Sustainable UniStraPg

The Rector’s delegate for sustainability policies talks about sustainability at UniStraPg

The students of UniStraPg degree courses share the small everyday actions they take for a more sustainable world

Academic meeting held at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, part of the "Culture of Food and Hospitality" festival, with guest of honor Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food. The event centers on the crucial discussion of food systems, environmental degradation, and ecological transition, emphasizing the urgent need to change production and consumption practices. Petrini delves deeply into the meaning of "sustainability" as "durability" and criticizes the current food system for being unsustainable, responsible for a significant share of CO2 emissions, massive loss of biodiversity, and plastic use. His presentation aims to redefine gastronomy not as mere culinary spectacle, but as a multidisciplinary science that includes ethics, political economy, and environmental responsibility, urging students—seen as protagonists of the transition—to promote a local economy based on subsistence and fair compensation for farmers.

Interview with internationally renowned architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri, known for his vision of urban regeneration that integrates people, nature, and built environments, as exemplified by his famous Bosco Verticale. The discussion, moderated by Professor Chiara Biscarini, focuses on the concept of a "new anthropocentrism" and the need to rethink cities in light of contemporary crises, in particular the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and social inequality. Boeri argues that a return to "normality" after the pandemic is not enough, but that a new planning approach is needed to address the profound interconnections among these crises. Central themes include criticism of aggressive urbanization, the rediscovery of neighborhood life (the "15-minute city"), and the redevelopment of small villages as a strategy to reverse depopulation and promote care for the land, alongside a reflection on the role of the university and younger generations in building a more sustainable and equitable future.