900 attending the first Kids University Venice, 22nd-27th May

For 5 days, from May 22nd to May 26th 2017, Ca' Foscari Scientific Campus in Via Torino, Mestre, hosts nearly 900 school children and young teenagers from primary and secondary school, offering workshops and interactive lectures on the topics of sustainability held by Ca’ Foscari scholars and experts.

Kids University Venice, organized by Ca’ Foscari along with Pleiadi, has surpassed the expectations of school attendance, involving young people and making them feel part of the significance and importance of UN Agenda 2030, listing the 17 Objectives of Sustainable Development. The initiative is part of the Sustainable Development Festival 2017, promoted by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS).

“With the Kids University Venice project, our scholars and researchers, together with experts of other relevant institutions who joined forces in the project, will put classes of young people, boys and girls, to the test, offering experimental and interactive lectures on the topic of Sustainability” – explains Michele Bugliesi, Rector of Ca’ Foscari. “We will propose further insights on climate change, biodiversity, responsible consumption, environmental protection, equality and human rights. The objectives of UN sustainable development are the cornerstones of our Research, as well as crucial themes that will affect the life of each one of us, and will particularly mark the future of children and youth today.”

Lucio Biondaro, director for scientific communication at Pleaidi, added: “We are happy that the approach and the method that we are spreading has found such a partner as Ca’ Foscari. This enables us to pursue the national diffusion of the Kids University project: the new generations need direct and practical experiences, what we call “imagining with their hands”, to grasp their future but above all to develop those reasoning skills that will be needed”.

On Saturday 27th May, at 3.30pm in the Auditorium Santa Margherita, the final proclamation ceremony dedicated to young participants and their families will be held. The students will bring their own ‘DIY’ graduation caps, made with colored cardboard, and will receive a diploma of participation from the hands of the rector. The appointment will be a further opportunity to discuss climate and environment, supported by the presence of meteorologists Andrea Giuliacci and Serena Giacomin, and a screening of shorts included in the latest edition of the “Think Forward Festival” run by the International Center for Climate Governance (ICCG).