Date
November 6: Great success for the 5th edition of the International Conference "Women&Technologies" 2008-2015.
A different way of conceiving the female approach to technologies: a new vision of the relationship between women and technologies addressed not as a gender issue, but as a tool to identify and enhance female talent in research, technological development, and innovation, with particular regard to the themes of interest of Expo 2015.
The 2012 edition, after the previous ones dedicated to ICT and Bio and Nanotechnologies, is the opening conference of the triennium dedicated to the theme of food related to health, sustainability, and innovation.
Born in 2007 from an idea of Gianna Martinengo, who has made the relationship between technologies and innovation one of the main themes of her professional life as a researcher and entrepreneur, the international conference Women&Technologies has received acclaim from personalities in the scientific, academic, political, institutional, and entrepreneurial world, for being able to bring together major current issues within an annual event that is successful and influential in the international scientific landscape.
An integral part of the conference is the
International Prize "The Technovisionaries
®
"
which is awarded every year to women who in their professional activities have demonstrated vision, prioritizing social impact, transparency in behavior, and ethics.
"Ethics is the engine of innovation"
reminds Gianna Martinengo general chair of Women&Technologies® and explains the challenge at the core of the initiative "
Valuing the excellence of female talent and increasing awareness of the potential, creativity, quantity, and quality of women's contribution to the sectors of research, innovation, and the economy of our country".
Contributions, Collaborations, and Partners
The strong and motivated involvement of partners, consisting of a high number of
organizations, companies, and institutions
, along with
endorsements
and
institutional presences
have highlighted the importance of the initiative and the need to continue on the path of identifying and enhancing "themes" and "people" aimed at the growth and development of the country.
The conference received the
endorsement from the President of the Republic
and was
promoted
by the Women and Technologies Association, in
partnership
with the European Parliament Communication Office in Milan and with the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci".
It was made possible with the
contribution
of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the event, the Province of Milan, Intesa Sanpaolo, Edenred, Coop Lombardia, SSICA (Experimental Station for the Food Industry), SEA.
The event was
organized
by Didael KTS, with Radio 24, T
www.tv
, ATM, Urban Center Milan, and Altroconsumo as
media partners
.
The technical partners who contributed to the organization of the conference and hospitality were AAT (Agroindustry Advanced Technologies S.p.a.), CAPAC (Hotel School of the Polytechnic of Commerce), Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, Ferrarelle S.p.a, Fratelli Galloni (Parma Hams), Grafica Metalliana, Poderi di San Pietro, Princi, Sevengrams, CNA, Confartigianato, Gruppo Terziario Donna, Moica, Liquirizia Amarelli, Erbolario.
The 2012 edition received
institutional endorsements
from the Ministry for International Cooperation and Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lombardy Region - General Directorate of Agriculture, Province of Milan, and Municipality of Milan.
Once again, this year the initiative was awarded the medal that the
President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano
wanted to allocate as his official prize.
Women&Technologies®: The Protagonists Personalities from the scientific, academic, political, institutional, and entrepreneurial worlds participated in the conference and award ceremony of the "Technovisionary" Prize 2012: women but also men who have strengthened the presence and impact of women. The fifth edition of Women&Technologies® saw the active involvement of 30 members of the Strategic Committee, 20 members of the Program Committee, 34 qualified Speakers, and 8 members of the Jury of the "Technovisionary®" Prize 2012, and benefited from the passionate contribution of 60 women and men associated and friends of the Women and Technologies Association.
The Conference The day began with speeches by Neelie Kroes (Vice-president of the European Commission, Responsible for the Digital Agenda for Europe) and Paolo De Castro (President of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety of the European Parliament), followed by greetings from Carlo Sangalli (President of the Chamber of Commerce of Milan hosting and supporting the Conference) and Claudia Sorlini (DeFENS and President of the Strategic Committee of the Conference). After the opening speech by Gianna Martinengo, creator and general chair of Women&Technologies®, the first two roundtables coordinated respectively by Lucilla Titta (IEO - European Institute of Oncology) and Patrizia Riso (DeFENS - Department of Food Environmental and Nutritional Sciences of the University of Milan) began. The afternoon roundtable introduced by Patrizia Toia (Vice President of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, European Parliament) was coordinated by Gianluca Carenzo (Parco Tecnologico Padano). At the conclusion of the conference, Cristiana Muscardini (Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, European Parliament) intervened.
