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Putting our heads together for the climate: Climathon returns to Mendrisio

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USI Startup Centre

Start date: 29 October 2021 / 18:00

End date: 30 October 2021 / 20:00

SUPSI - Campus Mendrisio Stazione

In 2021, the range of action of the "marathon" to combat climate change extends to thirteen municipalities in Mendrisiotto. Participants will have twenty-four hours to find new ways to prevent waste generation and promote circular economy.

The Climathon, an initiative that has been taking place in more than 100 cities around the world since 2015, aims to collect ideas on how to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on one's territory or on how to prevent them by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Municipalities, students, entrepreneurs, professionals and experts in the sector take up the challenges posed by cities and work in small teams, with the aim of finding new solutions. A clear problem to face, the limited time available, the inter-disciplinary skills of the participants, the strong motivation and the belief that a change is really possible: these are the ingredients of the success of Climathon.

This year there are four challenges: the first three aim to prevent the production of waste, therefore how to reduce consumption according to a logic of "sufficiency", how to support the diffusion of repairable and reassembled products, and how to extend the life span of products through forms of reuse and sharing. The fourth challenge concerns the management of end-of-life products, that is, how to ensure correct and efficient separation and logistical management of waste, for the recovery of materials and re-entry into the production cycle.

The teams that develop the most promising ideas, selected by a jury of industry experts and representatives of the common supporters of the Climathon, will receive financial contributions for a total of CHF 7.000 and access to the coaching of the USI Startup Center to put them into practice. From ideas with a high potential for innovation, new start-up companies or new public-private consortia can emerge.

The Mendrisiotto Climathon will begin in the late afternoon (18:00) of Friday, October 29 and will end on the evening of Saturday 30 October with an aperitif, it will take place at the new SUPSI campus in Mendrisio-Stazione. Workshops, training sessions, coaches and experts will support the teams and a yoga session will help regain energy and stay focused.

Participation is free, but registration is required via the website, as places are limited. Registration deadline: October 24, 2021. The event will take place in full compliance with the anti-COVID rules. COVID certificate with QR code will be requested from all participants (vaccination, negative test result or recovery).

The initiative is carried out with the organizational and financial support of numerous partners: all details are available on the website https://climathon.climate-kic.org/mendrisiotto