"Working with words": in Milan, the Tecnovisionarie® who lead change are awarded

Milan, May 26 – Last night, the award ceremony of the 20th International Tecnovisionarie® Award by Women&Tech® - Association of Women and Technologies – ETS took place at the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci” in Milan. The award celebrates female talent as a force capable of interpreting and transforming the present. After highlighting over the years the contribution of women in scientific and technological fields, the 2026 edition focused on an element as intangible as it is decisive: language.

The theme for 2026, “Working with Words,” spans various fields, from artificial intelligence to communication, from education to culture, from business to the public sphere, to highlight how language, in its many forms, is a tool for thinking, relating, and building the future. Words do not merely describe reality: they shape it, guide it, and expand or limit its possibilities.

This year’s award pays tribute to women who make language the core of their work. Professionals, authors, researchers, educators, managers, communicators, and artists who use words – written, oral, digital, algorithmic, or performative – as a lever for knowledge, inclusion, innovation, and change. Their words inform, educate, inspire, interpret complexity, and build connections between people, knowledge, and institutions.

In this edition, the word establishes itself as an act of responsibility and vision: a tool capable of generating trust, encouraging participation, making knowledge accessible, and guiding innovation, both technological and social. Whether it is storytelling, public communication, education, research on the languages of artificial intelligence, or the development of a conscious business culture, working with words becomes a creative and political act in the highest sense of the term.

With this 20th edition of the Tecnovisionarie® International Award, we wanted to bring back to the center an element as invisible as it is decisive: language. Words are tools of thought, but also levers of responsibility and change. The women we honor today demonstrate how, through language, it is possible to generate knowledge, build relationships, and steer the future towards greater equity and inclusion. It is in this ability to give meaning and direction to words that a conscious and transformative leadership is expressed, today more than ever.” commented Gianna Martinengo, President of Women&Tech® ETS.

The awarded technovisionaries

Communication and Innovation: Eleonora Chioda, Journalist specializing in innovation, Corriere della Sera (#WonderfullyMind)

Work culture and meritocracy: Maria Cristina Origlia, Socioeconomic journalist, science communicator on the topics of work sustainability, and essayist, President of the Scientific Committee of the Meritocracy Forum

Culture and creativity: Piera Detassis, Critic and journalist

Culture and sustainability: Elisabetta Soglio, Journalist. Head of Good News at Corriere della Sera

Languages of care: Emanuela Orsi, Director of the Complex Structure of Diabetology and Nutrition, at ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo

Languages of scientific innovation: Matilde Antonj, Postdoctoral researcher in the COgNiTive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies unit at the Italian Institute of Technology and Francesca Panessa , Research Scientist at the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Planetology – IAPS; National Institute for Astrophysics - INAF

Digital languages and technologies: Ivana Faccioli, News Director of RTL 102.5

Language, institutions, and society: Cecilia Robustelli, Full Professor of Italian Linguistics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

Language, science, and music: Alice Mado Proverbio, Associate Professor of “Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience” at the University of Milano-Bicocca

Special Gender Equality Award: Monica D’Ascenzo, Diversity & inclusion editor of Il Sole 24 Ore and head of Alley Oop

The Jury of the Tecnovisionarie® International Award 2026 is composed of:

Diana Bracco, President and CEO of the Bracco Group and President of the Bracco Foundation; Daniela Aleggiani, Vice President of the 3M Foundation; Deborah Chiodoni, Director of Media Relations, National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci in Milan; Gianna Martinengo, President of DKTS, President and Founder of Women&Tech® ETS; Monica Mauri, Head of the Promotion Area for Enterprises and Market Protection, Chamber of Commerce of Milan Monza Brianza Lodi; Paola Profeta, Vice Rector for Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability and Full Professor of Public Finance at Bocconi University; Manuela Ravasio, Director of Elle.

Media Partner of the 2026 edition of the Tecnovisionarie® International Award is Elle.