The 3 Round Tables of the Conference The topics discussed in the 3 round tables, in addition to the high scientific rigor, were also valuable from a dissemination and guidance perspective for the numerous participants who were not experts in the field and young people present in the room. Nutrition and Health: the new frontiers of nutrition are increasingly identified with prevention and, as widely demonstrated, nutrition strongly influences health. Hence the need to better understand the function of certain foods or components present in foods and their effect on health. The female figure in the context of nutrition related to health. Nutrition and Sustainability: the development of sustainable agriculture also through the innovation of biotechnologies, and how science and technology can contribute to solving environmental problems related to agriculture and the exploitation of resources for food production. The link between nutrition and the territory's identity. The new relationships between tradition and innovation in the field of food. Nutrition and Innovation: the research proposals of companies regarding issues related to nutrition with particular attention to consumer communication: labeling, nutraceuticals, and nutritional claims. Innovation in the field of food, packaging technology, and eco-sustainability.
Women&Technologies®: success in numbers
The success of the fifth edition of Women&Technologies® is also determined by the numbers:
300 participants
were present at the Conference at the Chamber of Commerce of Milan,
40 press operators
and
400 people connected via live streaming
through the portal womentech.info and the platform T
www.tv
.
The interest generated by the initiative was also reflected in the significant number of accesses to the dedicated portal www.womentech.info, created by Didael KTS, which has recorded to date 71,000 visits and 50,000 visitors from more than 123 countries, totaling 270,000 page views. The discussion groups dedicated to the initiative that have been activated on the main social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, YouTube) have more than 2,000 members. The "Technovisionary Award®" has received over 248 submissions for 40 nominations. The Jury has selected the winners of the 9 awards of this edition.
Thanks to the "viral" action on the web and on major social networks, there has been a significant impact of articles, interviews, and coverage on the event. The press review to date includes 114 articles and interviews.
The permanent creative laboratory: towards the 2013 Edition
The sixth edition of "Women&Technologies®: e-Nutrition"
will once again focus on the themes of nutrition and health, sustainability and innovation. The interesting and innovative aspect of the Women&Technologies® approach is that the development of the theme is entrusted, fueled, and stimulated by the creative laboratory, both physical and virtual. It is an open laboratory throughout the year with the reference point being the portal
www.womentech.info
, the WebTv, the network of professionals, experts or simple enthusiasts of the topics under discussion, thanks to the dedicated groups both on the blog and on the main social networks. The Laboratory also feeds on initiatives organized within the events leading up to the Women&Technologies® conference (2008-2015).
Therefore, throughout the year it will be possible to monitor and be part of the development of the main theme to contribute to the birth of the 2013 edition of Women&Technologies®.
The portal will continue to be active and will become the focus of an open discussion on the conference themes, collecting and spreading the contributions of all those interested; in this way, it will constitute an important element of continuity in view of the new "2013 edition" of Women&Technologies®.
Multimedia activities
Photo service
A photo service has been carried out and published on the conference portal.
Access the photo gallery.
.
Video production
The following video clips have been produced for the conference:
-
Conference Spot
30-second spot in rotation in the 2 weeks leading up to the conference on the Telesia circuit of the Milan Metropolitan Underground and in the Urban Centre Milano (Galleria Vittorio Emanuele) - 1 Video clip that traces the history of the Protagonists of Women&Technologies® from 2008 to today
- 1 Video clip that retraces the history of the "Le Tecnovisionarie®" Award from 2008 to today.
-
Video clips containing all the interventions from the Women&Technologies® 2012 Conference
to be published soon
Radio spot production
Radio24 (Sole 24 Ore Group)
has produced and aired during the week leading up to the conference a
30-second spot
.
Program
Discover the full event schedule, session times, topics, and keynote speakers.
The fifth edition of Women & Technologies is dedicated to Nutrition, declined as follows: - Nutrition and health: how prevention is carried out, understanding how foods are made, their impact on our well-being, how science is disseminated, how digital communication is changing (now disintermediated, with the major issue of source reliability); - Nutrition and sustainability: what sustainable agriculture development and science and technology can do to solve environmental problems, but also nutrition and the identity of the territory, tradition and innovation (in communication, marketing, packaging, processing, and preservation). There are 3 key words: corporate social responsibility, responsible consumption, and ethics (as a driving force of innovation). All to be integrated into the role of women, who have always "nourished the planet", are increasingly capable of innovating, respecting the environment and compatibly with available resources.
