700 speakers to reflect on the market, new powers, hopes of young people

A clearly topical theme was chosen by the event's Advisory Board, chaired by Sole 24 Ore editor-in-chief and chairman of the Scientific Committee Fabio Tamburini and comprising Elena Beccalli, Marco Fortis, Paolo Magri, Emma Marcegaglia, Giulio Sapelli and Giulio Tremonti.

"The belief that the market is a perfect regulatory tool for international economic relations has collapsed. - today, the five Big Techs - Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon - have an economic weight equivalent to that of the 27 countries of the European Union, with the difference that in these countries there are democracies, however imperfect, while the five big technology companies, on the other hand, are led by five CEOs who hold the destinies of the world in their hands without being subject to any democratic control'.

In this paradigm and power shift, the collection and processing of data, which, thanks to artificial intelligence, is taking on extraordinary but also very dangerous potential, as well as the high energy requirements of AI technology companies to power their data centres, have a significant weight. And again the change in the world of work.

'Issues,' adds Tamburini, 'on which there is a very high degree of unawareness. In contrast to the demographic issue, which is now on the agenda, but without the ability to find solutions. If the axis of development has shifted towards Asia, where population and economic growth are concentrated, with India and China leading this phase and Africa in the race to play an increasingly relevant role, Europe and Italia are facing an irremediable decline, between demographic winter and the flight of talent'.

Space will be given to young people within the Festival not only in the title but through concrete events. Such as the opening event, dedicated to the brain drain. Or again with the initiative "The voices of tomorrow" promoted by the Festival's Scientific Committee, in fact, young people aged between 18 and 30 will be able to propose themselves as speakers: an opportunity to take the floor and bring their own point of view to the centre of public debate in a review that calls into question precisely the generation that is personally experiencing the major economic, social and geopolitical transformations.

(Applications are open until 8 April at ilsole24ore.com/vocideldomani) .

At the same time, the Fuori Festival itinerary is confirmed, the programme schedule conceived four years ago by the II Sole 24 ORE Group to bring the wider and more transversal audience of young people and families closer to the economy and major current affairs issues through the involvement of popularisers and talent speaking the language of young people for young people. Two novelties: the move of Radio 24 to Piazza Fiera with an innovative studio-truck for its live events and the debut of Casa Sole, a new hub for meeting and dialogue with the public where they can get to know and meet all the realities of the Il Sole 24 ORE Group.

There is also plenty of programming dedicated to evening entertainment: classical music concerts - with the return of Uto Ughi - and light music with Arisa and Angelica Bove, and theatre shows with Elio and the artists of Zelig Lab. In addition to the meeting-comparison between the presenters of Radio 24's La Zanzara, Giuseppe Cruciani and David Parenzo, with Fedez and Mr Marra.

Then "Economies of the Territories", the series of events that gives voice to local enterprises and institutions in a format of in-depth analysis of territorial realities, the "Meetings with the Author" with book presentations, and the Festival Bookshop in Piazza Duomo curated by the Trentino Booksellers' Association. The artistic and cultural attractions that, as always, the city of Trento will offer during the days of the Festival are also diverse and numerous. A mix of events designed to create an event capable of uniting the academic soul with the real economy, the economy of the territories with the global economy.

"For us,' explains the President of the Autonomous Province of Trento Maurizio Fugatti, 'this initiative is a great source of pride. It is a Festival that manages to combine economics, finance, and international diplomacy with the desire to be 'popular', that is, to convey a message that can be understood by everyone. As these editions are confirming'.

'To young people,' comments the Rector of the University of Trento Flavio Deflorian, 'we must not only provide information but above all give meaning and significance to what is happening. And this initiative goes exactly in this direction'.

'For Trento,' adds Mayor Franco Ianeselli, 'this is the best moment in its history: we are strong because we have a university city and from young people come continuous positive stimuli for change, in our projects we feel this drive very much'.

"In recent years," comments Trentino Marketing CEO Maurizio Rossini, "we have decided to strongly involve young people, a choice that is a real necessity, a key to attractiveness to prevent them from looking only abroad, making them protagonists of the debate in their territory and community."

