If you haven’t heard about this year’s International Internet Festival in Pisa and you work online (which probably involves everyone to some extent) than this is the introductory blog post for you.
Obviously I’ve made it pretty clear that I work online or well let’s be honest, various jobs all online based or partly so. Being that as it may, obviously part of being good at your job is constantly educating yourself and keeping in touch with current trends. This year’s theme is ‘Shaping the Future’ when it comes to the internet and is the perfect opportunity to see what direction the digital world is heading in. For a more detailed “tour” of what it’s all about, click here. The Internet Festival is coordinated by Fondazione Sistema Toscana. The official hashtag for the event is #if2012. Twitter
I have been asked to be part of a blog tour, including 4 other awesome Italian bloggers, including Festina Lente, Claudia Panunzio, Antonio Pavolini, and Alessandro Bertini. Also joining us is Flavia Cori from Tuscanycious, Leila Firusbakht of TuscanyArt blog e Serena Puosi of Around Tuscany. To follow this blog tour – save this hashtag #iftour for all of the up-to-date details. I even made a search box using Attrakt to save all of the pertinent links and real-time updates. Yes I am a geek, so sue me 😉
We will be focusing on this festival and the city of Pisa, which is pretty underrated. Some of the cool things we will be doing includes a Galileo-inspired walking tour using an IPAD around the historical center, a guided tour of Palazzo Blu and a preview of the exhibit by Kandinski – which will be open to the public October 13th and even a visit to the San Rossore Racetrack.
I am really excited about this opportunity because I really love what I do for work and welcome the chance to get to know Pisa on a more personal level especially since the only thing I have ever done in this city is take flights and cheesy photos with the tower. I admit, I was ashamed to write that but that’s one of the reasons I am going on this tour.
Below is some additional info taken from the official website – which they translated into English woohoo!
From 4 to 7 October in Pisa the future will be center stage: 4 days, 104 events, 200 speakers, 15 locations around the city, concerts, installations, exhibitions, contests and workshops. The city which is the symbol of Italian computing – the first degree course in computer science was at the University of Pisa in 1969 and it was at CNR Pisa in 1986 that the first Internet connection was made- kicks off the 2012 Internet Festival, a series of events to discover and explore scenarios, trends and future developments of the internet. The Internet Festival has chosen “Forms of the Future” as its main theme for 2012.
The program will be divided into three thematic areas:
• Internet for Citizens (I4C): Digital democracy is the theme here. It is an opportunity to explore new forms of urban development and dialogue online; to look at participation in political representation (especially in elections in both Italy and the USA); to present new and innovative applications of technology to public service and health sectors that impact daily life.
• Internet for Makers (I4M): This section will analyse the theme of business and economic development introduced by the Internet.
• Internet for Tellers (I4T): This is the “discussion” area of the Internet, for the expression of opinions in places where liberty and rights are limited or censured – the amplification of the voices of dissidents, minorities and the persecuted – and how the Internet can be an efficient tool for specific political strategies. I am especially interested in this.
Guest speakers have been invited and include experts, researchers, artists, entrepreneurs, critics, top users and regular, interested people from all over the world to put a personal touch from their own experiences.
The official language of the Internet Festival will be in Italian but even if you don’t understand the language keep in mind there will be an interpreter during events.
There are smart phone apps available for IOS and Android to help you get from one event to the next and all events are located in the historical center of Pisa within 20 minutes walking of one another. Locations include Teatro Verdi, Orto Botanico, Logge dei Banchi, Palazzo Lanfranchi, Piazza Santa Caterina, Cinemateatro Lux, Sant’Anna, Scuola Normale, Polo Carmignani, and Piazza Garibaldi.
Some of the events/workshops need to be pre-registered for so why not take this opportunity to learn something and meet like-minded people? Some of the ones that I am personally interested in include “experience day“, motori di ricerci (search engine tutorial/workshop), coworking – freelance collaboration, festival di viaggio (festival of travel), Gates Vs. Jobs (yes you know who I’m talking about) and many more. Don’t forget to to participate in this really cool instagram contest where three winners will get free tickets to Kandinsky’s exhibit.
The events are free and it’s easy to register, here is the complete list.
Curious to know more about the organizers of this awesome event? Here’s the link for the info in English. They also have a youtube channel you can subscribe to and watch the various press conferences and neat videos surrounding the event.
I hope to network and meet people who are just as passionate about the world-wide-web as I am. Plus let’s be honest here – half the reason I go anywhere is for the food and I can’t wait to eat what Pisa has to offer and take many many photos.
Internet Festival, October 4-7, 2012, Pisa
www.Internetfestival.it
Free entry (except for paid events, noted in the program)
E-mail address: [email protected]
Telephone number: +39 050 910777
If you are going, let me know! Maybe I’ll see you there. 🙂