It is wonderful to talk about the opportunities of technology and the role of women; as Commissioner of the European Digital Agenda, I am particularly interested in the role that women can play in digital technologies, which are all those information and communication services that are changing the world.
In this scenario of economic crisis, technological information is a great employment opportunity for everyone: the use of the web increases flexibility in work, creativity, brings knowledge everywhere (from music to medicine).
"Wherever you are, whatever you are trying to do, ICT (Information & Communication Technologies) can help you!"
For some time now, we have been advocating the importance of new technologies, not only to improve the quality of women's lives, but also to contribute to providing new professions and skills.
Since 2008, there have been 450 female protagonists united by certain values: passion, tenacity, sense of responsibility, merit, transparency, and vision of the future.
Federica Ortalli, member of the Executive Committee of Confcommercio Milano.
"As a public institution for the development of the local economy, we support the Women&Technologies project with conviction, because it is an important international initiative to promote female participation in the world of technological innovation."
Women&Technologies supports innovation (a lever of competitiveness) and emphasizes the valorization of human capital.
According to the records of the Milan Chamber of Commerce, in Lombardy alone there are at least 25,000 hi-tech companies, of which 1 in 5 is led by women, with positive growth trends; furthermore, it aims to combine the sectors of technological innovation and food, both important in Milan: a supply chain rich in resources with an exceptional testing ground, the Universal Exposition 2015, dedicated to Nutrition.
Paolo De Castro, President of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee of the European Parliament.
The themes of Food, Nutrition, and Health are central in the debate of the European Parliament and prepare for the major event of the Universal Exhibition of 2015 in Milan; the availability and sustainability of natural resources is a topic that is based on technology: how to produce more with fewer resources?
We are entering an era of scarcity, so all policies will have to change, we will have to produce without wasting using resources sustainably, with attention to water, soil, and land grabbing.
Claudia Sorlini, DiSTAM, University of Milan.
Health, sustainability, and innovation are three aspects of Nutrition, because a good diet is essential to support humanity.
Today we have entered a phase of great doubt: will agriculture be able to sustain the needs of the 9 billion people expected in 2050? The answers may lie in the fight against waste with efficient technologies in a perspective of transformation and innovation, whose engines are often women.
The number of women in scientific research is very high, and the percentage of female students enrolled in degree courses focusing on food science and technology is constantly growing.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Roundtable "Nutrition and Health"
Introduction to the roundtable "Nutrition and Health"
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Health" Cristina Bosetti, Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacological Research, Milan. Nutritional epidemiology provides an important contribution to understanding the role of diet in the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, tumors, and helps to understand the importance of prevention. The role of overweight and obesity is central in the development of such pathologies, with 15% of cancer deaths attributed to obesity in men and 20% in women (in the USA); Italy is one of the European countries with the lowest prevalence of obesity in adults, despite 15 million overweight people and more than 4 million obese. The Mediterranean diet can help, but it needs to be valued and reintroduced in this period of changing dietary habits.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Health" Maria Benedetta Donati, Scientific Project Coordinator of the MOLI-SANI Project. The relationship between diet and health is the focus of a prospective study involving the entire Molise Region, observing lifestyles, dietary habits, and genetics to evaluate common risk factors between ischemic cardiovascular diseases and some hormone-dependent tumors and gastrointestinal tract. More than 24,000 adults have been recruited since 2005, with clinical analyses, assessments of physical activity, and dietary habits.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Health"
How important is basic research in nutrition? Research models represent the way in which we try to understand the mechanism of action of nutrients, similar to pharmacological research: we do not start from human experimentation, but from the evidence that arises in cellular or animal models.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Health" Polyphenols are a class of molecules with great potential: they are common - along with fiber - in fruits and vegetables, cereals, and extra virgin olive oil. They seem to be responsible for the protective effect exerted by the Mediterranean diet, but they have been studied incorrectly: the synergy between the various components of foods is "forgotten"; the compounds are modified during digestion by the bacterial flora and the right approach is to remember that what really comes into contact with the cells (exerting a potential beneficial effect) are the modified forms of these molecules. Only some polyphenols confirm their usefulness, so care must be taken in communicating prevention, avoiding excessive simplifications and fueling false expectations.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Health" Not always the food considered "most antioxidant" compared to others is truly the most protective within our body. We need to understand if and how these antioxidant molecules work, and the initial conclusions are certainly positive, but we need to avoid unrealistic comparisons of the antioxidant powers of foods, as they are difficult to explain experimentally.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Health"
The science to communicate is difficult, because what is certain today, may not be tomorrow. There is a constant need to stay in touch with the interlocutors, constantly seek and offer updates in the simplest way possible to facilitate understanding.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Health"
Adriana Albini, head of Oncology research at the Irccs MultiMedica.
