by InTrieste
The Malnisio Science Festival will return for its eighth edition from Nov. 20 to 22, bringing more than 30 events to a former hydroelectric power station in northeastern Italy.
Titled “CollegaMenti: The Science That Connects Us,” the festival will take place at the former Pitter hydroelectric plant in Malnisio, a district of Montereale Valcellina, in the province of Pordenone. The program will feature 40 speakers and science communicators from across Italy, with talks, performances and workshops covering subjects ranging from artificial intelligence and the human mind to medicine, neuroscience and gravitational waves.
The event aims to make scientific research accessible to a broad audience while encouraging discussion about the relationship between science, technology and society.
Alessia Rosolen, the regional councilor for research, highlighted the festival’s emphasis on dialogue and community during its presentation in Trieste on Oct. 12. She said the decision to hold the event in a relatively remote location had helped transform the former industrial site into a meeting place for researchers, students and the public.
The festival, she added, seeks to go beyond the transmission of scientific knowledge to encourage ethical reflection and public engagement with contemporary challenges.
Organized by the municipality of Montereale Valcellina with support from the Friuli Venezia Giulia regional government, the festival is part of the activities leading up to Pordenone’s designation as Italian Capital of Culture in 2027.
Its institutional partners include Area Science Park, the universities of Trieste and Udine, the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, the National Research Council, the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, the Telethon Foundation and the National Cancer Institute in Aviano.
