The Festival

The Festival della Salute is a unique yearly event organized by Goodlink and scientifically coordinated by Fondazione Italianieuropei, a progressive research institute. As the world increasingly focuses on crucial healthcare issues, the Festival della Salute provides an opportunity for immersion in ideas and discoveries that raise questions and shape our future. Engaging and highly entertaining youth and family events create an environment that attracts a huge audience of policy makers, leading experts, and regular citizens. The Festival is open to everyone and features round tables, public debates, exhibitions, book presentations, lectures, free screenings, and shows. Italy’s leading minds and personalities are joined by renowned artists and celebrated thinkers, for a three-day celebration of wellbeing, healthcare, social politics, clinical research and sports.

The chair of the Scientific Committee is Ignazio R. Marino, internationally renowned transplant surgeon and currently chair of the investigative committee on the national healthcare system of the Italian Senate. Ignazio R. Marino has been collaborating with Fondazione Italianieuropei for many years. Since 2006, he has coordinated their healthcare group that gathers politicians, administrators, unions’ representatives, physicians, academicians, and members of international agencies. The group’s work on present-day issues in healthcare has produced publications and editorials.

The first edition was held in Viareggio (Lucca, Tuscany) from September 26 to the 28, 2008, sponsored by the Region of Tuscany, the Presidency of the Republic of Italy and the Ministry of Welfare of Italy, in collaboration with the World Health Organization. It hosted over 40 sessions and more than 200 speakers. The topics ranged from climate change to oncology; from nutrition to ethics; from clinical management to alternative medicine. Following the 2008 success, the 2nd edition will again be held in Viareggio, a coastal town in Tuscany, from September 25 to the 27, 2009.

This year, we have decided to have a one-day international workshop on bioethics as a pre-Festival educational initiative. In planning this, we have teamed up with IFOM-IEO, a new biomedical research centre located in Milan, created by the joint efforts of the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology Foundation (IFOM) and the Department of Experimental Oncology of the European Institute of Oncology (IEO).