The construction of a diet should take into consideration the behavior of classes of substances: a healthy food may not be so beyond a certain quantity.
Designing studies is difficult and it seems important to choose markers (free radicals, inflammatory molecules) to compare between cohorts, because the importance of diet components in prevention lies not only in the fact that some may kill tumor cells, but also in keeping the entire body healthy.
By following a Mediterranean diet, our body has "extra weapons" to fight degenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and even tumors.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Health" Roberto Dall'Aglio, an expert physician in nutraceuticals. "One of the most beautiful dreams we can have would be to reach a moment where we can truly learn to use food as medicine and medicine as supplements. It would mean being protagonists in the global process of health production." We talk about naturalness, meaning the use of food to counteract diseases and improve physical performance, even thanks to the discoveries of medieval food history: farmers were able to sustain themselves by consuming large quantities of turnips and garlic, a combination that gives rise to very energetic compounds, fundamental at that time.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Health" Nutrigenomics is a recent discipline because it requires modern technologies, and by "-omic" it means any molecular analysis that looks at a large number of phenomena and results. The goal is to identify the relationship between nutrients and our genetic heritage, not considering the individual gene, but the organism as a whole. Unlike the "acute" response to a drug, the response to diet is "chronic", that is, it occurs over time, at a great distance, thanks to constant exposure; in fact, a good diet should start from childhood to prevent diseases in adulthood.
Round table "Nutrition and Health" Nutritional intervention studies: data support that a certain lifestyle and diet play an important role in cancer prevention. Even during the "active" phase of anticancer treatments, diet can be managed, especially to alleviate the sense of nausea and fatigue due to the drugs used: first, to provide energy and secondly, to eliminate the drugs themselves and all the byproducts of their metabolism, especially through the biliary route. Here comes into play the "organ function", that is, a correct physiological functioning of the various systems/organs that can improve not only the quality of life, but even the prognosis. Physical activity is increasingly taken into consideration, both to accelerate metabolism and eliminate toxic substances and to establish a pro-oxidative mechanism as support to the action of drugs.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Health"
In child nutrition, the point is to study how diet in the early years of life impacts future health. For this reason, the direction that the food industry is taking is to increasingly rely on solid scientific research, approaching the innovation process with an approach similar to that of pharmaceuticals.
This is done to meet the specific requirements of the EFSA (to be able to claim real benefits) and because there is a desire to develop functional foods (which not only have a nutritional benefit, but also impact health).
To discover and then claim such benefits, it is necessary to rely on research in intervention studies and basic research, as it is essential to know the mechanism of action of the molecules/foods of interest.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Health"
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Sustainability"
Introduction by Patrizia Riso to the round table "Food and Sustainability"
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Sustainability"
"Sustainability is an "unlimited" process that tells us that we must try to preserve the environment now, in order to have enough resources for ourselves and for future generations", safeguarding the environment with a progressive economy and a healthy society.
"The health of consumers reflects that of the entire system": it begins with agricultural production and continues to a healthy body, not only up to the table or fork. Sustainable practices start at home and women deeply influence children's behavior.
Collective catering in hospitals, schools, canteens, and restaurants should rely more on local producers to be able to serve sustainable and seasonal foods; likewise, food industries are extremely important in determining the health of the population, through social responsibility requirements to encourage sustainable methods that save water and energy and the production of healthy foods.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Sustainability"
In Tunisia, the quantity and quality of available water are increasingly threatened by climate change and pollution (organic and inorganic). The government is aware of the risks of this situation and is trying to encourage farmers towards organic agriculture without the use of pesticides, better water resource management, and water treatment procedures for reuse.
