One project, two objectives. The project is called Venywhere, which blends the name Venice with the word everywhere (everywhere), the objectives are to experiment with the new hybrid work and begin to repopulate Venice with qualified people who add attractiveness to the historic center from which inhabitants escape. The technology giant Cisco also joined the project, which is involving several large companies. Sixteen employees of the group who arrived from Spain, France and Greece, following the principles of the new attractiveness project Venywhere founded by Massimo Warglien, moved at the end of March between small squares and alleys and for three months, until May, they live and work in Venice. .
Workers and citizens
The project, presented in the Palazzo delle Procuratie Vecchie in Venice, is a first operational pilot of Venywhere – to which Cisco provides technological support – which, in collaboration with the Venice Foundation and the Ca ‘Foscari and Iuav universities, aims to promote the urban renewal of Venice attracting talents also through the development of conditions for hybrid work. The Verywhere project offers the newly acquired “Venetians” support to find suitable accommodation and work spaces and involves them in the life of the city and the Venetian community, also with participation in social or environmental associations.
The first answers give hope: tens of thousands of visits to the dedicated platform and over 1500 workers from all over the world already registered, even before the official launch of the initiative. A project that aims to intercept the vast audience of workers from anywhere, which now represent an increasingly consolidated frontier in the contemporary world. By putting a stop not only to the decline in residents (less than 50 thousand by the summer) but also to the closure of economic activities for citizens, in a perverse vicious circle.
The data to understand how to work better
During the period of stay in Venice, the Cisco team carries out the usual work activities, providing the data that will then be analyzed in collaboration with Ca ‘Foscari and from which important indications will be provided for the implementation of models and hybrid work solutions.
“We want to allow people to live their professional ambitions in harmony with their life and with the needs that change according to the moment of life in which they find themselves”, comments Gianmatteo Manghi, CEO of Cisco Italy. “Technologies are essential for this to be possible.” Remote working technologies allow people to decide where to work, and companies today can select talent from around the world without requiring them to move to central offices.