“Transforming global change”: the challenge of sustainability starts with young people

“Changing global change”: the challenge of sustainability starts with young people

At the fourth edition of TEDxLuiss, “Countdown” takes the stage: the event dedicated to the challenge of climate change.

We can't wait any longer: the countdown on climate change has reached its end. This was the central theme today, Saturday, October 17, as the fourth edition of TEDxLuiss | Countdown took place in a hybrid format on the university’s social media channels.

The event was entirely organized by the university’s students as part of the initiatives of Young Ethos, a spin-off of ETHOS, the Observatory on Public Ethics. This observatory brings together professors and students from Luiss, working to raise awareness and develop a modern ethic that starts with our relationship with the social world, living with others, and caring for ourselves, toward a new morality for the Humanities.

“We can change the climate change”: this is the title of the TEDx event, which is entirely dedicated to the environmental issue and focuses on five pathways toward a more sustainable future.

Transport – Energy – Materials – Food – Nature. Five prominent speakers from the worlds of business, associations, and research addressed these topics to the followers tuned in from home. Following introductory greetings from the University’s Director General, Giovanni Lo Storto, they proposed concrete solutions and actions to protect the environment.

Indeed, at the heart of all the talks was our planet, which today, more than ever, deserves “A look to the future,” as was the title of the TED talk by Livia Cevolini, CEO of Energica Motor Company, the first Italian company to produce an electric-powered sports motorcycle. In her talk on the topic of #Transport, Cevolini detailed her company's journey toward a sustainable transition for two-wheelers.

Echoing her, CNR scientist and researcher Gianni Silvestrini, former Scientific Director of the Kyoto Club, focused on the topic of #Energy, specifically the impact of COVID-19 on global energy scenarios.

Diletta Bellotti’s talk on the topic of #Food radiated an inspiring energy. The 25-year-old activist and founder of the “Pomodoro Rosso Sangue” Movement fights daily to give visibility and greater rights to the Italian and foreign workers who, in our country’s countryside, harvest the food we find on our tables.

From food to fashion. Next, it was the turn of entrepreneur Enrica Arena. In her TED talk on the topic of #Materials, she shared with the virtual audience the launch of her startup, Orange Fiber, which produced the first fabric from citrus waste—an excellent example of the circular economy. Enrica Arena also shared her daily commitment to bringing sustainable practices into the world of fashion.

Finally, Research and the theme #Nature with Professor Sergio Castellari, a scientist at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Bologna, brought TED – Countdown to a close. He delved into the impact of climate change on biodiversity loss, which is the focus of his research at the European Environment Agency (EEA) in Copenhagen. 

To close the event, Luiss Professor of Political Philosophy Sebastiano Maffettone presented the work of the ETHOS Observatory on Public Ethics, which he directs. The observatory aims to examine the most significant issues facing contemporary society from an ethical perspective, with interdisciplinary projects spanning education, health, business, new technologies, art, and culture.

An inspiring morning for everyone, in true TED style, with the rallying cry: “We can change the climate change.”

TO REVIEW ALL THE TALKS: https://www.facebook.com/uni.luiss/videos/?ref=page_internal