTORY #CONVIVIO #BIODIVERSITY #EVENTS

TRAME MEDITERRANEE

FROM THE EARTH TO THE BANQUET Summer 2021

The month of August 2021 was dedicated entirely to discovery and to the rediscovery of conviviality. The Mediterranean Diet Study Center and Future Food Institute, in collaboration with Rareche Cilento, inaugurated a path to discover the iconic supply chains of the Mediterranean Diet, true excellence of the Cilento area, to educate the general public on the fundamental values of the Mediterranean Diet, meeting the ambassadors of the sustainable lifestyle. The event "Trame Mediterranee - From the Earth to the Banquet," consisted of a series of dinners open to the general public with different themes related to the Mediterranean Diet.

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COMMUNITY

FOOD EXPERIENCE

THE POWER OF CONVIVIALITY

The dinners we remember for the exceptionality of the guests, the beauty of the relationships established around the table and the power of the banquet, understood in the sense of its etymological root: living together. •

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Dinner with the Grandmothers of the Mediterranean Diet - A time to thank the mythical grandmothers who give us smiles, life stories and pearls of wisdom every day. Anthropo-dinner - An experiential dinner to learn about and re-evaluate the relationships that make up our food system. Anthropocene from field to table, to shape more sustainable, regenerative and inclusive agri-food systems. Salt of the Earth - Dinner, organized on the occasion of the arrival of Scout troop 119, with songs and animated games.


MEDITERRANEAN LIFE

UNDERSTANDING THE PAST TO BUILD THE FUTURE

These events have been possible thanks to a full immersion in the territory, in its flavors, but also in its history, culture, and wisdom of Mediterranean life. Excursions, field trips, walks through the villages and field interviews enriched the month of August. Vita Mediterranea - The Future Food Institute, the Mediterranean Diet Study Center "Angelo Vassallo," and the municipalities of Pollica and Camerota, together with the Archaeological Park of Velia and Campagna Amica, took us on a journey through archaeology and history at the foundation of the Mediterranean Diet, to understand the evolutionary processes of a lifestyle, forged in the Cilento landscape with the sun, the sea, the wind and time, to understand the solid foundations on which to build the future. Mediterraneity - Discovering the Eleatic School, the cultural and philosophical roots that have given a direction to Western

philosophical thought. A moment of reflection on the evolution of thought, and the need to activate a cultural revolution that embraces all areas of knowledge, starting from the Mediterranean Diet as a concrete example of Integral Ecology. From the Paleolithic to the Future - This journey through the history of "Mediterranean Life" ends with a symbolic handover to young people from all over the world at the opening of the Boot Camp organized by the Future Food Institute and FAO dedicated to the Mediterranean Diet conceived as an exemplary "lifestyle" for sustainable development and Integral Ecology.

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COMMUNITY

WALK EXPERIENCE

TO DISCOVER BIODIVERSITY

The Mediterranean Diet Study Center "Angelo Vassallo" and Future Food Institute, in collaboration with Cilentamente, organized a series of excursions to discover the biodiversity that characterizes the territory of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni, UNESCO heritage site, through the villages and trails. Walking in these places is the best way to discover them: the human step is the time of exploration, the time that allows you to stop, observe, and appreciate the beauty and naturalistic variety of the Park.

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• • •

Walk to the hill Serra Di Molino a Vento Walk through the villages and through the bush The Ring of Villages


MEDITERRANEAN MINDFULNESS A weekly meditation session guided by the experience of Dr. Rosario Esposito, Psychologist-Psychotherapist and Mindfulness Instructor. The goal was to learn and practice the technique to understand how to build connections and relationships with one's inner self and encourage the encounter with the surrounding environment. A process of knowledge that is accomplished with the discovery of the intensity that releases living in the present moment, to combine the care of the mind with the care for the environment, to benefit fully from the potential of Cilento, the pulsating heart of the Mediterranean, capable of generating a widespread psycho-physical well-being, in harmony with what is around. A moment of care and respect: a gift for oneself and for others.

THE NIGHT OF SAN LORENZO An evening of music and readings from Dante. The departure, on foot, took place from the Princes Capano Castle of Pollica (SA), to reach the hill Serra Di Molino a Vento from which we admired ithe spectacle of Nature, accompanied by the words of Stefano Pisani - Mayor of the Municipality of Pollica, and Valerio Capasa - teacher, critic, and writer, who projected us under the same starry sky of Dante, reciting the cantos of the Divine Comedy: a work as ancient as it is contemporary.

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COMMUNITY

ON THE COURSE OF ENEA Even through real cruises, such as the one we organized with the 'Cruise of Values' on the 'Route of Aeneas' promoted by the Council of Europe - THE FOOD BETWEEN REMEMBRANCE AND HOPE FOR HOMELAND with Fabrizio Mangoni.

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COMMUNITY #EDUCATION #CIRCULARITY #ECOLOGY #EVENTS

SATURDAY AT THE MARKET WITH RARECHE CILENTO

September - December 2021

With this activity we involved kids working against food waste coordinated by the Future Food team and our Trame Mediterranee students in a workshop to learn how to turn waste into value. Food loss and waste still stand out among the most glaring inefficiencies in our food system. From fields to homes, they are the result of our inability to value food, an essential resource for survival, and our inability to preserve nature from unnecessary depletion and over-exploitation. On September 29th, we celebrated the first anniversary of Rareche Natural Rural Market, the first network of companies and farmers who practice Regenerative Agriculture in Cilento, on the occasion of the World Food Waste Awareness Day, with an event: Waste to Taste. On this very important occasion, with the particpants from the Trame Mediterranee program, we were guests at the Rareche Cilento market, where we organized a workshop to make the most

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of what we too often unwittingly discard, and thus celebrate every small portion of soil and every conscious gesture that contributed to the growth, collection, and presence on the table of what we eat.


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COMUNITÀ

With Beeswax Wrap, we also organized a workshop to show children how to use beeswax, with a view to sustainable reuse of resources and a creative approach to Zero Waste. We cultivated recycling, with a workshop on the reuse of chestnut husks as a draining agent for potted plants.

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#DIPLOMACY #EVENTS

FOODSCAPE URBAN PLAN Promoting forms of local diplomacy that are attentive and aware of individual and collective well-being but also regenerative of the territory and respectful of culture is among the priorities of the Paideia Campus. We have followed, with great attention the local electoral campaign, just as we welcomed at the Princes Capano Castle the presentation event of the local urban plan FoodScape, the 2021 Municipal Urban Plan,that starts from a territorial

and urban planning in the Municipality of Pollica imbued with its environmental and landscape elements of particular rarity.

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COMMUNITY

WILL ITA

MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY AT THE PRINCES CAPANO CASTLE The Mediterranean Diet was the protagonist of the meeting with the Will community, experts in the creation of know-how for sustainable panoramas and sensitive entrepreneurs.

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AGREEMENT WITH CAMEROTA

September 06, 2021

The signing of a protocol between the municipalities of Pollica and Camerota and the Future Food Institute "to begin to build,” highlights the mayor of Pollica, Stefano Pisani, “a much wider network on the enhancement of the territory and the Mediterranean Diet that should be the common thread that unites the potential of Cilento to transform it from abandoned land to a laboratory of new experiences and great opportunities for young people who must return and not leave.”

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COMMUNITY

RESTORE

September 25, 2021 The Princes Capano Castle hosted the presentation event of the project "RESTORE." A project funded by the Campania Region under the Rural Development Plan, aimed at improving the management of water resources in the area to ensure a healthy ecosystem. On that occasion, we also shared the achievements of the project "Water in our hands," with which we were able to restore the water source in Cannicchio, (Pollica, SA), thus giving access to 64,000,000 liters of water and avoiding water shortage in the community for the first time in 50 years.

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#DIPLOMACY #COMMUNITY #EVENTS #ECOLOGY #CULTURE

STRATEGIES AND POLICIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT

OF THE TERRITORIES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

October 16, 2021

Working together towards the "Park of the Mediterranean Diet." Coinciding with the 11th anniversary of the recognition of the Mediterranean Diet as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, as well as in full swing of the Italian Cuisine Week 2021, at the Mediterranean Diet Study Center "Angelo Vassallo," were invited regional institutions and mayors of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni, for a session of work and dialogue between the regional and the local constituents.

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PRESS

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POLLICA & MEDITERRANEAN DIET IN ITALY AND WORLDWIDE

#ecology #innovation #diplomacy #climate intelligence #biodiversity

FOOD FOR EARTH MARATHON April 2021

From Pollica, capital of the Mediterranean Diet, on April 22, 2021 we held the 2nd edition of "Food for Earth Day", a 24-hour digital marathon on sustainability organized by Future Food Institute and FAO in recognition of Earth Day. It was the world's largest digital lesson on the regenerative power of food systems to benefit the planet. Like an ideal Olympic torch we traveled from East to West and involved young activists, scientists, Nobel laureates, chefs, farmers, startups, journalists, young leaders, and policymakers from every corner of the world.

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The objective was to share experiences and knowledge capable of inspiring an integral approach to ecology by showing models of sustainable production, sharing, and consumption. The event, which is part of the initiatives organized by EarthDay.org, the Washingtonbased organization that has been coordinating Earth Day for 51 years, went through all the G20 countries, the Mediterranean, emerging countries and World Heritage areas: there were speakers from Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, India, China, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Turkey, Vatican, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, South Africa, Tunisia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Congo, Zimbabwe, United States of America, Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina and Canada.

The 2021 edition was also enriched by a full agenda of Climate Actions carried out by young activists and "Climate Shapers" around the world. Several institutional figures brought their contribution to the marathon: FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, FAO Deputy Director and Special Advisor Maurizio Martina and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, as well as Ministers and institutional representatives from all over the world. Pollica thus confirmed its ecological vocation, which now focuses on the new generations by educating young people, crucial players in the defense of the environment. The live broadcast of the event was transmitted in full on the YouTube channel of Future Food Institute and FAO and on the event website www.foodforearth. org.

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#education #innovation #community #biodiversity #ecology

WORLD BIODIVERSITY DAY May 22, 2021

We chose World Biodiversity Day, May 22, 2021, to formally inaugurate our Paideia Campus, a center for "integral human education," to experiment with a new type of sociality, to promote social innovation, to incubate innovation projects for Agriculture, Food and the Environment inspired by the concept of integral ecology of which the Mediterranean Diet is a concrete example. So when we talk about biodiversity in the Mediterranean we are talking about natural and cultural wealth, but we are also talking about the challenges that this area is facing. So we must also discuss bringing innovation to ensure that in every area we can work to preserve the quality of the soil and natural resources, such as water, making sure that biodiversity is passed on and protected.

Mediterraneity: People, Planet, Prosperity Seeds of the Future for the Mediterranean was the theme of the day on May 22nd to emphasize how the Mediterranean lifestyle is the culmination of the co-evolution of Mediterranean flavors and knowledge that see humanity in perfect harmony with the territory that hosts us. Mediterraneity as a set of values extremely contextualized and local, but still universal, to safeguard the biological and cultural heritage and develop resilience for the future.

