Using nanotechnology to convert citrus waste into raw materials for textiles, a cutting-edge augmented reality system for virtual visits to sites usually accessible only on foot, a remote assistance-equipped treatment and education platform for autistic children, and social commerce for re-use and creative recycling are just a few of the 10 winning projects that have been chosen for CHANGEMAKERS FOR EXPO MILANO 2015, the business acceleration programme promoted by Telecom Italia and Expo Milano 2015 with the ambitious goal of changing the lives of ten million people.
The ten teams were presented today in Milan at a ceremony attended by Cristina Tajani, Councillor for Employment, Economic Development, University and Research Policies at the Municipality of Milan; Carlotta Ventura, Telecom Italia’s Director of Domestic Media; Valerio Zingarelli, Expo 2015 Director General of Technologies & Technical Services; and Matteo Bartolomeo, CEO of Make a Cube.
These are the winning projects picked from over 1500 projects submitted by contestants under the age of thirty from twenty-one different countries: Orange Fiber, Knock’nswap, Trail Me Up, Panpan - Ask Everywhere, Tooteko, Bircle, Smart Ground, 5Th Element Project, Recyproco, and Brand Security (Bsy). These teams go on to participate in the acceleration programme led by Make a Cube, the first incubator in Italy to specialize in high value environmental, social and cultural enterprises.
The average age of the twenty-seven young people in the winning teams is twenty-six. Coming from all over Italy, they are being accommodated free of charge from 1 March to 30 April at a high-tech campus in Milan, where they will live and work to develop ten new sustainable and innovative start-ups.
At the end of this process, the projects will be presented to a panel ofpotential investors and corporate partners who can make them a reality.
The incubation lab is a point of reference within the Italian innovation ecosystem, with support from experts in innovation-related spheres, new technologies, smart city-related development policies, and the participation of investors and legal consultants.
CHANGEMAKERS has been conceived to promote the development of ten business ideas capable of making Milan and other cities around the world smarter, easier to live in, more ecological, more caring and more competitive.
Telecom Italia and Expo 2015 are focusing on young people, the most important resource for development in the country, in the belief that the only way of winning the race for innovation is to make sure that up-and-coming generations have the tools they need to transform their ideas into tangible projects.
Milan, 30 January 2013
