The first edition of the Biennale della Sostenibilità will begin tomorrow. The event, organized by the Venice Sustainability Foundation (VSF/FVCMS), will open with the conference “The MOSE and others: defense against high tides around the world” and will unfold until November 25th with a series of events dedicated to reflection and international dialogue on sustainable territorial development. The inaugural event will take place at the Sala Squadratori of the Venice Arsenale, coinciding with the Salone Nautico 2023. The MOSE will be analyzed from three perspectives: an engineering solution capable of effectively defending the city, a protection that allows for the planning of new socio-economic development of the territory, and a tool to gain the necessary time to conceive and implement new protection solutions when sea level rise renders it no longer functional.
The meeting on June 1st, moderated by Corila’s General Director Pierpaolo Campostrini, will feature the participation of Matteo Salvini, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Renato Brunetta, President of VSF/FVCMS, Luigi Brugnaro, Mayor of Venice, Francesca Scatto, regional councilor, and Andrea Petroni, Commander of the Maritime Military Studies Institute and Commander of the Maritime Military Garrison in Venice. Following the institutional greetings, there will be a series of in-depth analyses on the MOSE system carried out by Extraordinary Commissioner Elisabetta Spitz, Tommaso Colabufo, Superintendent of Public Works for the Triveneto area, Hermes Redi, Director of Consorzio Venezia Nuova, and Claudio Manganiello, Head of the Maritime Directorate of Veneto.
Finally, experts from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan will present their experiences and ideas on safeguarding urban centers. The speakers will include Marc Walraveeen, Consultant at Rijkswaterstaat (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands), Adam Robinson, Director of the Boston Barrier project in the UK, Coraggio Maglio, Vice President and Head of Hydrology and Hydraulics at the Texas DCCM, Jens Figlus, Professor at the Department of Ocean Engineering at Texas A&M University, and Nobuyuki Tsuchiya, Director of the Japan Riverside Research Center. Paolo Costa, former Minister of Public Works and member of the Scientific Technical Committee of VSF/FVCMS, will provide the concluding remarks.
“The Biennale della Sostenibilità will be an opportunity to engage with an international audience of experts and administrators on the main best practices in urban sustainability, making the lagoon city the future stage for sustainable development debates,” says Renato Brunetta, President of the Venice Sustainability Foundation. “The functioning of the MOSE, the central theme of the first edition of the Biennale, marks an epochal turning point for Venice. Today, Venice is the most protected coastal city in the Mediterranean against the sea level rise foreseen for the end of the century. This engineering marvel, unique in the world, must be presented without arrogance but with justified pride and gratitude for the commitment of the Italian State Government, the workers, and the companies that made it a reality. We must learn to use it, as it allows Venice to gain the necessary time to consider new protections for various scenarios of sea level rise and to gradually adapt, even to the worst-case scenarios. The achieved flood safety means that this ancient city is once again in a position to regenerate its human capital, attracting not only tourists but also investments and new talents.”
