Two days dedicated to innovation. To talk about it by building visions, horizons, prospects. Those of a South capable of attracting (and retaining) talents, to cultivate ideas and make them blossom, generating opportunities, wealth (not only material) and development.
In Messina the future is already present, with the South Innovation Summit at the Future 2025, the event scheduled on 16 and 17 October at the University Campus of Papardo, presented yesterday to the Municipality by the mayor Federico Basile with the general manager Salvo Puccio, by the Founder Roberto Ruggeri, president of South Innovation APS, and by Prof. Paola Dugo, a prior one to research.
It will be a real innovation village, with Keynote and Panel in plenary, over ten theme vertical rooms and 150 speakers on the large trends that are redesigning the economy and society: artificial intelligence, strategic infrastructures, traveltech, Fintech, Media & Creator Economy, Product Management, Policy and Capitals for startups. Microsoft Keynote, IBM and Google Cloud is scheduled, as well as comparisons with global players such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, Weroad, immediately, Alibaba, TrustPilot, Mastercard, Moneyfarm, Qontoon, together with the main Italian innovation associations and funds.
“We have reached the third edition of an event – said Basile – that as administration we immediately supported, with the aim of creating a point of reference for innovation throughout southern Italy. It is not an event in itself: every year we add an extra piece in a path that has the ambition to make Messina a driving force for technological and social transformation. The big novelty of this edition is the strong interaction with the university world ». “The South Innovation Summit is not only an opportunity for theoretical comparison – Puccio highlighted – produces tangible results that become an integral part of the daily administrative processes. Some ideas that emerged during the first editions today are operational realities in the municipality of Messina ».
“The university supported the summit from the beginning – Dugo reiterated – but this year by the will of the rector Giovanna Spatari we wanted to further strengthen this collaboration by hosting it in our Papardo campus, an ideal place to create connections. We have put in place an interdisciplinary work group that involved the 12 departments and we decided to suspend the lessons for two days and recognize training credits to the students who will participate. The goal is to enrich their wealth of knowledge and encourage dialogue between training, research, business and institutions “.
Ruggeri, creator of the South Innovation Summit, an “immaterial infrastructure recognized at national level” came to the heart of the concept: “It is not simply an event, but a reference platform for the entire innovation system of the South. In just three years it has become an essential appointment for companies, institutions, startups, universities and investors, a place where networks are built, skills are shared and the strategies that will guide the future are defined. His strength lies in bringing together different worlds and making them dialogue on concrete issues – from digitalization to artificial intelligence, from ecological transition to new skills – transforming knowledge into opportunities and ideas into real projects. Messina, thanks to the summit, has entered the map of Italian innovation permanently, showing that the South is not only a territory that undergoes the changes, but can be the protagonist and guide “.
South Gazzetta company of the South Journal of Sicily will be the local media partner of the event, sharing the objectives of promoting the development of the South and support to the younger generations. It will therefore contribute to telling it and spread its contents on its media, the newspaper, TV, the website and the radio, and will coordinate the organization of some scheduled events.
The program and the news: the Sici, the Champions League and “Waves”
Many news of the third edition of the SIS, including the presentation of the South Innovation 2025 report, the first observatory that measures the attractiveness of the South on people, capital and businesses with the South Innovation Competitiveness Index (Sici), an original structured indicator to measure the ability of the regions of the South to compete nationally and internationally.
To complete the program, the national final of the South Innovation Champions, the largest competition in Southern Italy dedicated to startups, innovative SMEs and research projects. After Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sardinia, the regional winners will compete in Messina the title of south champion for best innovation project in Southern Italy.
Another novelty 2025 will be “Sis Waves”, the format that extends the experience of the summit to the whole city: in fact Messina will turn into a real Fuorisalone of the South, with appointments in squares, clubs, cultural and creative spaces. Facilitations in transport to reach the location is planned. Particular attention will in fact be reserved for the social dimension and the usability of the event: thanks to the collaboration with Trenitalia, participants from all regions of the South will be able to reach Messina with discounts up to 80% on railway tickets, breaking down logistical barriers and making the appointment really inclusive.
All SIS events are free, to participate it is necessary to register on the official website of the event https://sudinnovationsummit.it/ticket/2025/ where the complete program and the map of the location is also available.