Country: Italy – City: Conflenti – Address: Italy, Conflenti (CZ), Street V. BUTERA, 23
Caring for the Earth. Visual Narratives on Fragile Ecosystems – Custodire la Terra. Narrazioni visive sugli ecosistemi fragili
Description:
On the occasion of International Geography Night 2026, the GeoRiskEcoLab Research Center of the Department of Human and Social Sciences at eCampus University, in collaboration with the Municipality of Conflenti (Calabria, Southern Italy), is organizing an initiative dedicated to the theme of “Fragile Ecosystems.”
The event aims to explore environmental fragility through the perspectives of students, fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue among Geography, Civic Education, Literature, and the Arts. Students, individually or in groups, will create artistic works — including paintings, visual compositions, photographs, and sculptures — representing the selected theme, each accompanied by captions indicating the location and the type of fragility depicted.
The initiative will also include academic contributions. Prof. Francesco De Pascale (eCampus University), President of the Scientific Committee of GeoRiskEcoLab, and Prof. Simone Cuconato (University of Calabria) will deliver presentations on the theme “Place and Logos: the Coherence of Geographical Thinking in the Face of Fragile Ecosystems,” highlighting the need for a consistent and responsible approach to the relationship between humans and the environment.
Student-led guided tours will be organized to enhance transversal skills and encourage active participation. All artworks will be exhibited in a school gallery (or in individual classrooms) and officially inaugurated on April 10, 2026. The exhibition will also be accessible online through a dedicated website hosting all the works and, where available, explanatory videos.
Main objectives:
To raise awareness of the concept of fragile ecosystems and their environmental, social, and cultural implications.
To promote geographical thinking as a tool for understanding contemporary environmental challenges.
To foster interdisciplinary dialogue among Geography, Civic Education, Literature, and the Arts.
To encourage students’ critical thinking and sense of environmental responsibility.
To develop transversal skills, including communication, collaboration, and creativity.
To enhance active citizenship through student-led guided tours and public engagement.
To promote digital dissemination of knowledge through the creation of an online exhibition platform.
To strengthen cooperation between academic institutions, local authorities, and the school community.
Event language: Italian
The event will be: mixed, in presence with streaming/remote participation (the link must be indicated in this form)
Link (for online events): https://meet.google.com/fwd-gvvb-mge
Reference person: Francesco De Pascale and Eleonora Guadagno – Role or function: University Professors of Geography at the University eCampus (Italy) – Reference organization: GeoRiskEcoLab Research Centre, Department of Human and Social Sciences, eCampus University, Italy
Those who organize are: Academics, Students, Municipality of Conflenti (CZ), Italy
Estimated starting time (local time): 10:00:00 AM
Expected duration: around 2 hours
Newspaper article “Gazzetta del Sud”
GeoNight code: 2026165