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People: Mediterranean identity

The variety of cultures that have intertwined throughout history, helping to form the various societies that have dug furrows in the sand, sailed uncharted seas and built skyscrapers. The pride of being children of cultural intersections, never perfect but infinitely rich.

Planet: the Wisdom of nature

The richness of the genetic heritage and plant and animal varieties that sustain ecosystems and make them resilient to external pressures. Preserving a variety means keeping a solution to a potential problem alive and thriving.

Prosperity: Mediterranean synergies for sustainable development

The synergistic relationship between man and nature, genetic and cultural diversity, able to adapt to changes, learn to become and preserve their identity.

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An event that could not but end with the Mediterranean commensality, to taste the relationships of the territory around the same table. The Ladies of the Mediterranean Diet and the Food Alchemists met in the kitchen, the focal point of dialogue and cultural inclusion, to animate the Convivium and stimulate conversation about how cuisine can be an integral part of the struggle to preserve biodiversity.


PAIDEIA CAMPUS PRESENTATION

June 16, 2021

Campus Paideia was created to teach people how to see connections and thus design a better future for Italy, the Mediterranean, and the entire world. It is a place that aims to safeguard and enhance the cultural and natural heritage of the Mediterranean ecosystem through the commitment of a dynamic and vital community of young people engaged in the development of innovation in the agrifood sector. The Campus will re-propose in a permanent version the same concept: everything is connected (environmental protection and human health, regeneration of the territory and welfare of citizens, social justice and climate change).

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The Diet is founded in respect for the land and biodiversity, and ensures the preservation and development of traditional activities.

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#community #diplomacy #conviviality #identity #culture

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET AS UNESCO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE

November 16, 2020

On November 16, 2010 in Nairobi, 166 Member States of UNESCO voted unanimously on the candidacy of the Mediterranean Diet, to be listed among the Intangible Heritages of Humanity, based on a proposal made by Italy, Spain, Greece, and Morocco. The Mediterranean Diet is "much more than just a list of foods. It promotes social interaction, as communal eating is the basis of social customs and festivities shared by a given community, and has given rise to a remarkable body of knowledge, songs, maxims, tales and legends. The Diet is founded on respect for the land and biodiversity, and ensures the preservation and development of traditional activities and crafts related to fishing and agriculture in Mediterranean communities." To celebrate this tenth anniversary, we created a set of digital events designed to cultivate the future under the banner of innovation for sustainability. With us, the voices of the now seven emblematic communities of the Mediterranean Diet (Chefchaouen - Morocco; Brač and Hvar

- Croatia; Tavira - Portugal; Soria - Spain; Agros - Cyprus; Koroni - Greece; Pollica Italy), where, through our Kitchen Lab, we had the opportunity to take a virtual journey through the areas and communities of the Mediterranean and discover recipes that tell stories of culture, identity, and unique ecosystems. We were joined by Valerio Calabrese, director of the Museum of the Mediterranean Diet, Pino Coletti, entrepreneur of Italian authenticity, Alfonso Andria, former President of the Province of Salerno, Stefano Pisani, Mayor of Pollica to talk about the value, the close link between diplomacy and business, between culture and territory behind such a sustainable lifestyle. A Mediterranean Diet capable of uniting the world. That's why experts, researchers, professors, international chefs were also with us in this important recognition.

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#community #diplomacy #prosperity #culture

ITALIAN CUISINE WEEK IN THE WORLD 2020 edition From November 23rd to 29th, 2020, the fifth edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World was celebrated. It was an initiative coordinated by the General Directorate for the Promotion of the Country System of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the support of more than 300 Italian Embassies and Consulates covering all the geographical areas of the planet in order to valorize the food and wine traditions of the Italian Regions and territories, to internationalize the Italian educational offer of the sector but above all to spread the taste, the values, and the principles behind Italian cuisine.

MAGAZINE -14/16

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On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Mediterranean Diet as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Future Food Institute together with the Municipality of Pollica, could not miss the opportunity to celebrate the Mediterranean Diet in the world, through the enhancement of tradition, innovation, and lifestyles for sustainable development. In a calendar of digital events that took place from November 18 to December 9, we involved 13 Italian Embassies and Consulates in a marathon from east to west of the world: Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Riyadh, Berlin, Vatican City, Madrid, Santiago, Washington, New York and San Francisco.


Through different forms of events, we promoted crucial issues such as quality, sustainability, culture, food safety, the right to food, education, identity, territory, and biodiversity also thanks to the participation of Italian cultural institutes, private organizations that stand out for the relationship between Italy and abroad, chefs, innovators, and researchers. Each testified to the dynamics related to Italian cuisine and the Mediterranean Diet as the glue between Italy and abroad. The initiative was part of the plan "Vivere l'Italia" (Live Italy), launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to build new synergies between public and private sectors, to achieve an integrated promotion of the country.

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#diplomacy #community #prosperity #ecology

PARTICIPATION OF POLLICA IN G20 EVENTS May - September 2021

The year 2021 represented a crucial year for Italy on both the institutional and diplomatic levels. With the Italian presidency of the G20, the co-presidency of the Climate Change Conference (COP26), it's good to remember that the food system plays a fundamental and deeply interconnected role in all global issues. Food is transversal to all the crises we are facing, from environmental to health, from economic to social. And so, if it is true that the G20 will have the responsibility to lead the post-pandemic recovery, and that the COP26 will have to offer concrete solutions to mitigate climate change that increasingly threatens our future, being in Italy, a country recognized worldwide for its culture linked to food, for the quality of its food, and its Mediterranean lifestyle, is all the more responsibility to bring to the table these instances more necessary than ever.

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For this reason, to coincide with the various G20 ministerial meetings, the Future Food Institute has launched several side events: Food for Earth - G20 Edition in which from Italy, from the Mediterranean, we gave voice to the real protagonists of this necessary change. This edition of the G20 wanted to ensure that world leaders listen not only to the voices representing government, economic sectors, youth, women, civil society and science, but also to the proposals and requests of the leaders "feeding the planet," nutritionists, farmers, and food producers, because the "great challenge of our time is to be able to protect our planet, feeding human beings in a healthy way and taking care of the ecosystem that hosts us."


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SUSTAINABILITY

AND TECHNOLOGY

THE HEART OF THE RECOVERY SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

05 May 2021

A meeting dedicated to the challenge of ecological transition and the strategic role of technology in the restart, in which we touched on the importance of sustainability, how to promote a new systemic thinking that crosses all the various areas of society and tourism, a strategic asset for the restart of our country.

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LABOR AND EDUCATION

22 June 2021 (Catania)

Thanks to the collaboration with FAO and Isola Catania, this side event focused on the relationship between both food and climate, and education and work. This conference highlighted once again that a true revolution cannot start from just one side. To understand the complexity of the world, and to recognize the consequences of our actions, we must promote a revolution in global thinking, and education is key in this. Food and climate literacy must be included in government agendas so that it becomes a priority, without which there will be no ecological transition, no sustainable development, and no prosperity. We talked about training food systems leaders, the green transition for tomorrow's schools, climate literacy, and giving voice and power to the true agents of change. The event also involved AppIdee, an activity promoted by Youth Hub, a nonprofit association that aims to promote an entrepreneurial mindset among young university students and aspiring startuppers: a gym to develop their passions, get involved, and create relationships.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS & DEVELOPMENT

29 June 2021 (Matera)

In collaboration with T20, the World Food Research & Innovation Forum, the Future Food Institute hosted the conference, Reshaping Agri-food Systems to Build Back Better, in collaboration with the University of Basilicata and Stati Generali delle Donne. It was a perfect opportunity to present the findings of the Think20 (T20) policy brief, "A More Sustainable and Resilient Agri-Food Sector to Better Address the Pandemic," the document drafted to embrace an integrated, holistic view of food systems. In order to accelerate the ecological transition of global agri-food systems, and as part of the Food Coalition, the Future Food Institute, together with FAO and UNIDO ITPO Italy, has launched a Coalition dedicated to the Mediterranean supply chains involving several partners including the Mediterranean Diet Study Center "Angelo Vassallo," GenerationAG [Greece], and KMZero [Spain].

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A collaboration that incorporates institutions and private sector, large organizations and innovation ecosystems, farmers and startups, a coalition that will involve Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, and Iraq to support the transformation of agrifood systems through the development of innovative solutions but also to actively support the most sensitive supply chains of the Mediterranean agricultural sector, local institutions, and small farmers. Solutions that start from the wisdom consolidated over the centuries of the Mediterranean agrifood systems, that support the central role of the Mediterranean Diet, main component for a production more attentive to the protection of biodiversity and respectful of the environment and healthy lifestyles, leveraging the role of the private sector in the development of sustainable and inclusive partnerships. A concrete and proactive commitment that proudly sees our Institute expressly mentioned by the FAO Deputy DirectorGeneral, Maurizio Martina, in a comment to the Matera Declaration. A result that lays a solid foundation for agri-food systems represented by a multitude of actors and actresses, young people, women, scientists, entrepreneurs, diplomats, civil society, and government representatives.


ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE & ENERGY

Mediterranean perspective on the topic, stressing how innovation is a strategic lever of sustainability. Simona Caselli, President of Areflh, an association representing 40% of the fruit and vegetable sector in Europe, contributed to the discussion by bringing the point of view of both policymakers and European policies on agriculture and environment, and of farmers and their need to innovate, which often clashes with the needs of the market.

(Naples) The Naples Ministerial represented one of the key stages of the Italian Presidency of the G20 and the most controversial one for the negotiations on the standards to be met. It chose to preside over this appointment with history, creating together with FAO, three days of events that brought together the voices of science, research, innovation, politics, agriculture, nutrition and young people, protagonists of a future that never listens to their demands. The core of this event was food as the ultimate nexus for promoting sustainable development and facilitating the transition to a greener, energy efficient, and climate resilient future. The Nobel Prize winner Riccardo Valentini, underlined the importance of the relationship between agri-food systems and climate change, stressing the urgency to act in order to mitigate and adapt to a climate crisis that is already underway. The President of the PRIMA Foundation, Angelo Riccaboni, provided a

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11TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET November 16, 2021

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#ecology #culture #conviviality #prosperity #community #events

In a year that saw our country as a protagonist in the international dialogue and debate, for having hosted the G20 meetings, the UNFSS Pre-Summit and PreCOP26, it is clear that it is more necessary than ever to evaluate the role of food as a link that connects all areas of human development. Following the events hosted, Italy became the leader of the network of UNESCO Emblematic Communities of the Mediterranean Diet, taking the chair for the year 2022. To celebrate this important day, from Pollica we started a series of meetings focused on

ecology, culture, conviviality, prosperity, and community. They provided comparisons and enrichments, crucial appointments for the Mediterranean and the whole world, which kicked off a week of activities: the VI° Week of Italian Cuisine in the World coordinated by the General Direction for the Promotion of the Country System of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, fully in line with the theme proposed for 2021: "Tradition and perspectives of Italian cuisine: awareness and enhancement of food sustainability." We talked about Integral Ecological Regeneration from the Mediterranean, also thanks to the presence of Prof. Pier Luigi Petrillo, Vice President of the world

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body of experts of the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, Giuseppe Ambrosio, Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Romano Gregorio, Director of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni and the Ambassadors of the Emblematic Communities of the Mediterranean Diet in Italy. We talked about how the Mediterranean Diet unites people, creating bridges between biodiversity and health, we talked about the environment and the immense natural local heritage, but we also talked about prosperity, regional strategies for the development of inland areas, the iconic supply chains of the Mediterranean Diet, tourism, sustainable development and innovation, including through words, communication, and journalism.

