The WMF greets 2020 with three days of digital and television dedicated to innovation

Bologna, 03/12/2020 – More than one million users reached online by the hybrid edition of WMF 2020, with many events and guests in three days. Under the leadership of Cosmano Lombardo, flanked by Diletta Leotta and Giorgia Rossi, the Web Marketing Festival addressed topical issues related to the world of digital and social innovation, with special guests such as Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Manlio Di Stefano, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies Francesca Puglisi, the RAI President Marcello Foa, the journalist Andrea Scanzi, the actor Alessandro Borghi, the president of the GIMBE Foundation Nino Cartabellotta, the Teotronico and RoBIDONE robots and many others.

The WMF is back: here are the numbers

A three-day event able to reach more than one million users online through a very rich agenda consisting of professional training, current events, art, technology, networking and shared growth opportunities.

The second edition of WMF in 2020 was held from 19 to 21 November, the largest Festival on Digital and Social Innovation conceived and created by Search On Media Group which, 5 months after the Special Edition of June, makes a further step forward in its work of exploration and acceleration of the Italian and international innovative ecosystem.

50 online training rooms and a Mainstage with over 70 guests, for a total of 157 hours of live Festival. And then 60 events , over 600 speakers from all over the world, an Expo Area with more than 130 companies and startups and connections with schools, students, villages and municipalities from all over Italy thanks to the Call for Cities project.

These are the numbers of WMF2020, which grows and transforms with an innovative hybrid format , digital – thanks to the hybrid.io platform – and television . The Mainstage TV studio welcomed thematic schedules, musical performances and talk shows touching the hottest topics of current affairs and innovation including artificial intelligence, aerospace, robotics , digitization, legality, culture, education , accessibility, smart working , rights humans, sustainability and health .

Conduction entrusted to Cosmano Lombardo – CEO of Search On and creator of WMF – flanked by Diletta Leotta and Giorgia Rossi respectively during the first and second day of the Festival: " We are in a delicate historical moment where training, culture and team, innovating in an ethical way, are fundamental elements for the common good ”, explained Cosmano Lombardo .

“We have always worked from the bottom up and involving institutions, businesses and citizens to offer what is a tool for the dissemination and sharing of education, culture, information, digital and social innovation. This year quadrupling the efforts to double the editions of the Festival was complex but it was the least we could do, thanks to the many people who, together with us, live work, innovation and digital as tools to improve society. Thanks to all the participants, the sponsors, the partners and all the actors involved for having renewed this natural communion of intent to build a better present and future ” .

Guests of excellence: this is what they declared

At the Festival a rich parterre of institutional guests to explore current issues, including the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Manlio Di Stefano – " for out of the emergency it is necessary to focus on social welfare and the development of work chains: we are the alternative to the United States and China, we can create the next telco and digital champions in Europe " -, Undersecretary for Labor Francesca Puglisi , on smart working " to date simplified procedures are in place for the bureaucracy related to smart working. I believe it is now an irreversible process and that the development of these new ways of working are a benefit for everyone ", the councilor for digital transformation and civic services of the Municipality of Milan Roberta Cocco -" we work to spread the value of digital as a tool at the service of young people to develop digital skills and enter the world of work "-, and the mayor of Florence Dario Nardella , who identifies in the State – Regions collaboration the keystone for an effective digital transformation of Italy:" The government it should make more use of ANCI and the network of mayors, sentinels at the forefront of the territory who on the subject of innovation unload projects that otherwise remain only in written documents ”.

With Laura Moro , director of the MIBACT Digital Library, we talked about the digitization of Italian cultural heritage. “ The new generations will know the cultural heritage above all through digital. […] The challenge that awaits us is to make our cultural heritage a decisive asset to promote an economy of knowledge and contribute to the relaunch of the country ” he explained.

Also present were the journalists Federica Angeli , Lirio Abbate – " Where there is to take advantage of an emergency, the mafia always slips and tries to earn and obtain benefits" – and Floriana Bulfon – "We need a cultural change and digitization is very important because it allows you to build a network, not to feel alone, to understand that there may be other paths besides the Mafia drift ".

Philip Kotler , together with Christian Sarkar , was interviewed by Paolo Iabichino and Sabina Addamiano on his book “Brand Activism”: “ Companies have a social responsibility, they must try to make an effort to tackle the problems of society. The brand must pursue a purpose because customers want to know, ”he explained. Rai President Marcello Foa spoke of public service, innovation and digital: " We must conceive information and entertainment on demand and live on devices".

Andrea Scanzi , present in the studio, commented on the current social situation – " History has knocked on our doors and we had the biggest challenge since the Second World War, so we have to give our best and team up" – while with the actor Alessandro Borghi , Filippo Fonsatti (pres. Federvivo), Luciano Messi (pres. ATIT) and Francesco Giambrone (pres. ANFOLS) the discussion on the current difficulties of the entertainment world and the possibility of research solutions looking at innovation.

Many voices from the world of research are connected on the Mainstage including IIT , ASI , ESA , IFAB and representatives of leading brands such as IBM , Intel and Nexi . Among the guests also Domenico Lucano , the Regeni spouses, the activist Siyabulela Mandela , Luisa Impastato , the president of the GIMBE Foundation Nino Cartabellotta and the spokesman of ASviS Enrico Giovannini .

The Startup Competition at WMF

The final of the largest Startup Competition in Italy, live from the WMF television studio, saw the victory of lightScience and FlowPay , which respectively won the investor jury prize and the one awarded by the public. On the Mainstage also many moments of music with the Modena City Ramblers and of shows and entertainment, with the participation of I Sansoni and the presence in the studio of the robots RoBIDONE and Teotronico .

Finally, on November 21, the closure of WMF2020 coincided with the launch of the next edition , which will be held on June 24, 25 and 26 2021 and which will further enrich its agenda with new vertical events such as the Innovation Film Fest , the E- commerce Festival , the Book Fest and the Digital Tourism Festival , in collaboration with APT Servizi Regione Emilia-Romagna . The complete story of the WMF2020 is available on the press kit of the Festival, while all the broadcasts of the Mainstage are available on the digital channels of WMF.

> WMF Press Office: [email protected] / 051 0951294

The article The WMF greets 2020 with a three-day digital and television dedicated to innovation comes from TechCuE .