The first edition of the Biennale Democrazia,
will take place in Turin the 22 – 26 April 2009, it is an international
cultural event entirely dedicated to the ethical and political project
of democracy a political system which, by definition, is in constant
evolution and development, continually facing new challenges to be
overcome. The Democracy Biennial is organized by the City of Turin, the
Italia Committee and the Piedmont Regional government. It forms part of
a series of programmes and public events called Esperienza Italia
organized to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Unification of
Italy in 1861. The Democracy Biennial takes its inspiration from the
profound studies on democracy carried out by Norberto Bobbio and it is
intended to function as a tool for spreading a culture of Democracy
that can also be put into practice in everyday life. It aims to create
a permanent, ongoing workshop, open to the public, that explores and
debates, from both a local and international point of view, the
fundamental values of democracy, the forms it has adopted and the
challenges it faces today. The event will consist of different
preparatory activities (workshops, debates, readings, international
forums, in-depth seminars and events actively involving citizens (as
well as films, theatre and music events).
In partnership with the Biennale Democrazia the Architects Association of Turin (FOAT),
has curated a section, within the event program, entitled “Housing the
Democratic City”. The section offers a series of sessions: a workshop,
conferences and a call for paper that aim to stimulate reflections on
issues related to housing the city, for a future of urban democracy.
In occasion of this important event Cluster, in collaboration with
the Architects Association (FOAT), has invited a collaborator from
Bangalore, India, Sunil Abraham
to speak at the conference “Housing the Democratic City” at Teatro
Gobetti on Sunday 26th April. Other participating speakers are Bill Dunster (UK), Cino Zucchi (Italy).
Sunil Abraham is an industrial and production engineer from Bangalore in India. In 1998 he founded Mahiti,
an association dedicated to reducing the cost and complexity of
information and communication technology for the voluntary sector. In
August 2008 he co-founded The Centre for Internet and Society,
that brings together a team of practitioners, theoreticians,
researchers and artists to work on the emerging field of Internet and
Society to critically engage with concerns of digital pluralism, public
accountability and pedagogic practices, with particular emphasis on
South-South dialogues and exchange. Sunil contributed to the last issue
of Cluster, Transmitting Architecture in a dual interview and
discussion entitled “Design in Urban democracy:a question of survival?”
PDF downloadable here.
Sunil Abraham will also be speaking in two other sections of the
Biennial on April 25 ‘Democracy and India’ with Prof. Federico
Squarcini, professor of History of Indian Religions, University of
Florence and ‘Democracy and Technology’ with the Politecnico of Turin.
More details on the programme coming soon.
For info. please visit: Biennale Democrazia Order of the Architects of Turin (FOAT)