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But we also explored in the field and dined together with those undisputed protagonists of the Mediterranean supply chain, such as olive oil, guided by the stories, tales, and passion of Lorenzo Caponetti, in an experiential dinner accompanied by the words of the seminar "Extravirgance."

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#diplomacy #identity #prosperity #science #ecology

EXPO DUBAI 2020 With a year's delay caused by the global pandemic, tDubai finally opened its doors to the Universal Exposition: "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future." In a fantastic Italian Pavilion, guided by the theme "Beauty unites people," we could not fail to represent that model of integral ecology, in the triad People, Planet, Prosperity, which embodies that Italian beauty that unites people, and unites them to each other, to themselves and to the planet.

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Several appointments took Pollica from Cilento to Dubai, to share best practices, to build bridges of collaboration, to create sustainable cities of the future.


WORLD FOOD DAY WEEK

THE ITALY PAVILION AT EXPO IN DUBAI HOSTS THE FARM TO FORK 2021 CONFERENCE October 14, 2021

connected with Brussels and thousands of participants from all over the world. A discussion from which emerged the crucial role of the Farm to Fork strategy within the broader framework of the European Green Deal, to develop and support partnerships and alliances on sustainable food systems, but also the common challenges and areas of research and innovation on which it is important to join forces to move towards more inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and regenerative agrifood systems.

We were together with the EU Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Andrea Fontana, the Vice-Minister of International Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, H.E. Arai Yutaka, the Head of the Office of the UAE Climate Envoy, H.E.Hana Al Hashemi, the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, H.E. Wamkele Mene, and were

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MEDITERRANEAN DIET

LIFESTYLE FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

October 15, 2021

On World Food Day, we couldn't help but pay homage to Italy by celebrating and sharing with the entire world the value of the Mediterranean Diet with a dedicated event: "Mediterranean Diet - Lifestyle for a sustainable future." And we did it together with the CL.A.N. cluster-agrifood, which, since 2019, has been charged by the Italian Ministry of Education in the role

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of control room in the relationship with national and European institutions on research and innovation for the agri-food sector, the Mediterranean Diet Study Center "Angelo Vassallo," the Municipality of Pollica, the Campania Regional Councilor for Agriculture, UNESCO, FAO, UNIDO ITPO Italy, and giving voice to representatives of communities emblematic of the Mediterranean Diet, such as the Portuguese


Minister of Agriculture, Greek researchers, and Spanish professors. But also testing and experimenting, like the meeting with Dr. Tarifa al Zaabi and some scientists of his staff at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture - ICBA, visiting directly their research center, the experimental greenhouses on different technologies of controlled indoor cultivation of tomatoes, the aquaculture laboratories, the experiments focused on the exploitation of water resources and waste. A real collaboration, born during the pandemic, but that today is laying solid foundations for a strategic partnership between ICBA and the Future Food Institute, which from Pollica works to support the supply chains of the Mediterranean Diet, through high tech and low tech solutions.

students and two for volunteers of Italy Expo 2020) to participate in the next edition of the Food and Climate Shapers Boot Camp - Mediterranean Edition training program, co-created with FAO.

This is why the conference on the power of the Mediterranean Diet at the Italian Pavilion in Dubai culminated in the announcement by the mayor of the city of Pollica, who was personally present at the conference, to offer four scholarships (two for Emirati

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MISSION CAMPANIA REGION AGRICULTURE December 07, 2021 A meeting where public and private actors from ASEAN countries, UAE, and Italy came together to accelerate the path to sustainable development. Representatives of various governments, policymakers, farmers, entrepreneurs, innovators, trade associations, scientists, and startuppers from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Brunei, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, Singapore, Italy, Bulgaria, UAE, and European representatives. It was a fundamental appointment, which attracted exceptional experts, such as Professor Romano Prodi, president of the Italy-ASEAN Association, in which the Campania Region itself organized a session on sustainability, environment, and food.

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VISION CITIES 2030 Connecting cities, as happened between Pollica and Dubai, is crucial to solving current challenges. The goals announced by the European Commission are also in this vein. To reach 100 climate-neutral and climate-smart cities by 2030 is critical because cities are the places where decarbonization strategies for energy, transport, buildings, and even industry and agriculture coexist and intersect. The European CITIES 2030 Project supports this, promoting and connecting 100 European cities in their systematic transformation towards climate neutrality by 2030, making them hubs of experimentation and innovation for all cities.

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In fact, on November 30, 2021 Pollica led the Vision webinar, a moment of presentation, to the other Living Labs and European cities, on its local pride and challenges, but above all of the vision of the Paideia Campus in light of the national and local legislative and political contexts.


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#community #innovation #diplomacy, #identity #prosperity #culture #climate intelligence #science

ITALIAN CUISINE WEEK IN THE WORLD 2021 edition

9 STOPS

Under the theme "tradition and perspectives of Italian cuisine: awareness and enhancement of food sustainability," the theme of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World 2021, the Future Food Institute organized a schedule of events, both digital and in person, to promote innovation as a lever of both competitiveness and sustainability for the promotion of the country system, with specific reference to the agri-food sector. Each event has involved, in close connection with the Farnesina, the Italian Embassies in the relevant foreign markets. The events were carried out in collaboration with I Love Italian Food and the Municipality of Pollica. Our stops: • San Francisco, USA - November 17. To understand how companies are responding with technology to the need to reduce food waste and loss; to the "millennials" consumer demand

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for increasingly nutritious, personalized and traceable food; to the unregulated exploitation of land. Washington D.C., USA - November 19. To bring to light the presence and work of women in food system decisionmaking is about more than promoting women's leadership. Goal #5 of the 2030 Agenda, related to food systems, was the subject of a panel on women and food at the Washington D.C. digital event. Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan - November 22-24. Taking inspiration from the work of the Embassy on the theme of food diplomacy, which fits so well with the social and cultural fabric of Kazakhstan, the stage of Nur-Sultan dealt with the links between sustainability, education, and innovation, developing in a number of moments of meeting, exchange, and training with Italy and our Mediterranean.


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We were honored to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with "S. Seifullin," the oldest Kazakh Agro-Technical University, to start sharing skills, exchanging knowledge, and working together to address our common challenges. This is the beginning of a collaboration that can benefit from the experience we have put in place in Pollica, the cradle of the Mediterranean Diet, in the Paideia Campus, structured within the framework of integral ecological regeneration, which perfectly follows the One Health approach. But also the willingness to host students and experts at the Paideia Campus in Pollica, to study the Mediterranean Diet and the agricultural practices of Cilento farmers.

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We connected with students from the British private school Haileybury Astana in Nur-Sultan with whom, together with Ambassador Marco Alberti and Ambassador Kathy Leach in Kazakhstan, we talked about food diplomacy, food sustainability, innovation, Prosperity Thinking, Mediterranean Diet, and the planetary challenges of agri-food systems, also answering several questions on Circular Economy and Entrepreneurship. This contact culminated in the presentation to university students a Call for Applications aimed at granting two scholarships to attend the Food and Climate Shapers Boot Camp in Pollica on the theme of Mediterranean Regeneration.


We attended the meeting with pediatricians and cardiologists from the Republican University Medical Center - UMC of Nur-Sultan and the seminar for pediatricians on healthy nutrition, Mediterranean Diet, and child development organized by the Embassy in collaboration with the Director of the Department of Pediatrics of the Mother and Child Hospital of Nur-Sultan, the most important pediatric hospital in the country. It was a unique moment of journey between history and science during which, together with Prof. Carlo Catassi, Director of the Pediatric Department of Univpm Università Politecnica Marche, we touched on the importance of a healthy diet for children and the potential of the Mediterranean Diet.

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Zagreb, Croatia - November 24. Considering the theme and given the importance of the anniversary that in 2021 coincided with the beginning of the year of Italian Presidency of the network of UNESCO Emblematic Communities of the Mediterranean Diet and the potential role of the Mediterranean Diet as a strategic asset for the Italian system, Future Food took part in the gala event and conference held at the Embassy, with a speech on the theme of Integral Ecology and Mediterranean Regeneration. There was also a photographic exhibition by Future Food on the theme of the Mediterranean Diet and regenerative agriculture, set up for the gala dinner to be held at the Embassy

Berlin, Germany - November 25. We talked about innovation, making a tour of the main accelerators and incubators in Berlin, for 10 startups that will be guests of the Embassy, including four selected by the Bravo Innovation Hub project of Invitalia, of which Future Food Institute is a partner. A pitch session was held at the Italian Embassy between the startups and some venture capitalists, seed funds and accelerators in Berlin. Two in-person panels, on innovation and sustainability in the food tech sector, were broadcasted online, with the participation of major Italian companies, such as Illy, Sammontana, Barilla.


Tokyo, Japan - November 25. Like Cilento, Okinawa, the island of the Ryukyu archipelago in the south of Japan, is the cradle of one of the most famous millenarian diets for the wholesomeness of its eating habits, which make the island historically known for the longevity of its inhabitants and for this reason called "the land of immortals." The Okinawan diet is not only about eating habits, but, just like the Mediterranean Diet, it represents a lifestyle that focuses on the well-being of people and the planet. The online panel explored the parallels between these two sustainable lifestyles.

New Delhi, India - November 26. In collaboration with India's Good Food Institute and under the theme of food innovation, we connected three Italian startups and three Indian startups to build bridges starting with environmental sustainability and the spread of plant-based proteins.

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Santiago, Chile - November 22 and 25. We opened the inaugural event of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, which was held at the Auditorium of the Italian Cultural Institute of Santiago by taking part in the scientific workshop organized by the Catholic University on the theme of Mediterranean Diet and Wellness for Health. The workshop and cooking show was organized with Chef Giacometti on the theme of olive oil, also included our Food Alchemist team.


Brindisi, Italy - December 1 to 3. Events and activities of showcasing and matching between startups and investors were held in Brindisi, as part of the Bravo Innovation Hub acceleration program promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development, and implemented by Invitalia in collaboration with a number of partners including the Future Food Institute. Startup Fair, Open Innovation and Networking events and Demo Day + One-to-One with investors, were the activities planned for the ninth week of the BIH project. Trade Associations (such as Coldiretti, Confcooperative), Research Centers, industry companies, institutions, investors, and media were present.

