The small municipalities, scattered throughout the peninsula, represent an extraordinary cultural and artistic heritage. Guardians of our history, the beauty and authenticity of their dimension – as opposed to the global one – especially in the last year has been rediscovered by sustainable and quality tourism.
In fact, the villages constitute the backbone of our country, and it is to contribute to their enhancement in an innovative key that the WMF – the Festival on digital and social innovation created by Search On Media Group – in 2019 activated “Borghi e Digitale”, a project born from the desire to promote digitization and innovation even in small towns, while telling the story of the Italian territory in its specificity and uniqueness.
On the occasion of the ninth edition of the Innovation Festival – held from 15 to 17 July at the Palacongressi in Rimini and online – the project dedicated to the villages was further enriched thanks to the official presentation of HUBitat, the network of territorial hubs on innovation and sustainability that connects municipalities and centers throughout Italy created to spread culture and training on digital and innovation issues.
To date, the network matters 15 realities involved and sees as the progenitor the pole of Monasterace (RC), on the Ionian coast. The medieval castle icon of the village, thanks to the collaboration between Search On Media Group and the Calabrian municipality of Locri, will be transformed into a digital castle and will be an accelerator of entrepreneurship and innovation. In fact, it will offer incubation paths for startups and new business projects, female empowerment, exhibitions of digital projects with a social impact. And then, coworking and a free digital training school open to all citizens to train present and future entrepreneurs.
Likewise, on the territory in the coming months the hubs of Salemi (Tp), Nichelino (To), Castelpoto (Bn), Fabriano (An) will be inaugurated. Our peninsula will thus be connected through HUBitat and its hubs will be connected to each other, so as to constitute a single innovation accelerator and driving force of the individual territories.
Also presented in the Senate on 11 March last during the hearings dedicated to PNRR in the joint EU Budget and Policies Committees, the project is just one of the many initiatives that in the coming months will enrich the Innovation Plan that WMF has drawn up, anticipating what will be the tenth edition of the Festival within the Rimini Fair from 16 to 18 June 2022.
In addition to involving villages and small towns, to enhance the excellence of Italian companies, research, the genius and creativity of our country, the WMF has also included a Call for Cities in the plan, offering the cities participating in the initiative the opportunity to carry out innovative initiatives by hosting WMF events and thus creating an Italian innovation roadshow.
Furthermore, from October 2021, WMF projects will also go beyond national borders thanks to the inauguration of WMF Worldwide Events, a global digital cooperation project that touches 5 continents and will stop in 12 states with as many “satellite” events.
Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Canada, China, France, Spain, Tunisia and Vietnam are among the top destinations in the world that will host the WMF format characterized by training, show, business and networking events dedicated to digital and social innovation and sustainability. The WMF events around the world will also host Startup Competitions, with the aim of presenting innovative Italian companies abroad and building an innovative and sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem at a global level, generating a flow of ideas, projects and opportunities between the ‘Italy and abroad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_TvTDWth1Q