(ANS - Mestre)- Living in the future. New perspectives for sustainable and equitable development:  this was the theme of the annual study convention of the Salesian University Institute of Venice (IUSVE), held on Saturday 5 April.

In view of the forthcoming EXPO 2015 - an event dedicated to issues of food and sustainable growth, in which the Salesian Family will participate with about thirty stands and workshops - the convention aimed to analyze the issues of sustainability and equitable development as the search for justice and harmony between people, society, culture, multiculturalism and the natural environment.

The convention was in two parts. The first was a plenary session. It began with the greetings of the President, Arduino Salatin, and an introduction by Fr Nicola Giacopini, head of the Department of Psychology. The keynote speaker was Letizia Moratti from the S. Patrignano Foundation, and member of the G8 Task Force on Social Finance. Her topic was Positive Economics and New Development for Future Generations.

"We are called to rethink our economic and social model. This call is addressed to all - states, finance, business and the third sector." Ms Moratti explained that what we are experiencing at present is "not an era of change, but the change of an era." We are living with the consequences - in terms of recession and unemployment - of "a distraught finance, no longer at the service of the  economy but of itself." For this reason, the speaker urged the adoption of new standards and new ways of measuring economic development, and the creation of "a favourable ecosystem where all businesses feel that their mission is not just profit but the common good." 

This was followed  by a panel discussion chaired by the Rai journalist, Maria Pia Zorzi, and attended by the psychologist, Franca Olivetti Manoukian, on the question "What kind of psychology is needed for a fair and sustainable life?" Roberto Albarea and Francesco Pira, both teachers at IUSVE, spoke on Sustainability in Education and Communication and sustainable Development. 

During the second part in the afternoon, the participants were free to choose one or more of the fifteen scheduled workshops. These dealt with analysis and viewpoints on issues such as sustainable development and the threat of ‘eco-mafias’, and the relationship between equitable sustainability and marketing.

Published 23/04/2014