The future we want. The future we designed. — Visionary Days 2020
“The future we want. The future we designed. And it’s fair to say, all while working from home.”
This accurately summarises Visionary Days 2020 from start to finish. Put simply, the COVID-19 pandemic could not prevent younger generations from confronting and shaping a new and better future. In fact, even if this year’s event was a fully digital edition of Visionary Days, the passion, interest, and effort put into it was no less than previous years.
There were no “boundaries” (the main theme of Visionary Days 2020) between the 2,500 women and men under 35 years who met via Zoom for the day on 21st November. As well as Turin, Pavia, Genova, Florence and Naples (the five cities where the event was going to held) many other Italian cities joined in, including Milan, Cagliari, Bari and Verona. Together, it created a unique virtual environment. Of course, I missed the energy of being in the same room with other people, the music, sharing lunch, the conversations; but the core of the experience was still there.
Intact.
As usual, the talks challenged us to look closely at which areas of society we need to change. And speaking of “boundaries” we noted that:
Boundaries are, firstly, mental rather than geographic
Sara Hejazi’s “Peoples” talk spurred us on to analyse common identifying factors. People identify with different symbols, traditions and technologies. All the result of mental processes, which is why there’s no reason to claim a physical or geographical border is impassable or unchangeable. Also, symbols, traditions and technologies can change and evolve based on people’s evolving thoughts. We are day by day and year by year creating new cultural codes, involving increasingly larger groups of people. In this sense, we must ask ourselves who are we excluding from these new societies? And how can we avoid leaving anyone behind?
Digitalisation and information are key to creating new identities
In the turmoil of society, identity, and new ideas, technological evolution plays a fundamental role. The more information and knowledge shared by people, the more they can identify with others because of it. Technological evolution is happening right now and is measurable by analysing the urbanisation phenomenon: by 2050, 60% of the world’s population will live in cities. This will lead to a “super-diversity”: each single human being could build for her-/himself a unique culture, result of thousands of different influences conveyed from the web and from the daily, chaotic, city-life. In addition, it’s important to remember technological evolution not only means improving machine performance for things like faster web connection (which, by the way, should be considered a basic right) or IoT, for example, but also for genetical manipulation. This last aspect will essentially eliminate Darwin’s “theory of natural selection” and force us to think about the possibility of having new and artificially created human beings, communities and ecosystems.
Stop using what’s outside to build an identity inside
Racism, homophobia, nationalism are all examples of what happens when a border becomes a constraint rather than an opportunity. The thinking emerging from Visionary Days 2020 identifies a “boundary” as a place for constructive confrontation. A place where an individual can break down their own mental borders and overcome the fear of difference — not to achieve a utopian and entirely equal society, but to:
Place outside the border some incentives that push us out to browse: as if we were islands connected by evolutionary bridges.
Breaking down our personal boundaries will affect everyone’s life
This statement relates to the urgency our generation feels about saving our planet, which is really about saving ourselves. Our micro and personal initiatives can make the difference, just as macro actions such as international cooperation can (but only if countries respect them). In truth, no G20 nation has lived up to the 2016 Paris Agreement: but we don’t have to wait for someone else to start a change. Our generation is frustrated by the inaction at a political level, and frustrated at seeing natural “borders” disappearing due to climate change. This involves our not only our economic system moving from a linear economy to a circular one, but also our culture. In fact, we need:
A cultural transition from consumerism to sobriety.
It’s time to ask ourselves ethical questions, while developing technology
I mentioned before how technology is rapidly evolving and generating new ideas about society. But it’s also provoking fear and panic in some people (typically, they identify themselves by stigmatising what they perceive to be ‘outside’). This last reaction is due to seeing humans and technology increasingly merge with each other: will this lead to a loss of humanity and individuality or to a another step forward? This is asking each of us to be more aware of the tools we’re using, and to consider their ethical implications. Some people, even in our generation, worry about information asymmetry and the sheer volume of personal data machines process every day. But we must remember technology is a product of mankind’s ingenuity and is at its service, as Reply CTO, Filippo Rizzante, said during his “Mankind” talk. So we need to educate these constantly adapting algorithms and create an “ethics code” that’s legally valid, transparent, and which everyone can follow.
Remove social limits, especially the ones confining the least
In a rapidly evolving society, with new identities growing every day, it’s easy to feel disconnected and lost in a borderless digital bubble. And this stands in opposition to the continuous upheaval and constraints we’re facing these days. This was the context for the “Society” talk, which focused on the penal system. The immobility of it highlights how unfair society can be, but also mankind’s need for equity. Our quest for progress must start by exploring our individual limits and how we can overcome them — and always remembering “you can” as Enzo Celli said in his “Spirit” talk. Then we must remember that all the possible choices we have to create a better future for mankind are valid, as long as we always remain “equitable”. Remember:
How we treat our most vulnerable is always the measure of how good our society is.
Ultimately, this is Visionary Days 2020’s conclusion. To sum up everything, I’ll quote Tiziana Ciampolini’s “Action” talk. In particular her “7 action system” to create a different and fairer future:
1 Introduce equal visions — Gender equality
2 Choice’s freedom — Give power and freedom to new generations
3 1Tie in social and civil rights with environmental justice
4 Grant access to knowledge (and make it understandable to all) — Break up digital dictatorships
5Grant good public services in every country
6 Make work decent, safe, and inclusive
7Improve public administration
This is the future we designed.
This is the future we want.
This is Visionary Days 2020.
