Hack4Culture

The initiative was promoted by the On/Off Association of Parma and coordinated by Ximena Málaga Palacio, Project and Sustainability Manager, in collaboration with ART-ER and funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Over two days, the participants worked to design new forms of communication for urban and territorial regeneration, addressing real challenges with the support of mentors and experts in the field.

At the heart of the debate was the meaning of “regeneration.”
A word that goes beyond the concepts of restructuring or redevelopment of spaces, conveying the deeper meaning of transformation: the way we live, inhabit, collaborate, and transform our cities, focusing on sustainability, culture, and participation.

But how do we communicate all this?
This was the challenge of Hack4Culture: communicating regeneration through digital technologies as an opportunity to design cultural models, event formats and everyday practices based on creative reuse, the circular economy and ethical resource management, as well as beauty, accessibility, and inclusion.

The two-day program opened with three stories of regeneration that showed how places and communities can be reborn through culture, creativity, and participation.

Michele Nebuloni, Head of Chiesi Gardens, illustrated the urban regeneration project of the historic industrial site in Via Palermo in Parma; Andrea Angella, co-founder of the Start Working Pontremoli project, presented the civic initiative that is revitalizing the villages of the Apennines through collaborative spaces and new job opportunities, combating depopulation and enhancing local communities; Antonio Mortali, KilometroVerde Parma, drew attention to the rebirth of the Parco dei Vecchi Mulini, a historic green area, a place for socializing and ecosystem services that will be returned to the city of Parma as a new space for collective well-being.

Four mentors with different experiences and approaches accompanied the teams participating in the hackathon, offering practical tools and complementary visions: Rossella Lombardozzi, ART-ER representative for Parma and Modena, an expert in territorial and cultural innovation with a focus on skills for territories and communities; Alessio Alberini, Business designer and trainer, an expert in sustainability and innovation of business models, brought concrete tools to the teams to turn ideas into solid projects; OPERA – Unimore Research Team, researchers who analysed the environmental and social impact of collaborative spaces in Italy, offering an approach based on data and impact assessments; Irene di Sevo, Content Designer at SheTech Italy, a graduate in Industrial Product Design at the Politecnico di Milano and always interested in gender equality issues, works at SheTech combining design, communication and activism.