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6. THE FIVE LESSONS WE ARE LEARNING TOGETHER Today, amidst global challenges and pressing urgencies, there is only one true imperative: Collaborate, and to do so without limits of age, origin, or social status. Collaborate even among competitors, because all of us, in one way or another, are part of the problem as well as part of the solution. So we are all inevitably part of the change, no one excluded. Spreading seeds of shared, collective awareness is therefore the first step towards a tangible sense of responsibility. A change that starts from the understanding that beauty is an essential resource, especially for us Italians; a strategic resource for planning the future. An ingredient that is the fruit of a magical alchemy between humanistic culture, creativity and the art of making, which

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has profoundly marked the identity of our country. A resource to be nurtured and spread, capable of generating opportunities for economic and social development starting from the territories, from inland areas, from villages, from communities, real "Living Labs" to prototype models of sustainable development. Only together is it possible to devalue the sense of apparent impotence to recover the sense of possibility, diversity, and co-creation. These are the five lessons we are learning on this journey together.


FOOD DIPLOMACY

1. CITIES, SCHOOLS, CAFETERIAS THE NEW PROTAGONISTS OF TODAY'S DIPLOMACY

Often short-sighted solutions to the international context struggle to adequately take into account the peculiarities of specific contexts. Cities, small jewels around which the natural and social fabric rotates, have a unique potential when it comes to diplomacy, the diplomacy that comes from below, from the real needs of citizens. If food is the real link that unites individuals with each other and with the environment, then diplomacy, including city diplomacy, should start here: from guaranteeing every citizen the right to good, healthy, and nutritious food at accessible prices, from supporting those who combine food quality with the well-being of the territory, from widespread awareness.

to frontal and theoretical teachings of gastronomic and nutritional science, but a concrete aspect of school life. An integral food culture that is done and experienced directly in the "field" of the SCHOOL CAFETERIAS, should represent the perfect manifestation of "conviviality" in all its richness, in the gardens, with gardens at school. This is a culture that passes from students to parents, until it embraces all dimensions of cultural and social life. In the CITY there is all the potential to convey such forms of culture. Therefore, alongside global solutions, in local choices and city decisions, MAYORS play a crucial role in leading citizens to know and consolidate traditions, local identity, and the diplomacy of the common good. Starting from food and through food.

Beginning with SCHOOLS is crucial. The current educational system lacks a transversal food culture, an integral part of all disciplines, which is not limited only

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FOOD IDENTITY

2. CULTURE AND IDENTITY

MUST BE NURTURED DAILY, STARTING WITH CONVIVIALITY AND FARMERS' MARKETS Culture and identity are manifested in rituals, traditions, productions, local food, and wine diversity and landscapes, including the rich fabric of MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES. Food itself is the means by which to come together, find each other, recognize each other, share and support each other. Bringing consumers closer to those who produce the food is the first step to strengthen the ties that are established behind the food we eat, to lead citizens to understand, by experiencing directly, the natural cycles, the value of seasonality, the time of Nature, but also to understand and experience the surrounding natural and cultural landscape. Recreating and regenerating these links is fundamental and it is possible to start from public spaces, from squares, from CITIZENS' AND FARMERS' MARKETS, making them places of physical exchange and ideas, of mutual

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support, but above all of closeness to the products of the Earth for all the people of the local community. In the diversity of products and production methods is found the focal point of identity of a town, as well as the highest degree of nutrition. By encouraging forms of REGENERATIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM it is possible to contribute actively and effectively to the promotion of natural heritage, supporting the local economic fabric. Only in this way, urban and peri-urban areas, city and rural realities can return to be one with the cultural and natural diversity that is the basis of our identity.


CLIMATE-SMART ECOSYSTEMS

3. REGENERATION IS INNOVATION SERVICE OF TRADITION

In order to avoid jeopardizing the incredible landscape, enogastronomic, cultural, natural, and food heritage of Pollica, we need innovation. We need innovation in the process of digital transition necessary today to ensure a more sustainable and inclusive use of the territories, from infrastructure to access to essential services in the villages and inland areas of Italy. We need innovation in the creation of "CLIMATE-NEUTRAL TERRITORIES," prototyping innovative solutions that make the production models typical of the Mediterranean basin not only sustainable but resilient to climate change. Implementing projects of greater water resilience, strengthening a re-engineering of the Mediterranean supply chain also paving the way for new collaborations with

start-ups, local, European, and international organizations means supporting the Mediterranean supply chain also through the birth of local businesses, fighting the heavy levels of local unemployment. Innovation that cannot be an end in itself, but rooted in the TRADITIONAL AGROECOLOGICAL WISDOM, in the holistic agricultural approach that has always been used in these areas. Only from this precious cross-pollination of innovation and tradition, is it possible to develop a Laboratory at the service of the local community, able to promote an integral, environmental, social, and cultural regeneration.

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CIRCULAR LIVING

4. CIRCULAR LIVING

IS NOT JUST ABOUT ELIMINATING BUT ALSO RETHINKIN Waste arises where we do not grasp the true value behind what we throw away. The road to a circular economy starts from a greater appreciation of the resources we have available, rethinking and restructuring their purpose and their use. Food is one of the central resources in this journey. From the reduction of losses in the fields to a greater recovery of surpluses, from the prevention of domestic waste to the promotion of healthy and sustainable diets, preserving the true value of food also means transforming villages and cities into CONTAINERS OF TRUST, into NETWORKS OF MUTUAL COLLABORATION, in which the surplus of one becomes a necessary resource for the other. From catering to

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large-scale distribution, surpluses can be shared, donated and re-shared, feeding the sense of community united around the common good. Especially in small rural villages, often isolated and under-populated, as well as in large city centers, community cooperation supports models of sustainable development where the economic and social infrastructure is created from below, to feed local micro-economies and transform the inhabitants into entrepreneurs. The same applies to other natural and non-natural resources: from the recycling of agricultural by-products to an efficient management of separate waste collection, from the rethinking of plastics in ports to a valorization of POSIDONIA, all these elements are at the basis of a new model of life, one in which circularity is implemented by design.


PROSPERITY

5. WHEN COLLABORATION PASSES THROUGH NEW FORMS OF ENTERPRISE AND SOCIALITY Prosperity Thinking starts from a need: to recreate ecosystems based on a shared and inclusive idea of prosperity that includes not only economic growth but also social and environmental well-being. It is a method that puts people, the territory, and the planet at the center of design. So, if more and more forms of leadership start from overcoming personal interests to embrace more and more collective needs, prosperity is increasingly measured in environmental well-being, in the state of biodiversity, in the state of social regeneration, and in individual well-being. No integrity of ecosystems can be pursued without first pursuing the integrity of human life. Promoting the WELL-BEING OF DAILY life means to bring back the health of man at the center, in its different facets and dimensions. It means distancing ourselves from frenetic lifestyles, from extensive and intensive production methods, from food lacking in nutrients and taste. From cities, from villages, from Pollica it is possible to start again in order to promote forms of individual and shared well-being among the inhabitants of the same house, of the same neighborhood, of the same city.

sustainable, is crucial. Food plays a central role in all of this: the way in which food is produced, processed, and transported determines the state of natural resources as well as ecosystem services, which return to man the quality, quantity, and variety of natural wealth in the food consumed. Considering all those who provide food as protectors and custodians of the health of people and the planet is the paradigm shift needed to return to the model of One Health, a model in which learning is not limited to the classroom, in which hospitals are conceived as places of physical and mental regeneration, in which cafeterias are considered as places of social interaction, in which landscapes are preserved and experienced as places of continuous discovery. A circle that starts from individuals to give back to society and economy the VALUE OF BEAUTY.

In this, the model of the Mediterranean Diet, an exemplary lifestyle to pursue forms of collective development, slow, respectful, fair, healthy, and

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WHAT'S NEXT?

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POLLICA 2050

SUSTAINABLE INNOVABILITY TO FUTURE-PROOF HUMANITY “Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living” is a strategic project that focuses on the Mediterranean Diet as a model of Integral Ecological Regeneration to enhance dormant resources. This initiative leverages the limitless power of creativity and innovation to build inclusive prosperity starting from the integral ecological approach. This strategy has been prototyped for more than a year and through the hypothesized management tools is actively developing a tangible ecosystem capable of feeding and regenerating itself to sustain throughout time. The emphasis on innovation allows the project to branch out from Pollica as a hub so that the entire territory can benefit from it. Touching on the five core themes of the Environment, Health, Agriculture, Tourism (art & culture), and Sociality, the innovation is grounded in the priorities of the Agenda 2030 while approaching the effort from a framework of integral ecological regeneration.

A process that encourages us to think and act in a systemic way, orienting all our actions towards the creation of inclusive prosperity. Accelerating the Digital Transition, a sustainable, indispensable lever for the implementation of the true Green Deal that requires us to face a real Cultural Transition, which facilitates the acquisition of new Competencies and gives Heart to the digital, which is not the end, but a powerful means.

INNOVABILITY Innovability, is the approach adopted in the co-design process of the Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living project.

Where there is only one true imperative: Collaboration. Today patronage and collaboration between public and private are essential to accelerate innovation processes. An essential practice to spread, capable of generating opportunities for economic and social development starting from the territories, starting from the inland areas, from villages, from communities, real “Living Labs” to prototype innovative models of sustainable development. The meeting between tradition, “heritage,” and innovation of approach, product, and process are the elements that strongly characterize this project proposal and permeate in every area:

Innovability. A word that stems from an inseparable pair today: the meeting between innovation and sustainability, essential ingredients to guide any regeneration process.

ENVIRONMENT 1. The design of the new Municipal Urban Plan “FOODSCAPE” presents a highly innovative approach to the recovery techniques of the buildings covered

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by this call for proposals that aims to create super-efficient buildings. 2.

The Circular Economy implemented at an experimental and educational level through a plastic recycling laboratory located at the Castle of the Princes Capano, the ”Philosophy Med Lab,” but also thanks to the creation of an experimental plant for the production of electricity from Organic Fraction from Urban Waste (OFMSW) and algae from Poseidonia.

3.

The protection of biodiversity will take place through an experimental project promoted by the University of Molise which aims to monitor the health of the ecosystem rate of biodiversity through the study of the health of bees.

4.

The monitoring of environmental parameters will be taken care of by Strobilo that downstream of the experimentation will create an exclusive algorithm able to identify the key parameters of “longevity” and will be integrated with neuroscientific studies carried out on the resident population and a machine learning platform that will allow public administrations to make strategic decisions based on scientific data.

