Resilience has been the theme of this semester’s Plenary Workshop, one of the most anticipated and carefully planned events of the semester. The workshop took place on Friday April 11.
The Plenary Workshop of the Globalization Program is a key event in the academic calendar of Venice International University. It is a lively opportunity to share diverse disciplinary perspectives on a topic with a broader audience, while using the approaches learned in class. It is an opportunity for students and professors to show some of their talents, through talks, but also acting, reading, or singing. It is the outcome of working together and an opportunity to get to know each other better – a true manifestation of the Globalization Program community: international, transdisciplinary, and intergenerational.
Resilience was first presented with its traditional environmental meaning, as the ability of a system to recuperate after a shock or a calamity. As the contributions to the program flowed in however this definition quickly expanded to encompass also the psychological aspects of resilience.
The shift towards a more personal approach to the theme was probably at the base of the great participation we have witnessed at the Workshop. This edition featured 23 contributions: 9 of them emerged from the work done in the classes, while the others were expressions of the students’ (and professors) personal experience and sensibility.
Different media were chosen to give voice to all these perspectives, music and songs, poetry, visual arts, films, pictures and live performances.
The contributions from the courses were coordinated and supported by the following professors: Massimo Brunzin, Carola Drago and Laura Ventruto (VIU), Gadi Algazi (Tel Aviv University), Patricio Barbirotto, Sara Dal Monico and Sara De Vido (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia), Francesco Goglia (University of Exeter), Shinji Hasegawa (Waseda University), Hadas Mamane (Tel Aviv University), Christof Mauch (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität), Denis Renevey (Université de Lausanne).
A “VIU band”, constituted during the semester thanks to the many talents of the VIU community, offered some very appreciated performances and saw the contributions of professors and students: Cary Moskovitz (banjo and vocals); Denis Renevey (horn); Chen Cui (vocals); Christiania Whitehead (vocals and piano); Christof Mauch (piano).
The grand conclusion of the event was a fashion show inspired by the theme of the workshop, conceived and realized by a group of students with reused clothes.
See here the complete program (pdf file)
The workshop was a true success and reflected the hard work and commitment that students and professors alike have contributed to their time in Venice.
