New ideas for the future of the mountains, the “AppenNido” project wins the challenge

The 2024 edition of Appennino Hack dedicated to the development of ideas for inland and mountain areas ended with great participation. The event saw the participation of 90 people, including young people, professionals and university students from all over the region and also from outside the region, with the aim of establishing relationships and collaborations. During the day, crucial points emerged such as the creation of territorial hubs, training, events and the regeneration of places to be exploited for tourism. Themes that emerged during the lead-up to the final day “Road to Appennino Hack”, which began in February and which also saw Emilio Casalini, host of the program “Generazione Bellezza” on Rai 3, among the speakers. The initiative, now in its third edition, was organized by ART-ER – Competences and Territories for Innovation in collaboration with the Catholic University of Piacenza, with the Open Laboratory of Piacenza which hosted the event and the support of the Polytechnic of Milan Piacenza Territorial Center . This allowed a direct comparison between professionals and bearers of innovative ideas on local valorisation and development, with the aim of involving the administrators and stakeholders of the mountain areas concerned.

Many professional profiles of the participants: from local marketing experts to architects, from service designers to communication and governance action experts, members of LAGs, trade and environmental associations, up to creative manufacturing professionals and property managers. These heterogeneous groups have given rise to solutions that integrate different points of view, supported by ART-ER mentors Luca Piccinno (who also held an introductory seminar “Skills and young people: the challenges of the mountains”) and Andrea Panzavolta, Alessandro Daraio – Consultant on internal areas design, Sergio Copelli – Internal areas programming expert, Marta Pellegrino and Elena Bragalini of Laboratorio Aperto.

The winning group was AppenNido which, with the aim of intervening on problems such as loss of identity, isolation and lack of services and opportunities in the Apennine territories, proposed the creation of “Nidi” containers of services for the community by converting symbolic spaces for use by residents for training activities, services for professions and creating “windows” for the promotion of local products, all focusing on micro-services for sustainable tourism and co-working (team composed of Giulia Cavaletto, Noemi Leccacorvi, Caterina Terranova, Miriam Rossi, Matteo Meazzi, Lorenza Pepe, Michela Gessani, Giacomo Spaggiari, Fabrizio Schiavi, Anna Leonida). In second place was the project The Wealth of the Apennines which aims to create a circular wood supply chain model, integrated with the production of green hydrogen and synthetic fuel (team: Roberto Bertorelli, Romeo Broglia, Daniele Uboldi, Federica Errico , Alessia Patricelli, Carmela Damiano). In third place, Cultivating communities which identified the strengthening of the skills of the agricultural system and the reactivation of the community as the focal points on which to concentrate targeted training activities, enhancing structures and lands and involving young people to reactivate economic circuits and reach tourism segments of “niche” (team: Simone Bassani, Mara Bernardini, Marta Boscagin, Deborah Lanza, Elena Romano, Luca Saade, Francesca Schürmann, Matteo Tagliabue).

The activities of the Skills and Territories for Innovation Unit of ART-ER are financed by the European Funds of the Emilia-Romagna Region – POR FSE 2021-2027.