HEALTH Wellness is an element of essential importance in designing healthy, inclusive, and sustainable cities, but also a new lever to promote the territory with new forms of tourism that focus on biophilia, wellness, and longevity. The Campus hosts, for example, the Mediterranean Mind Lab that through neuroscience and the constant

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monitoring of numerous environmental parameters, analyzes the benefits resulting from the relationship with the natural environment to structure a predictive model capable of increasing the competitiveness of the territory through the enhancement of the “Mediterranean Diet” as the set of benefits related to the food model, both the healthiness of the ecosystem and the lifestyle given by the traditional knowledge of Cilento. But in everyday life, many aspects relate to the theme of prevention and public health, and new ways of providing health services are now possible thanks to the services of digital medicine designed for the new Community House through the implementation of software platforms that can manage multi-diagnostic medical records, allowing full support of monitoring and medical follow-up on the territory. Tele-medicine, Tele-assistance, and Tele-consultation will facilitate innovative solutions and perspectives for constant health care, offering advantages in terms of: • Interaction between the specialist and the patient; • Breaking down geographic and time barriers; • Reducing travel by allowing the detection of parameters and values directly from the patient’s home and in full autonomy. • Ensure that critical patients can be treated promptly in case of need. AGRICULTURE Also in agriculture, every aspect is touched by the whole ecological approach, which in itself represents a real innovation from the methodological point of view, the “innovation” is the predominant driver,


necessary to: • Enhance the local productions, the food and wine excellences DOC, DOP, IGP, Slow food presidia, and the iconic products of the Mediterranean Diet. • Make products more healthy and safe for consumers. • Increase sustainability for the good of the planet, protecting the essential resources of the ecosystem. Starting from the experimental vineyard in the Municipality of Pollica, managed by the Mastroberardino Company, where the CNR, the Italian National Research Institute will settle and start experimenting with the Bioristor sensor, an Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) able to detect the onset of water stress and, potentially, send a signal that it is necessary

to irrigate, thus allowing a significant reduction in water waste and increasing the sustainability of agricultural production. To then consolidate the many projects of the Paideia Campus there is a M.E.D. Lab that hosts open innovation programs, and that with Future Food will incubate AgriTech startups and programs promoted by the Faculty of Agriculture of the University Federico II of Naples. It will host pilot projects such as the one being developed in collaboration with the Global Innovation Team of Danone, that starting from Pollica will prototype a new model of product development and procurement coming from regenerative models thanks to a process of co-design that will involve many partners of the project. This process involves the Future Food Institute, heroic farmers and

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guardians of the territory, food industries, cooperatives, Coldiretti, Biodistrict, Rareche, Universities, and agricultural trade associations. It represents a territory rich in excellent producers and products to protect and enhance, in Italy and worldwide. For this, the revolutionary technology of BluDev® will be implemented. It can create a biofingerprint for each product (BFP — Bio FingerPrint) and store this information in a distributed database using the paradigms of Blockchain, i.e., a type of data structure that identifies and tracks transactions digitally. TOURISM, ART, AND CULTURE The cultural redevelopment of the territory occurs through the promotion of a new model of tourism: aware, careful, slow, responsible, and sustainable. To discover the roots, relationships, and values of the Mediterranean Diet, to get to know the custodians of the environmental, food, and cultural biodiversity of the territory; to protect and at the same time make Italian heritage, archaeological sites, historical buildings accessible, but above all to create awareness, innovation, technology, and new models of edu-tainment become essential elements. Like the “Trame Mediterranee” project, which starts in schools with innovative internship programs to train young explorers, storytellers, and ambassadors of the Mediterranean identity, and becomes a program of cultural animation with the “Food Theater — From the land to the banquet”: food experiences that focus on the supply chains and the stories of producers. But also a “web radio” to give voice to the stories of the protagonists

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of the Mediterranean Diet and a web app completely integrated with the services, tourist and otherwise, offered by the Public Administration. Tourist information, e-commerce, and interactive technology to explore the area and literally immerse yourself in an experience that smells of history, art, culture, science, and taste. All animated by the young people of the territory who (as tested in the field during the first year of the prototype) will develop a healthy “capital pride” and the managerial, relational, and technological skills to enhance their land of origin. A Virtual Museum of Italian UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage that, through augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and immersive projections with touch interactions, will take visitors on a journey of discovery of Italy’s intangible wealth. Painting, photography, sculpture, music, and cinema, with exhibitions, festivals, and shows to celebrate the “Mediterranean way of life” in the broader framework of integral ecological development; but above all, participatory art projects where the community becomes the protagonist in the creative process, as co-authors of the work itself, authentically expressing the values and identity of the “Mediterranean way of life.” But also new restaurant models that celebrate the true Mediterranean “convivio” offering solutions capable of involving the entire community with a home restaurant network organized by the Women of the Mediterranean Diet.


SOCIAL A community that in the last two years has been able to welcome, thanks to the experimental Living Lab of Cities 2030 — EU H2020 project (initiated by the Future Food Institute), numerous initiatives that are bringing positive cultural influence and training the community in active citizenship. • A school (the first in Italy) to train NEETS and Migrants on innovative practices of regenerative agriculture; A women’s house and a gender library to create awareness and accelerate processes of active participation in the political, cultural, and economic life of local girls; • New spaces designed to train entrepreneurship and creativity as the Incubator of Future Food Institute attract new citizens with services for South Working and as the Fab Lab and

the Media Lab located at the Castle of the Princes Capano, a Digital Academy to train citizens of all ages on digital skills and teamwork, a Residence for Artists, an ideal and evocative place, for those who want to seek new inspiration for their art entering in full harmony with nature. Last but not least, this model sees the Sustainable Development Goals and targets set by the 2030 Agenda as reference points to which to aspire. An essential tool to address development policies and daily choices in a systemic way.

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POLLICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

FROM THE CRADLE OF CULTURE AND INTANGIBLE HERITAGE OF HUMANITY, TO A MODEL AND STRATEGY FOR THE INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT OF VILLAGES “Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living,” which focuses on the Mediterranean Diet as a model of Integral Ecological Regeneration, is a strategic project designed to enhance dormant resources. This initiative urges us to think and act in a systemic way, directing every action to the creation of inclusive prosperity starting from the integral ecological approach, tested over the years, and applied in every phase of the project. This strategy has been prototyped in the field for a year, and today, thanks to the hypothesized management tools, aims to create a real ecosystem capable of feeding itself and regenerating itself to persist over time. It will diffuse in space so that the entire territory can benefit from it. Today, it is necessary to network and be networked, as such, it will go deep so that the impact will be truly transformative. There are six concrete areas of intervention capable of safeguarding the environment, favoring the new generations, guaranteeing social justice for all, implementing a model of truly sustainable, participatory, and integral development. Following a pandemic that has upset the equilibrium of the entire world and exacerbated the pre-existing problems of the system in which we live, the time is ripe to implement that long-discussed regeneration process. We talk about “regeneration” and not just “restarting,” not by chance. After an entropic crisis like the one we experienced, it was impossible to think of resuming the games as we left them, with the same rules.

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It is time to change, to distort, to re-invent. This is the only tuneful note in this story: although forced and dictated by necessity, Covid-19 has led to a general awakening of consciences, aware that this is perhaps the last chance we have, not only to make the Italian system survive, so rich and fragile, diversified and complex, but also to outline new and innovative guidelines for a future capable of safeguarding the environment, favoring new generations, guaranteeing social justice for all, implementing development that is truly sustainable, participated, integral. Therefore, there is a need for a radical and structural renewal, capable of involving the whole social fabric, on all levels. Regeneration is either collective or not. This is even more true for the South. And is even more true for our villages: small and unique baskets of biodiversity and ancient culture, today at risk of depopulation and therefore, of extinction. For this reason, “Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living” is a candidate to become the pilot project for the Campania Region to make cultural stimuli the lever to trigger “the cultural, social and economic regeneration of abandoned villages at risk.” After all, Cilento has always been a place of strong cultural ferment: it is there that the Western philosophical thought of the Eleatic School took its first steps; where the very first socio-economic and environmental regeneration led by the Basilian monks took shape; where the Salerno Medical


School was born and where, above all, the Mediterranean lifestyle was codified, the socalled Mediterranean Diet — today a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, of which Pollica is an Emblematic Community. This cherished lifestyle is capable of combining human health and environmental protection; protection of gastronomic pleasure and defense of biodiversity; pride in one’s identity and awareness of being children of cultural crossbreeding; love for the sea and roots firmly planted in the earth. All this is the Mediterranean way of life, an approach to existence and to our “being in the world” which is based on the awareness that “everything is connected,” the approach which is the basis of our project and which is rooted in the history and culture of Pollica, but which must be rediscovered, brought back into vogue and made into a model and strategy for innovative and sustainable development of the villages, in fact, “integral,” which leaves nothing and no one behind.

For this reason, it makes sense to start from here: from the place where it is possible to touch and understand the complexity of the world in which we live and its infinite interconnections. From that concept of full ecology that Pope Francis explains in his Encyclical Laudato Si’, where we are finally aware that every choice and action we make has an impact on our surroundings. A concept of which the Mediterranean Diet is a master, as it explains how much our quality of life depends on the quality of the environment we inhabit, the air we breathe, the time we dedicate to relationships, and the happy stability of a simple but tasteful life. This approach is also applicable to the concept of development: for it to be truly sustainable, it is necessary to remember that there is no economic prosperity in a degraded environment; there is no tourism strategy that holds in places where the inhabitants are not happy and there is nothing authentic left to tell; there is no investment capable of working on its own, without someone on the ground willing, able, and competent to make it bear fruit in a meaningful and heartfelt way; there

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can be no demographic growth in a place where there are no services or cultural stimuli; there is no future or regeneration if policy does not project long-term. It’s all incredibly connected, integrated, interconnected. If the Mediterranean Diet is a concrete example of integral ecology, then Pollica is the perfect place to prototype and co-create the first model of integral development, able to translate the intangible heritage of the Mediterranean Diet into a new strategy of prosperity. This different model does not focus on mere profit as an end in itself, but instead on the community, understood as the virtuous encounter between territory and people. However, to protect, trigger, and promote this meeting and the beauty that comes from it, it is necessary to start from the activation and empowerment of people in the area, giving them the right tools to do so. And this is why — despite its history and potential — Pollica is in danger like many other small Italian villages. Where there is not the feared “brain drain,” there is however a real “drowsiness” of brains due to a strong and paradoxical lack of stimuli: depopulation and desertification of hearts and minds are a cancer here too. If it is true that during the summer Pollica is perceived as a vital and virtuous center of seaside tourism, it is therefore difficult to imagine it as a “village at risk.” But it is also true that the village goes into a phase of lethargy and dormancy during the winter period. However, it is necessary to go beyond what is perceived and base ourselves on concrete data. During the period from October to March, the town empties, the activities, and services that

