20 March: “Università Svelate” (Universities Revealed), events in Parma for National University Day

On Friday, 20 March, the University of Parma will participate in the second edition of Università svelate (Universities Revealed), the National University Day promoted by the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI) and sponsored by the Ministry of University and Research.

Università Svelate aims to be an opportunity to meet and share the scientific and cultural heritage that the academic community produces for society, through initiatives open to the public throughout the day.

From the outset, the basic idea has been to show the driving role that universities play in the development of the country and in promoting social cohesion.

The University of Parma has planned three initiatives for this edition.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free admission to MUST, the University’s Museum of Natural History.

For the occasion, MUST will be transformed into a space for access, encounter and knowledge, offering the community a journey of discovery that will allow them to get closer to the museum’s collections and the symbolic places of the University, witnesses to the history of the University and the role it has played in the construction and transmission of knowledge. The Museum will be open free of charge for the entire day, encouraging wide and inclusive enjoyment of the University’s cultural heritage.

As part of this process of openness and dialogue between tradition and innovation, a 3D printer will be in operation throughout the day, producing gadgets inspired by the museum’s collections and the history of the University. The activity aims to highlight the processes of contemporary reinterpretation of historical heritage through digital technologies, emphasising the continuity between memory, research and innovation.

At 4 p.m. in the Cavalieri Hall, there will be a public meeting entitled The Enigmatic Collection of Father Jean Baptiste Fourcault: The Secret of the Animals in Bottles Revealed, during which the Scientific Director of MUST, Davide Persico, will guide participants in a reflection on the historical and cultural value of one of the most significant collections in the university’s heritage.

The initiative aims to highlight the role of the University as a dynamic public institution, capable of combining heritage protection with research and teaching activities, and to make the languages and tools of knowledge production accessible to the public, emphasising the role of universities as open, lively and participatory cultural centres, where history, research and innovation meet society.

At 6.30 pm in the Aula Magna, Insight, a show produced by CUT – Centro Universitario Teatrale (CAPAS di Ateneo) and directed by Beatrice Baruffini, is scheduled

The protagonists are CUT students from all disciplines at the University.

Insight is a study based on the relationship between human beings and digital devices. It draws inspiration from the text Le non cose (The Non-Things) by philosopher Byung Chul Han, who defines our era as that of phono sapiens, referring also to the mobile devices that have invaded our lives and now act almost as an “extension” of our bodies.

The result is a catalogue of terms, voices, actions, gestures and images that describe us as phono sapiens.

There is no judgement in what we have become. Rather, there are new images, scenarios, new
attitudes and postures, other types of relationships. As always when we experience epochal changes: something disappears, much is transformed, we evolve and with us our way of being or no longer being a society.

Admission is free until all seats are taken.