1st International Conference on Social Communication
Friday 11 November 2005
Milan, November 11, 2005 – Italy becomes the global capital of communication for the non-profit sector. Today marks the opening of the International Conference on Social Communication, the inaugural event organized by the newly established Fondazione Pubblicità Progresso at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.
The conference is a unique event and a major platform for debate and discussion on the key issues surrounding social communication, particularly focusing on the quality of campaigns. While there is an ever-growing proliferation of initiatives across all areas of communication, the quality of these campaigns often fails to meet the objectives they aim to achieve. In some cases, despite the sensitive nature of the issues being addressed, the lack of professionalism or improvisation in execution leads to incomprehensible, self-referential, or overly exaggerated campaigns, which ultimately diminish their effectiveness. This is compounded by insufficient media planning, resulting in reduced returns on investment.
To promote the theme of quality, the conference will showcase a select group of the best international campaigns, followed by the presentation of the “award of awards.” The award will be presented live by creatives including Michael Conrad, Percival Caropreso, Ralf Langwost, Franco Moretti, Milka Pogliani, and Maurizio Sala.
Campaign nominations were made through a network comprising several prestigious international events such as:
International Advertising Festival – Cannes Lions
Art Directors Club of New York
Epica Awards – Paris
International Cresta Awards – New York
The Mobius Awards – Los Angeles
The New York Festivals
Golden Drum Festival – Slovenia
Art Directors Club of Europe
The conference will also feature a series of case studies that provide insights into what constitutes excellent social communication.
Additionally, Fondazione Pubblicità Progresso will present the exhibition “Child Soldiers of Northern Uganda”, promoted in collaboration with AVSI, an Italian NGO operating in Uganda since 1984 with educational and humanitarian emergency projects. This exhibition will be available for viewing from November 14 to December 1, 2005 at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.
Alberto Contri, President of the Fondazione Pubblicità Progresso, commented:
“In light of the current market situation, the role of Pubblicità Progresso is becoming increasingly vital. Thanks to its recent transformation into a foundation, it will now be less voluntary and much more useful to society. Therefore, as our first initiative, we have supported and promoted the International Conference on Social Communication, an event that transcends our borders and aims to reward excellence in non-profit communication. Our ambition is to award the best campaigns globally, through the collaboration and nominations from the most prestigious international festivals.”
The Fondazione Pubblicità Progresso aims to become a Permanent Center for Social Communication, providing study materials, analysis, and consulting to universities, associations, institutions, and foundations to create truly effective and beneficial campaigns for society. Another key objective is the establishment of the first archive of high-quality international social communication from the 20th century to the present, which will also be used for a series of permanent seminars managed by the “young grey-temples,” communication gurus who refuse retirement and want to teach the next generation.
The conference is held under the High Patronage of the Presidency of the Republic and the Patronage of various institutions, including the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Education, Universities, and Research, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. It is part of the “Giornate per la Cooperazione Italiana 2005” (Days for Italian Cooperation 2005), taking place from October 27 to December 6, 2005, promoted by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Special thanks are given to Fondazione Cariplo and other sponsors, including Unilever, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Cooperation Department, IPS, Fastweb, Multimedia System, Moruzzi Communications Group, Netizen, Studio Marani, Green Movie Group, and Aldo Guidi of McCann Erickson for their invaluable support in making this event a reality.