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are strictly summertime close, jobs are lacking and only the inhabitants remain, fewer and fewer, older and older, while the younger ones no longer find reasons, incentives, or the tools to stay. The danger here is twofold: not only is the livelihood of the younger generations at risk and therefore of the village itself — which becomes a mere holiday resort — but also the boundless heritage, both tangible and intangible, that is intrinsically linked to this territory, its history, its human and natural biodiversity, its customs, and traditions. To prototype a true regeneration process, one that works and can be replicated elsewhere, we, therefore, believe that it makes sense to imagine and work for Pollica 2050. From a challenging territory that can offer so much in terms of culture and nature, but that both risks putting to sleep and/or running away from its most precious resources, and equally risks selling out, focusing on tourism which, if the territory becomes corrupted and loses its authenticity, also risks losing value. The objective of the project is more generally to remove the limiting role of the villages as a place for tourists, a “container” for seasonal events and passage, and instead to create a new model that makes the village itself an integral part of a self-sufficient and complex ecosystem. This ecosystem will offer opportunities to its inhabitants, not only seasonally, thanks to the prototyping of innovative and sustainable solutions applicable to production models typical of the Mediterranean basin, giving voice and support to those who “make” the Mediterranean Diet (farmers, fishermen, artisans), using technology as a tool to serve the community; but also thanks to the creation of a network with the other surrounding villages and — aware that


innovation is an effort of cooperation — to the dialogue with different actors of the Italian and international productive and cultural scenes. Already, sixty potential partners are involved, from the academic world to the entrepreneurial one, from cultural centers to international start-ups. Pollica 2050, as a pilot project, will have the burden and the honor to build this network, to create the digital tools (online, open-source platforms), to spread the word (through a Digital Academy), to put synergy into the existing realities of the territory by enhancing the platforms for the fruition of the tourist offer and the experience of the territory. It will build solid foundations for a participatory process that not only independently survives throughout time, but also serves as an example for other villages, becoming replicable and applicable without further macro-investments. Pollica 2050 does not simply want to be a project, but the beginning of a process with a positive impact: it wants to create the foundations, the humus, the basis for it to take root and build over time a new way of thinking, doing business, making innovation and more generally reviving the territory in a harmonious, conscious, connected projection towards a better future. All of this has been going on for a while. In the height of the pandemic, the Municipality of Pollica, together with the Future Food Institute — in an already successful public and private collaboration — has co-created with the community an innovative concept of cultural, social, and economic regeneration. This process led in April 2021 to the concrete realization of the Paideia Campus, a permanent and international campus within the Castello dei Principi di Capano (Princes Capano Castle) dedicated to the dissemination of integral ecology. In this Campus, open to international students, the community of the village of

Pollica is an integral part, actively involved in the creation of various activities — such as “Trame Mediterranee” — aimed at discovering the Cilento territory, exploring and sharing its intrinsic environmental, cultural, and social values and understanding its immense material and immaterial heritage. And it is just that awareness to create the necessary basis to trigger in the community, young and old, that “patrimonial pride” and that sense of responsibility indispensable to start the wonderful phenomenon of “restanza” (the act of remaining). The “restanza” is the courage not to seek fortune elsewhere but to stay, the will to give life to creative processes aimed at the care of the place of belonging, the consistency of not delegating to anyone the change you want to see, the strength of believing in themselves and their territory, the tenacity to commit themselves personally for the common good of the entire community, the pride of being an example for the entire planet and the awareness of needing a diverse but cohesive team. But the goodwill of those who remain is not enough. It is also necessary to regenerate the many local cultural assets, transforming them into places of education that are alive, innovative, and in step with the times. It is necessary to give them the technological tools, the know-how, and the services to cultivate the future of the local community, networking them with the most diverse realities — not only of the territory. So that all this does not remain utopia, it is more necessary than ever to create a living laboratory spread throughout the territory: for these are essential structural investments, supported by wide educational projects that begin a transition that is first of all cultural, then ecological, and then digital. The project “Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean

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Living” does not start from scratch. It moves in this context and continues what has been started. It consolidates a path already begun that has proven to work and that is, therefore, itself a guarantee of the feasibility and sustainability of the initiative, of the solidity of the tools applied and of the profound sense that new, possible, desired, and well-placed investments would have. Its ultimate goal is the realization of a complex and long-term initiative able to prototype a new strategy for a development that is eco-centric, involving not only Pollica but also the surrounding villages, applying and modernizing the founding principles of the Mediterranean Diet. Pollica then as a concrete example and as a model to strive for, but also as a cultural and open hub where to cultivate creativity, becoming a driving force for others, transferring knowledge, and replicating winning models.

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The desire is to create a plural community belonging to the same Common House and that, therefore, is a community of destiny and intentions. A project that brings the village of Pollica to its etymological sense, that is to be the center of “many houses” (from the greek “pollai oikia” from which it probably derives its name), able to accommodate and enhance the uniqueness of each and to provide and make available to others the services prototyped, created, and tested. In a historical moment in which we have understood the errors of the past and the limits of an ego-centered productive system, and in which we are increasingly in search of new answers and possible alternatives, we nominate Pollica to become an eco-centered hub that is itself a testimony to a different way of life, of this “Mediterranean living” in harmony with nature and with other human beings, creating a replicable model that makes the philosophy behind the Mediterranean Diet the strategy for an integral development not only of Pollica but for all the villages: from Pollica 2050 to Cilento 2050.

Ph: Fabiana Gerardo - L'anima del Borgo


Ph: Gloria Lista - Convivio Mediterraneo

Ph: Fabiana Gerardo - Il Vecchio e il Mare

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ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL OF INNOVATION & PARTICIPATORY PATHWAY “Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living” is a strategic project that focuses on the Mediterranean Diet as a model of Integral Ecological Regeneration to enhance dormant resources. Through collaborative co-creation, verified through active prototyping, the project has built a strategic model that builds inclusive prosperity starting from the integral ecological approach.

the complexity of the dynamics involved, the citizenship (permanent and temporary) has been involved in becoming an “active part,” bringing out the truest reasons for abandonment by the new generations and the deepest lacerations, and then identifying together proposals and indications able to protect and enhance the resources, especially the dormant ones.

Built upon the hypothesized and prototyped management tools, the Pollica 2050 project is actively developing a tangible ecosystem capable of feeding and regenerating itself to sustain throughout time. Now in its fourth phase of implementation, the project is working to address regeneration in six core areas of: Political, Environmental, Human, Social, Cultural, and Economic.

And so the village is no longer just a cultural element to be revitalized, but it becomes an essential node of an ecosystem capable of triggering a process of regeneration for the entire territory.

Each phase leverages collaborations with diverse partners, active participation from the community, and connection to the objectives of the Agenda 2030. OBJECTIVES Cultural stimuli as strategic levers to trigger “the social and economic regeneration of the village of Pollica.” The main purpose of the project is to create awareness and a sense of responsibility in the community, making it capable of enhancing the territorial environment, characterized by areas of high scenic and environmental value, an invaluable cultural heritage, and highquality agricultural supply chains. To facilitate the awareness of the value of the area and

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PROJECT CONTEXT The project “Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living” aims to create a model of integral regeneration of the territories and to become such, it acknowledges that an important part must be represented by the experimentation of participation processes so that the local community is sensitized and can acquire awareness, strengthen its sense of responsibility and belonging to the territory, and can create new economic opportunities and sustainable use of resources. This project aims to give life to a real ecosystem that sees all stakeholders and citizens cooperate for a single purpose, participate, and be an active part of the change. The project developed by the Municipality of Pollica and the Future Food Institute provides coordination to optimize the initiatives of enhancement and use of the entire territory.


The laboratory of participation was developed to train the community to cooperate, developing systemic thinking, facilitating the design of activities, initiatives, and strategies to enhance the heritage “Mediterranean Diet” as a real cultural framework from which to take inspiration to adopt a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Born to create an opportunity for active listening aimed at identifying needs and specific priorities to be taken into account in the project, as well as the possible development of ideas for the future management of common goods, the village, and the territory.

These months of activities, made up of unstructured meetings and field experiences in contact with the community, gave the Future Food Institute team the opportunity to realize: 1.

the uniqueness represented by the “Borgo” of Pollica, a UNESCO Emblematic Community of the Mediterranean Diet, surrounded by an immense intangible heritage still preserved by the local elders, made of traditions, customs, agricultural practices, a real way of life; and an equally immense tangible heritage comprised of marine protected areas, natural reserves, archaeological sites, and historical buildings.

2.

but also of the paradoxical situation in which the internal Italian areas are raging, where when the curtain falls, after the summer, the real signs of cultural and social desertification emerge. The few young people who remain are united by a sense of discouragement, distrust, and political apathy that is reflected in the numbers and statistics when it comes to educational poverty, depopulation, school dropout, and unemployment. The few remaining young people today do not have the tools to compete, do not have the stimuli to create, and do not even have the lenses to codify the heritages that surround them, of which they should be proud and which they should protect. A plague that doesn’t even spare places as well-known and apparently “lucky” as Pollica.

ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK First Phase — The Meeting: April — September 2020 The first meeting between the Future Food Institute and the Municipality of Pollica led to an initial test phase lasting from April to September 2020, which saw the Future Food Institute involved in two punctual initiatives in the territory: • the operation “Water in our hands” resulting in the restoration of the secondary water source of Cannicchio, aimed at increasing the efficiency of the local water network and supporting the community in addressing the long-standing problem of water shortage, especially during the summer months. • the Training program, Boot Camp for Climate Shapers, organized by Future Food and FAO, on the theme of Mediterraneity, which brought to Pollica young people from around the world, experts, activists, businesses, and media for a week-long international training program on both the link between agri-food systems and climate change and on the complex and precious meaning of the Mediterranean Diet.

Without young people, there is no future. The awareness of having, on one hand, an incredible resource, a heritage for the territory, and for the whole of Italy to be cared for,

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protected, and enhanced, and at the same time, touching the incremental state of abandonment of these territories was the real fuse that started this path. The second phase — Study: September 2020 — May 2021 The fall and winter were dedicated to listening to the community, to the study of the territory, to the analysis of the stakeholders where techniques codified by the social sciences were adopted including: Direct observation techniques, through shadowing and participant observation, the relationships between people and places, physical spaces and the practices of social use of places, how the forms of use of different spaces vary over time, how functional spaces are reinterpreted or misrepresented in use, etc. were studied. Direct observation and environmental awareness techniques conducted by local youth, trained and educated in the “AgriCultures/Youth Wellness” project by the Future Food Institute’s team of facilitators with the goal of challenging established visions to build forms of local awareness and greater understanding of the surrounding complexities. Techniques of exploration and knowledge of the living environment, inspired by the educational model of “Reggio Children,” were also adopted, resulting in further experimentation with sensory, affective, etc. mapping.

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Techniques of structured discussion of ideation, micro-planning, action planning, etc., led by the facilitators of the Future Food Institute with the aim of bringing out problems and transforming them into opportunities, and creating a synthetic and, as much as possible, shared project image of the community. The collaboration was further strengthened when the Municipality of Pollica decided to publish an Expression of Interest for the management of the Princes Capano Castle and the secretariat of the Mediterranean Diet Study Center. Four candidates participated in the event. The Future Food Institute was ranked first due to a project proposal that went well beyond the management and enhancement of the property, instead of presenting an inclusive project that aimed at the cultural and social regeneration of the village, which now fully integrates with the strategy pursued and is also perfectly in line with this announcement.


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The Third Phase — “Building Site of Trust” May — December 2021 As Franco Arminio says, who has always fought for the enhancement of villages and towns, we need “construction sites of trust” able to mitigate the destructive force of the “militant discouragers” and regenerate the cultural and social fabric of our inland areas, of vital importance for those who live in these places and of essential value for the entire country that makes these places a reason for pride, development, and promotion of the Country System. Therefore, convinced that, as Buckminster Fuller said, “we will never change things by fighting the existing reality” but rather to change things it is necessary to build “a new model,” we have decided to join forces, participate, and co-create. This mission involves the public administration and a coach/creator/curator of ecosystems (the Future Food Institute), but also Youth Forums, citizens, teachers, tour operators, farmers, and organizations that in various ways insist on the territory. A process of regeneration that is grafted into a strategic path, already traced with incredible foresight, consistency, and concreteness by Angelo Vassallo who taught us that we must start with protecting our territory, taking care of the land and respecting the ecosystem that welcomes us to design a prosperous future for the community, preserved by those who succeeded him and consolidated over time. Now evolving: not only for the community but with the community.

