Expo 2015 and Telecom Italia will speed up “Changemakers for Expo Milan 2015”, the enterprise incubation programme that aims to identify and support the development of 10 projects capable of improving the lives of at least 10 million people, contributing to resolve social and environmental issues by using new digital technologies. After the start of phase one, which saw the launch of the Call for Ideas, in which project ideas could be submitted until 31 December through the websitehttp://changemakers.expo2015.org/,a meeting called “Expovisions: Special Edition Changemakers” will be held tomorrow morning at 10.30 in the Telecom Italia Press Room in Piazza Affari 2, in Milan. The meeting will present the Telecom Italia managers who will be participating in the incubation programme as mentors and will accompany the young talents in the execution of your projects. There will also be reports of successful entrepreneurial initiatives born out of “non-conventional” visions, and a round table discussion with opinion leaders and industry experts about how smart technologies can improve quality of life in cities. The event will be closed by Valerio Zingarelli (Expo 2015) and Salvo Mizzi (Telecom Italia). The event will be streamed on changemakers.expo2015.org/expovisions2 and www.telecomitalia.com and it will be possible to comment on twitter (#changemakers).
The “Changemakers” project aims to involve talented young people under the age of 30, collecting and selecting the best operational proposals on topics of great relevance for economic, social and environmental development. In particular, aspiring “innovators” are called on to submit their ideas on the topics which will characterise the 2015 Universal Exposition, in which the introduction of new digital technologies can have effects of special impact and effectiveness: for example, personal mobility, sustainable energy consumption, access to basic education, involvement of citizens in relations with government, accessibility for the differently abled, management of tourism flows and the sustainable production and fair distribution of food resources. Candidates may submit their proposals by 31 December 2012.
The selected changemakers, grouped into specific teams, will be offered the possibility of joining a demanding programme of managerial mentoring. The programme will start with an 8 week residential laboratory to be held in Milan in March and April 2013. During this two month period the selected young talents will live and work together on a campus, in close contact, and will have access to the experience of 16 instructors and 50 mentors - experts, professionals, managers and creative people with acknowledged skills in their field. At the end of the acceleration period, the most innovative and scalable projects will be presented to a panel of potential investors and business partners who can guarantee their full implementation. The most impressive results will be presented to the public during the Universal Exposition, as well as on the Expo 2015 and Telecom Italia websites.
Changemakers for Expo Milano 2015 is a project developed by Telecom Italia and Expo Milano 2015, in collaboration with Make a Cube3, the first Italian incubator specialised in enterprises of high environmental and social value.
Milan, 14 November 2012
