22 March 2022
🇮🇹 10:00 am 🇿🇦 11:00 am
Free Online EventÂ
The Italian Design Day is held worldwide every year by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian Embassies, Consulates and Institutes of Culture to promote Italian design and architecture.Â
In this framework, on March 22nd, 2022, the Embassy of Italy in Pretoria, the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg and the Italian Institute of Culture, in collaboration with ITA trade agency, will host the event “Re-generation, Design and new technologies for a sustainable future in Italy and South Africa”, at the Javett Art Centre in Pretoria (by invitation only) and free to attend online.
Its main goal is to discuss urban re-generation, with a view to harnessing the potential of innovative technologies, while ensuring sustainability, inclusivity, digitalization and social inclusion. Revitalizing disadvantaged or degraded neighbourhoods is key to re-design new common spaces for communities, able to respond to the challenges that the XXI century poses to human settlements.
Strategic planning is fundamental for a modern and sustainable development of towns and cities, in order to achieve full social integration and economic progress. Inclusive partnerships between all relevant stakeholders – public institutions, private sector, civil society, local communities – will be crucial to effectively plan and realise the “smart cities” of the future.
Free registration
You can attend the event online, via WebEx. Just fill in your details and we’ll send you a confirmation email with the detail to connect.
In preparation for the webinar please download the free WebEx client.
Registrations closed.
Ambassador of Italy, Paolo Cuculi
Paolo Cuculi was born in Rome on June 1st, 1967. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Political Science at «LUISS» University of Rome.
He entered the Italian diplomatic service in 1992, working in the Directorate-General for Personnel. In 1994, he was appointed Second Secretary for Trade in Khartoum, and in 1997 he moved to the Embassy in Bangkok as First Secretary. In July 2000, he was appointed First Secretary at the Italian Mission to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
After returning to the Ministry in 2002, he served as the Directorate-General for Political, Multilateral and Human Rights Affairs. Starting from 2006, he has been First Counsellor at the Mission to the United Nations in New York, during Italy’s two-year term as Member of the UN Security Council. Since 2010 he served first as Frist Counsellor, then as Minister Plenipotentiary, at the Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, during Italy’s three-year term as Member of the UN Human Rights Council.
Back in Rome in 2015, he served at the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation, of which he became Deputy Director-General and Central Director for Programming and Implementation of Cooperation Initiatives.
Since April 15, 2019, he is the Ambassador of Italy in South Africa.
Ms Mohanuoa Mabidilala
Ms Mohanuoa Mabidilala is the current Acting Director General of the Department of Cooperative Governance responsible for Local Government Support and Interventions Management.
She holds a Masters degree in Business Management, Bachelor degree in Nursing Education, Bachelors degree in Theology and a number of Nursing Diplomas i.e. General nursing, Midwifery, Psychiatric nursing, Community Nursing Science, Occupational Health nursing.
In her current position at COGTA she has collaborated with National Treasury to establish the Joint Planning, Budgeting and Reporting Reforms (first of its kind in South Africa) which is aimed at streamlining, integrating planning, budgeting and reporting of using the DDM approach as a critical tool to monitor the performance of local government by developing relevant tools and procedures. This structure has key national sector departments, provinces and municipalities actively participating in the development and institutionalization of Key Performance Indicators to reduce the burden of reporting.
She believes in “Leading through others” as a powerful tool to building a formidable, productive TEAM. This hinges on recognizing that every person is born with inert potential that can only be unleashed in a conducive environment that is focused on maintaining and sustaining high levels of Organisational Performance.
Dr Jennifer Mirembe
Department of Human settlementsÂ
Dr Jennifer Mirembe is part of the Human Settlements Planning unit at the National Department of Human Settlements.
Dr Mirembe is also the Vice Chair of the Urban Design Institute Gauteng Region, South Africa.
She also serves on the Board of the Council for Geo Science South Africa.
She is the Focus Manager of Innovation and Transformative Technologies at the National Department of Human Settlements.
She holds a Doctorate of Town and Regional Planning from the University of Pretoria – in the impact of Technology (specifically ICT) on People, Space and Planning.
She graduated with an award for the best thesis in the Masters in City Planning and Urban Design from the University of Cape Town. She has international training on the impact of Technology in Human Settlements in Germany.
With over 12 years of working experience in both the private sector and Government, she has worked with leading urban design firms; the Western Cape Provincial government at the Middle Management level and later joined the National Department of Human Settlements in 2008 at Senior Management.
Ashraf Jamal
The moderator of the event is the writer and art critic Ashraf Jamal.
Ashraf Jamal is a Research Associate in the Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre, University of Johannesburg. He is the co-author of Art in South Africa: The Future Present and co-editor of Indian Ocean Studies: Cultural, Social, and Political Perspectives. Ashraf Jamal is also the author of Predicaments of Culture in South Africa, Love themes for the wilderness, The Shades, In the World: Essays on Contemporary South African Art, and Strange Cargo: Essays on Art.
Luca Astorri
He is an Italian architect, based in Milan, and has extensive experience in private and public projects, as well as participatory and cooperation projects. He worked at OMA – Office for Metropolitan Architecture and has collaborated with several NGOs in Africa and South America since 2010. He runs his practice AOUMM and co-directs the in-loco program for development projects in Africa with the non-profit social enterprise RISE International. He taught, lectured, and led design workshops at major institutions in Europe, Asia, South America.
Matteo Poli
Prof. Matteo Poli is an architect and strategic planner. Since 1997 he has gained international experience in architecture, urban design, and landscape projects. Trained in Milan, Barcelona, and Delft, he worked at West 8 and OMA – Office for Metropolitan Architecture. He currently runs his architectural practice, AOUMM. Since 2005, he has been teaching Landscape Architecture at Politecnico di Milano. He has been an editor for Domus and special correspondent for Abitare, where he currently writes.
Claudia Mela
She is an Italian-South African architect, based in Johannesburg. She is a senior architect at dhk who has completed innovative projects involving mixed use developments within urban frameworks. Mela’s projects aim to regenerate city spaces and make them accessible and enjoyable for everyone. With her latest projects, Newtown Junction, Oxford Parks Precinct, Radisson RED Hotel and Waterfall Ellipse, she has incorporated urban greenery, encompassing a variety of lifestyle, residential and commercial functions recreating an Italian and European manner of living.  Mela’s works are an outstanding example of sustainable, modern technologies and respect of the nature.
Carin Smuts
She is an architect, born in Pretoria, now based in Cape Town. Since the foundation of her firm, CS Studio Architects, in 1989, she focused her activity on South Africa’s disadvantaged population, in the rural areas and in the townships. Her works starts from the local in order to evolve and improve difficult contexts. For Smuts, “sustainability is about people”. Her projects are indeed based on inclusivity: her works are all developed in workshops and built by local residents, to whom she teaches the simplest building techniques, using ecological materials. CS Studio aims to produce holistic and sustainable design solutions with a balance between economic, social and environmental aspects.
Venue
The event will take place at the Javett Art Centre, Pretoria