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A process that, in order to be effective, will have to be able to feed itself and regenerate to persist over time. It will have to diffuse in space so that the entire territory can benefit from it and because today it is necessary to network and be networked, and it will have to go deep so that the impact is truly transformative. So our “construction site of trust” started from the community living in the village of Pollica and extended over the months to the wider area of Cilento, becoming a “factory of the future” that today is called Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean living. Involvement times: from inspiration to impact. The involvement of the community runs on different time tracks: short-term and long-term which make the involvement more and more active and proactive. In detail, these stages include inspiration, learning, regeneration, support, innovation, and impact. Each phase corresponds the most appropriate tool, from the Food for Earth Regeneration Toolbox, for the regeneration phase to the hackathon for concrete support, from Prosperity Thinking to drive innovation to the 3D Impact, developed by Tim Strasser, a researcher at Maastricht University, to measure the impact generated.

Ph: Angelo di Maria - La saggezza delle mani


The Fourth Phase — “Factory of the Future” January 2022 We now enter a new phase of project development that sees the emergence of numerous community-driven projects through which citizens are informed and mobilized to participate by surfacing issues and challenges in a synergistic way to planning, and are actively involved in creating the ecosystem. This approach aims to identify the people and structures that generate observable events and behaviors, to the point of designing new models. This process allows for the discovery and connection of skills that already exist in the area, as well as the discovery of dormant skills and resources by reintegrating them into the ecosystem. This mode of action raises awareness of intangible, cultural, territorial, and social values in the area to be preserved and enhanced through four pillar projects: the Hackathon of the youth of Pollica, the Library of Gender, Trame Mediterranee, and the project brought to schools Challenge Based Learning. The Hackathon trains young people to transform problems and challenges into opportunities and teaches them to work as a team. The Gender Library is a tool to support the integration of women in all spheres of society, create awareness and bring the whole community to the themes of Equal Opportunity to know, deepen, and increase a gender culture.

experimental school-work alternation project that leads young people to discover the wealth of biodiversity and knowledge of the territory through the stories of its protagonists (farmers, chefs, artisans). Every day during the two weeks, they try their hand at experimentation and research, with the production and transformation of icons of the Mediterranean tradition, discovering ancient crafts and legacies handed down; starting from the essential values expressed by the “Mediterranean Diet” lifestyle to build a more sustainable and inclusive future. Trame Mediterranee — S.o.f.i.a. on the other hand has involved teachers and professors of primary and secondary schools from 12 municipalities of Cilento, training them through “challenge-based” methodologies, a pedagogical approach through which teachers are actively involved in identifying, analyzing, and designing a solution that solves a challenge based on current issues and real themes. The model used during the training follows three pillars: Inspiration, Aspiration, and Action. And in perfect harmony with the approach that distinguishes the entire course, the Municipality of Pollica managed the co-design of the following call for proposals. A design that involves a wide range of actors called to participate through the publication of an exploratory public notice, which had as its object the expression of interest to take part in this project; or organizations that already collaborate with the entity in the management of spaces or municipal services.

Trame Mediterranee is a multi-stakeholder,

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These are: 1. Public Bodies and Institutions (Municipalities, Universities, etc.), 2. Public and private organizations (Foundations, Associations, Pro Loco, etc.), 3. Trade associations that represent collective interests, 4. Research and training companies, 5. Cultural and creative enterprises, 6. Manufacturing firms, especially in the agri-food sector, 7. Companies providing services in the field of utilities (energy, water, waste, mobility, etc.) and services with high added value and characterized by a high level of environmental sustainability, 8. Many citizens, of all ages, eager to participate, from below, in a phase of co-management of the village that, after years of intense work, now has all the conditions to generate a new way of living and inhabiting Pollica that will become a point of reference for a larger area, and a good practice to be transferred to the nearest communities, starting from the municipalities that have decided to be part, immediately, of the pilot project.

Management model What is needed today to accelerate the emergence of the Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living? • We need open ecosystems, capable of eliminating cultural, logistical, and bureaucratic frictions, facilitating collaborations between the various stakeholders and between the various disciplines. • We need spaces, places of aggregation, to encourage casual collisions and

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create the ideal environment to encourage poetic acts, in the sense of poiesis (creation), to give expression to art, train creativity, and (re)generate culture. We need Living Labs, such as the one opened in Pollica by the Future Food Institute, which was created to stimulate co-design through an ecosystem of open innovation based on the sharing of knowledge and skills of individuals to improve community life. In practice, within the living labs, the community is at the center of the innovation process and aims to make the best use of the new opportunities offered by digital technology for the needs of society (FFI Living Lab Pollica — CITIES 2030 — EU H2020). We need companies and trade associations that tomorrow will be able to implement on a large scale the models tested. Scientists, research centers, innovators, and farmers are needed to make their skills and knowledge available for this experimentation. We need a community and a territory capable of welcoming this experimentation: Pollica and an “Ecosystem Builder” to facilitate the process. And we need a management model capable of involving all stakeholders in a harmonious way to give the right operational tools to ensure the ecosystem a flexible and inclusive structure that promotes economic development, which aims at social cohesion, and facilitates the spread and scalability in the territory. Therefore the management model for the use of different tools.


For the active involvement of the Community — the Association Pollica 2050 The set of subjects adhering to the pilot project will constitute an Association (ETS) called ‘Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living’: the association is the most agile and streamlined tool of our system to ensure a full involvement of all stakeholders, public and private, individuals and organizations. Each of them will have different roles and functions, with the ultimate aim of participating in activities for the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage and landscape, in the organization and management of cultural, artistic, or recreational activities of social interest; in the organization and management of tourist activities of social and cultural interest; cultural activities of social interest with educational purposes. For the management of services, the Community Cooperative Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living. From a more operational point of view, the services will be managed by a COMMUNITY COOPERATIVE: management of spaces and places, cleaning and maintenance services, rental management, ticketing services, etc.. The particularity of the instrument, as described later, allows the cooperators to be simultaneously operators, users, and producers of services and goods of high collective utility.

with the deliberation of the council n. 17 of 01/02/22. The Energy Community will substantiate the effects of energy production from the circular economy project developed with SARIM to maximize the profit of each actor. INCLUSIVE PROSPERITY GENERATION MODEL “No one is saved alone” and “collaboration” are imperatives that will determine the success of the strategies deployed at all levels. Conscious of the fact that it is no longer possible to disregard “networking” and “being networked” for mutual benefit, the entire project has been conceived by designing an “open ecosystem,” which aims to eliminate cultural, logistical, and bureaucratic frictions, facilitating collaborations between the various stakeholders and between the various disciplines to create shared value. For this reason, the model “Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living” not only provides that many services (such as territorial training offer, environmental monitoring platform, platform for the enhancement of tourism offer), are shared with the whole network of partner municipalities but above all that the model is easily replicable on a large scale.

To take care of the governance of the project a Participation Foundation ‘Pollica 2050 — Mediterranean Living.’ To accelerate the ecological transition, The Energy Community — Pollica Energy The municipality of Pollica has started the constitution of the Energy Community

Ph: Angelo di Maria - Il Borgo

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FROM POLLICA TO OKINAWA WHEN EDUCATION AND INNOVATION ARE IN SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY “All the organizing is science fiction. When organizers imagine a world without poverty, without war, without borders or prisons — that’s science fiction. They’re moving beyond the boundaries of what is possible or realistic, into the realm of what we are told is impossible. Being able to collectively dream these new worlds means that we can begin to create those new worlds here.” Walidah Imarisha, 2015 It is now clear to anyone that if we really want to continue to prosper as a global society and ensure the right of life to future generations, we need to drastically reverse the current patterns of development. It requires an effort in creativity to design today the future we would like to live in tomorrow. Embracing a model of Integral Ecological Regeneration is crucial for everybody: individuals, communities, villages, and megalopolises. It means finding the right balance between different dimensions of life, to think and act in a systematic way, orienting all our actions towards the creation of inclusive prosperity. With the Future Food Institute, we have started from the flavors and culture that we know the most: Mediterraneity, which, with its unique way of interpreting and living food, with its techniques and wisdom,

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has shaped the identity of Mediterranean peoples, including Italy. From Pollica, a small village in the south of Italy, and its unique heritage and challenges, we have begun our journey to restore and re-vale the balance between education, community, and innovation, to prototype and co-create the first model of integral development, able to translate the intangible heritage of the Mediterranean Diet into a new strategy of prosperity and sustainability. EDUCATION FOR (AND WITH) THE COMMUNITY Educating is at first an act of nurturing: nurturing the mind through competencies, knowledge, and abilities, but also nurturing the heart, through wisdom, expertise, values. It is a process that should not be conceived as one-way, theoretical, or passive but as a collaborative, intergenerational and multi-level exchange of visions and understanding. This is the vision behind the Pollica Digital Week, six days (25–31 March 2022) dedicated to education and digital innovation to re-inhabit and re-enable marginal areas, to accompany the sustainable development of territories, and to ensure local cultural regeneration. An experience designed for citizens and with active community engagement to debate, to learn, to exchange knowledge,


to develop digital skills to be applied in the entrepreneurial sectors, into the local public administrations to improve communication between institutions and citizens, and in the tourism sector. In this sense, workshops, laboratories, and webinars, have been only some of the tools to ensure active collaboration within the community, by connecting Pollica inhabitants with their neighboring territories. The Castle also recently hosted the first community hackathon in Pollica, “Hack The Village,” designed to encourage locals to find solutions to current problems of the territory, which also included mentorship and expertise of business professionals. PROSPERITY FOR (AND WITH) THE COMMUNITY Small villages and internal areas, which often represent privileged access to wilderness, tourism — sustainable tourism — can become valuable levers for the community to combine social fabric regeneration, support of the local economy, and better conservation of natural heritage. These days, the General States of Tourism in Italy represent an official moment to reflect on the current challenges affecting this important sector in Italy, especially in light of the complexities triggered by the pandemic on top of the difficulties of rural economies, but also as an occasion to design solutions able to valorize a key sector os our country and propose solutions to shape the future of this sector. “Tourism can be a platform for overcoming the pandemic. By bringing people together, tourism can promote peace, solidarity and trust.” — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (UNWTO, 2020)

The Castle in Pollica will have the privilege to connect with other Italian cities and villages, public administrations, enterprises, citizens, and also local and national institutions to share and exchange good practices, promote bottom-up participation initiatives and projects, connect companies and public administrations, boost local development according to the models of integral ecology, ensure a greater involvement of communities in the management of decisions taken by the public administration. We thank the Italian Minister of Tourism, Massimo Garavaglia, mayors, Regional Presidents, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, and all the organizations that actively took part, from Youanditaly to Sustainable Tourism Forum. • •

Tourism can drive innovability. Tourism can accelerate gender equality if attention to the person and relationships prevails. Tourism can support the Italian agrifood business when merged with the territory development. Tourism can ensure social justice while managing immigration and fostering peace.

