Bioeconomy Changemakers Festival – Rome Edition

On 12 March ScienzaInsieme, with the support of some of its partners (Cnr-Artov, Enea and Ispra), organized a morning full of events, some such as Career Talks and hands up, were hosted by Cnr-Artov. Other interactive activities and meetings with researchers took place at the schools. The events for the Festival involved a total of 427 middle and high school students.

On the 14th of March, APRE, FVA New Media Research, Cluster Spring, with the support of Lazio Innova and Unitelma Sapienza, organized an intense morning of TEDx, Career Talks, games and interactive exhibitions involving 90 high school students, to raise awareness about the sustainable and circular bioeconomy. The event was hosted by Spazio Europa, an amazing public space located in the centre of Rome and managed by the Office in Italy of the European Parliament and the Representation in Italy of the European Commission.

APRE, as GenB Coordinator, opened the day by introducing the project objectives and the role of the GenB Ambassadors in promoting the sustainable and circular bioeconomy among peers and the large public.

Then, Lazio Innova presented their activities in the frame of their “Spazi Attivi” located in all the region and the “Startupper School Academy” Programme, aiming at promoting talent, innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity of the young high school students located in the Lazio Region.

GenB is partner of the initiative, supporting the challenge of sustainable living and bioeconomy in general. During this session, GenB Ambassador Cristian Colasanti shared his successful experience as one of the former winners of the special prize in bioeconomy of the Startupper School Academy, presenting his project GAIA, aiming at valorising the hemp value chain from its phytoremediation capacities, textile and construction applications, towards a virtuous end-of-life solution.

In parallel to the main event, the FabLabs of the eight Lazio Innova “Spazi Attivi” were organising various activities (hands-on labs, quizzes and games, presentations, debates and career talks), involving around 200 students in the whole Lazio region. Each FabLab focused on a specific dimension of the bioeconomy, connected to the local specificities. They were remotely connected with the main event to show their active engagement and enthusiastic participation.

GenB young Ambassadors Nicholas, Alice and Davide, jumped on stage to deliver the TEDx “Crickets for breakfast” in which they explained in an engaging way the bioeconomy, its contribution to the main environmental challenges, as well as the controversial aspects. The also presented some bio-based products to tease the curiosity of the audience, promoting a more sustainable lifestyle.

To challenge the audience’s understanding on these topics through a gamified approach, FVA New Media Research involved participants in a quiz game to test their knowledge and deepen their understanding on the matter. This represented a very enjoyable moment, during which students and teachers competed to give the right answers in the shortest time possible, to finally be awarded with the bio-based GenB gadgets.

During the following session, Cluster Spring moderated the Career Tasks where entrepreneurs and workers in bioeconomy shared their successful stories with the students, to inspire and attract towards these green careers. The pitches provided the speakers’ considerations of the many domains in which the bioeconomy can represent an opportunity for studying and working careers. In fact, the speakers came from different sectors of the green jobs, from the sustainability officer in a multinational company to the university Professor in the Economic Policy, together with young professionals from biotech companies and NGOs.