In arid areas, farmers are encouraged to join "collective interest groups" through the use of equipment in a cooperative mold with performances designed to minimize water losses. An example is the European project BioDesert, which aims to transmit the knowledge acquired at an international, national, and regional level, with a particular focus on microbiology, through a selection of bacteria capable of fixing soil nitrogen and making it available for crops, avoiding/reducing the use of fertilizers.
The same bacteria stimulate plant growth through the production of substances that allow them to resist difficult climatic conditions and protect them from phytopathogens; for example, microorganisms have been isolated that adhere to roots with a powerful antifungal action.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Sustainability"
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round Table "Nutrition and Sustainability"
Agriculture can play a role not only in managing natural resources but also in protecting the land and preserving the landscape, with the protection of biodiversity.
European guidelines aim to increase crop productivity while reducing the use of fertilizers and agrochemicals. This latter point is particularly important for Italy, the world's second-largest wine producer, as the vines are highly susceptible to infections - 70% of agrochemicals are antifungals used in viticulture.
Genetic diagnostics can be a valuable tool in researching plant species naturally resistant to stress (drought, floods, fungi, weeds, pests, diseases) and equally useful symbionts to implement integrated defense, increasingly less reliant on pesticides, which are still necessary to protect current crops.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Sustainability" Making intensive productions and breeding sustainable? It is possible by making animals more long-lived and fertile than current ones, less subject to metabolic stress. It is also possible to improve feed efficiency, reduce methane production, and optimize waste disposal: through genomics, animals with the mentioned characteristics can be selected and native genetic resources can be valued to safeguard biodiversity. Metagenomics is the application of genomics, that is, the study of microbial populations in situ (the rumen and intestinal microflora): projects like NextGen analyze the genome of animals adapted to extreme climatic/epidemiological conditions to highlight the genes that condition such adaptation processes and then exploit them for sustainability purposes; RuminOmics addresses methane production from fermentation to analyze the rumen microbiome, with the aim of identifying the best combination between functional feed efficiency and lower gas production (improving animal welfare and productivity); EcoZoo addresses waste disposal by treating animal metabolic efficiency with waste treatment, to approach extensive farming, where waste is used for plant production.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (Edition 2012)
Round table "Food and Sustainability"
When we talk about packaging sustainability, we refer to the impact that a packaging material or its production/disposal process can have on the environment in terms of resource consumption and emissions.
There are several criteria for sustainable packaging: they must not overlook the fact that packaging should protect the food throughout the supply chain, always ensuring consumer safety.
Sustainable packaging is recyclable and recoverable, reduces food losses, is active (releasing useful substances such as antioxidants or antimicrobials), can be modified to avoid overpackaging and to introduce biopolymers.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Sustainability"
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Sustainability"
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Sustainability"
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Sustainability"
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Roundtable "Nutrition and Innovation"
Introduction by Gianluca Carenzo to the Roundtable "Nutrition and Innovation"
Professor, Marketing Department, Bocconi University, Milan.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Innovation"
Keywords: traceability, consumer, nutrition, primary product, consumer sensitivity, derivative product, traceability, desertification, nutritional principles, celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, enriched foods, fortified foods, bio-fortified foods, functional foods
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Innovation"
Mirella Galloni
Fratelli Galloni S.p.A.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Innovation"
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Innovation"
Adriana Pontecorvo
Export Manager, Ferrarelle S.p.A.
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Food and Innovation"
Salvatore Torrisi
Agroindustry Advanced Technologies S.p.A.
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Roundtable "Nutrition and Innovation"
Stefania Rausa
Marketing Director, Edenred Italy
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Round table "Nutrition and Innovation"
Rosanna Massarenti
Editor-in-Chief, Altroconsumo
Women&Technologies: e-Nutrition (Edition 2012)
Round table "Nutrition and Innovation"
Andrea Zanlari
President, Chamber of Commerce of Parma
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Conclusions by Gianluca Carenzo from the Round Table "Nutrition and Innovation"
Women & Technologies: e-Nutrition (2012 Edition)
Closing Remarks by Cristiana Muscardini
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, European Parliament