INNOVATION FOR (AND WITH) THE COMMUNITY What does it take for small rural communities to move from ideas to action? Thoughtful planning through design can help communities use their resources for the well-being of their residents, but many of the places that need it most do not have access to design skills. DesignXMediterraneity was born, in collaboration with the international non-

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profit organization FORK Organization, to support local communities in this direction, by giving life to training programs, design challenges, co-design paths of communities able to generate new narratives for the Mediterranean. Designed as a three-year project, able to touch different aspects of regeneration each year (cultural, rural, and urban regeneration), Pollica recently hosted (20–26 March 2022) the first Boot Camp on design methods around cultural regeneration, in which design students, senior designers and professors Sonia Massari and Mariana Eidler, and young creatives from Portugal, Spain, Italy are working, side by side, with young local the local community of Cilento. The Paideia Campus is being turned into a collective creative residency, a permanent incubator of ideas, where people can test and experiment, research and put into action food and culinary design, graphic and installation, system design, communication applied to the Mediterranean diet museum with the final objective of redesigning the Eco-Museum of the Mediterranean Diet of Pioppi (Pollica). We cannot aim for a Digital Transition without facing a real Cultural Transition, which facilitates the acquisition of new competencies, without giving Heart to the digital, which is not the end, but a powerful means. From Pollica To Okinawa: Envisioning And Co-Designing Sustainable, SelfSufficient, And Resilient Small Cities And Communities Despite being located in two vastly different countries (Italy and Japan), Pollica and

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Okinawa are more similar than what we may first assume: longevity for the population, a plurality of UNESCO sites, strong food culture, unique species of flora and fauna that can be associated with very similar diets. In fact, both the Okinawa Diet and THE Mediterranean Diet rely on an abundance of vegetables (including seaweeds as for Okinawa), high quality carbohydrates, antioxidants, high-nutrient density, and low protein intake apart from lean meats. It has been a connection that we have already had the chance to value on the occasion of the last International Week of Italian Cuisine in the World and that it is now even more solid thanks to the Sustainable Cities Summit 2022 organized by the PDIE Group and Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) that I had the pleasure to join together with the Earthshot Prize finalists, pioneers of regenerative agriculture, and architects of the future. Two days of inspiration and visioning, passing from co-working sessions and keynote speeches on good practices, to touch on renewable energy and circularity, systems thinking for regenerative agriculture and food production, prototyping within a collaborative community, sustainable mobility and tourism, wellbeing and socio-cultural values.


Drawing future cities based on the concepts of micro democracy, ethical values, purpose economy, together with all these visionary people, investors and thought leaders has been a privilege that confirms that collaboration should be the first ingredient to build sustainable and resilient communities, “to foster human potential, to co-create innovation, to naturalize urban environment and to nourish impact” as Dr. Fabian Feutlinske — Founder and CTO, XChange — stressed during the Summit. These are principles that, after all, are at the heart of the integral ecological regeneration model.

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FOOD AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR PEACE UKRAINIAN HUMANITARIAN CRISIS REQUIRES A EUROPEAN SOLUTION Municipality of Pollica, Future Food Institute, and Mygrants welcome Ukrainian refugees in the small villages of Cilento, the homeland of the Mediterranean Diet, to build peace through the culture of food. Together with the Italian Women’s Union (Stati Generali delle Donne), the Future Food Institute has been identified as a focal point of the Ukrainian Government. Giving voice in this delicate and dramatic phase, to consolidate institutional relations in Italy, through the development of a tangible diplomatic bridge that unites the two entrepreneurial ecosystems, with specific reference to female entrepreneurship, youth, innovation, and integral ecology. With this mandate, and in full harmony with European, national, and local institutions, Future Food has built two institutional agendas with 50 referents from institutions and civil society, to support each other through concrete actions to make peace, via multiple opportunities for collaboration that exist between the two countries. This alliance fosters and facilitates the implementation of many initiatives, not only for solidarity, but also for economic, entrepreneurial, civic, investment, and training opportunities. TRANSFORMING CRISIS INTO ACTION There is an old proverb that says “Necessity

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is the mother of all invention.” In essence, it means that the primary driver of creative solutions is need. In the small Italian hamlet of Pollica, located in the Cilento area, famous for being the birthplace of what we now refer to as the Mediterranean Diet, the redevelopment needs of the local community have collided with the urgent humanitarian crisis of fleeing Ukrainians. The resulting invention born from these necessities is a novel idea to build a school for peace, through the healing power of food. PEOPLE, PROJECT, AND PLACE Aligned through a shared vision to bring sustainable development to a rich cultural area, and the need to provide humanitarian assistance, the Mayor of the Municipality of Pollica, Stefano Pisani, the President of the Future Food Institute, Sara Roversi, and the Founder of Mygrants, Chris Richmond Nzi, have signed an official declaration of intent to provide a safe place to live, training on the principles of the Mediterranean Diet, and the development of employment opportunities for Ukrainian refugees. PEOPLE The Future Food Institute, an international social enterprise dedicated to food system sustainability, has been working in partnership with the Municipality of Pollica for several years on initiatives related to


sustainable agriculture, Mediterranean values, and economic redevelopment. In 2021, they inaugurated the Paideia Campus, an innovative Living Lab built upon the intangible heritage of the Mediterranean lifestyle. Situated in the historic Princes Capano Castle in the heart of Pollica, this campus co-creates community, education, and innovation initiatives focused on sustainable development through a model of integral ecological regeneration. We had the great fortune to meet Pollica, the Emblematic Community of the Mediterranean Diet and City of Women, and it was here in Pollica that we learned that convivio, the table where daily bread is shared, has great power to unite people. We intend to leverage this traditional value to welcome the women and children of Ukraine, who will arrive with broken hearts, fear, and an uncertain future, but also a wealth of talents, knowledge, and stories. An immense value to our collective communities. Mygrants, a BCorp, online platform that uses data to generate economic, social, and humanitarian benefits, has been working on the integration of migrants and refugees by mapping individual profiles and talents to the needs of host communities. Through this collaboration, they hope to provide an opportunity to grow the local Pollica community, while providing a safe, healthy, and peaceful place for the people of Ukraine. “With the crisis in Ukraine, we decided to translate all our information and training content to promote a full awareness of rights, duties, and functioning of the asylum system, and to facilitate the identification of

the skills of Ukrainian people already arrived or arriving in Italy. The goal is to ensure that all the skills and talents can be useful not only for job placement in specific sectors but in particular for the repopulation of all small villages,” said Chris Richmond Nzi, founder of Mygrants. PROJECT Inspired by the principles of the Mediterranean Diet which include the enhancement and respect for diversity, the protection of resources, sustainable agricultural practices, conviviality, symbiosis with nature, and the repurposing of ‘waste,’ this project goes well beyond one of welcome. Instead, it is built upon the concept of Food Diplomacy to build a School for Peace. The project encompasses social, cultural, and economic regeneration to create the future with the citizens of tomorrow, through the connective and healing power of food. The Ukrainian women and children who will join this project will be offered the opportunity to not only learn about the Mediterranean lifestyle, grow an edible garden and orchard for their own food production, and integrate with the diverse, international community, but also to acquire skills that may lead to job opportunities in the future. This project is made possible through committed diplomatic action that requires strong and trustful relations and a passionate and dedicated network. Between 25–28 March, the Ukrainian public relations regional coordinator of the Commissioner for Human Rights Verkhovna Rada, Maria Novitska, met with the President of the Ukrainian-Italian Chamber of Commerce,

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Dr. Massimo Ferrara, along with European and Italian organizational representatives as part of a program organized by the Italian Women Union (Stati Generali Delle Donne) and the Future Food Institute, lead by Claudia Laricchia, the FF Director of Institutional Relations. These meetings were an opportunity to develop institutional ties, enhance cooperation, and promote dialogue aimed at building peace. Through these efforts, the process of selecting the families that will participate in the project has already begun.

The collaborative Lab for Peace is an initiative representing the best and most human of values — coming together in support of those in need and tapping creative ingenuity to solve seemingly impossible challenges. Through the most basic and humble of resources — food — the project aims to lift some of the heavy burdens from these displaced families and provide them with the resources they need for a fresh, and peaceful start. Reinforced through the experienced, and

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best-in-class leadership of Mygrants in supporting the successful transition of refugees, the project has already launched a crowdfunding campaign to financially support the Ukrainian people, enabling them to earn money based on the quality of their training. The project aspires to not only generate awareness, but also the possibility for the refugees to demonstrate their skills and achieve economic and financial autonomy, as a starting point to return their independence. PLACE Representing all the values of community, connection, and regeneration, the Paideia Campus in Pollica is the ideal landing place for this initiative. And with the unwavering support of Mayor Pisani, the myriad training and engagement programs available, a uniquely welcoming host community with available homes and land, Pollica can support the needs of these families and equip them with resources and tools for a brighter future. Young people, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders from all over the world are already being trained on the themes of sustainability and food, powerful tools for inclusion. From here, in this cradle of history and culture, a project of great impact to create bridges and welcome, to create a future together, can be born. “Once again, the marginal areas of Italy answer the calls of crisis. They did it during the pandemic and when we realized that the empty spaces of depopulated villages could be a solution to ensure an adequate quality of life during that difficult time. Now marginal areas are called to take on another challenge: to be inclusive. Just the villages, with the important spaces


they have, could welcome in the best way the refugees escaping from the conflict in Ukraine. We want to give the dignity of life to these people who need a modicum of daily normality. We must welcome with great solidarity and willingness to help the people forced to leave Ukraine. And we have to address them by thinking about a project that will allow them to stay on our territory for a more or less long period of time. We want to do it with an inclusive and welcoming approach that takes care of people and their potential, creating conditions in which skills can be developed in the path of building the future, for the people and our territory that welcomes them. Through training, we will break down language and cultural barriers, welcoming not guests, but temporary citizens, keeping intact the dignity of each one and offering them the opportunity to cultivate and increase their skills,” said Stefano Pisani, mayor of Pollica and coordinator Anci Piccoli Comuni Campania.

THE PATH FORWARD As the teams continue with their preparations to welcome and integrate these Ukrainian families, it is clear that this initiative is not happening by chance, but by design. A network of organizations, each bringing unique but complementary skills, knowledge, and resources to the initiative, and a town at the forefront of implementing creative solutions for sustainable redevelopment, these qualities are colliding into a novel approach to supporting the displaced people of Ukraine not temporarily, but potentially into a new, Mediterranean, future.

The Mayor of the Municipality of Pollica, Stefano Pisani, the President of the Future Food Institute, Sara Roversi, and the Founder of Mygrants, Chris Richmond Nzi, signing an official declaration of intent to provide a safe place to live, training on the principles of the Mediterranean Diet, and the development of employment opportunities for Ukrainian refugees.

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