"The very high quality of the hospitality proposal," explains Gianni Battaiola, president of Trentino Marketing, "stems from a strong work on investments, which our territory has been able to enhance with the contribution of institutions such as the Province and entrepreneurs. The authenticity of our territory is an asset in which we are investing. Our guests are not mere tourists, but temporary citizens, because they are Trentino citizens to all intents and purposes during their holiday and hospitality experience. This reasoning extends to the entire Festival audience, whom we invite to participate in an extraordinary edition from 20 to 24 May'.

Opening the Festival, as highlighted, will be an event dedicated to one of the hottest topics of our country's current affairs, young people and the brain drain: discussing 'Italia is not a country for young people, how it can become one' will be Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, President and CEO Biagiotti Group, Diana Bracco, President and CEO Bracco Group, Marina Brambilla, Rector of the University of Milan, Maurizio Gardini, President Confcooperative, Renato Loiero, Advisor to the President of the Council of Ministers, and Alessandro Molinari, CEO and General Manager Itas Mutua. A dialogue between Alessandro Benetton and Il Sole 24 Ore editor Tamburini will follow.

Confirmed for the Festival's Opening Ceremony, scheduled for Wednesday 20 May at 5 p.m., the speech by Card. Gianfranco Ravasi, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture, in dialogue with SKY TV editor-in-chief Tonia Cartolano, introduced by a video message from Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, and for the closing of the Festival on Sunday 24 May, an interview with Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini by Sole 24 Ore editor Fabio Tamburini.

Four Nobel Prize winners will speak at the 21st edition of the Festival. French economist Philippe Aghion will explain to the Trento audience "The Economic Theory of Creative Destruction", which has just won him the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics (together with Joel Mokyr and Peter Howitt).

Arriving for the first time at the Trento Festival is Jan Račinsky, president of the human rights organisation Memorial International, which won the Nobel Peace Prize 2022.

In attendance were 2010 Nobel Prize laureate in economics Christopher Pissarides, Regius Professor at the London School of Economics and co-founder of the Institute for the Future of Work, known for his contributions to the theory of market frictions in job search and supply (for which he was awarded by the Swedish academy along with Americans Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen); Tawakkol Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her non-violent struggle for democracy and her defence of women's rights in Yemen, founder of the Tawakkol Karman International Foundation.

Among the strands of the 21st edition of the Festival dedicated to analysing the new international equilibriums, the protagonist will be geopolitics. On this front, the collaboration with ISPI-Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale (Institute for International Political Studies) has been confirmed, which will propose five panels, including one on the hopes of young people in Europe with Paolo Gentiloni, president of the BEI global advisory board, and Romano Prodi, University of Bologna; and one on the hopes of young people for the UN with Staffan De Mistura, secretary-general personal envoy for the UN Western Sahara, Paolo Magri, president of the Ispi scientific committee. The other three panels will analyse China's great moment, the Middle East in flames, Trump's America towards the Midterm elections.

Still in the geopolitical vein, not to be missed is the 'War and Peace' dialogue between Ferruccio de Bortoli and Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli's executive vice-chairman, and the interview with Romano Prodi by the editor-in-chief of Il Sole 24 Ore Fabio Tamburini on that 'inclined plane' in which we find ourselves today and which would seem destined to take us to the brink of the third world war, as Pope Francis anticipated a good 10 years ago.

A trend that must be reversed by putting respect for international rules back in first place, as the panel 'Splendour and Death of International Law' with Ambassador Maurizio Massari and Giuseppe Nesi, a member of the UN Commission on International Law, and the speech by Father Enzo Fortunato, president of the Pontifical Committee for the World Children's Day, who will analyse 'The Age of Predators', remind us. Then Giulio Tremonti, chairman of the Foreign and Community Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, will give a speech entitled "Whatever mistakes, causes and responsibilities of the next financial crisis".

The President of the United States and his management of international economic relations will be analysed from different points of view: Richard Robb, School of international and public affairs at Columbia University, will explain how American capitalism is changing, while Donato Masciandaro, Bocconi University, will analyse the connections between the euro and the dollar in the Trump era. Marco Fortis, vice-president of the Edison Foundation, and Giuliano Noci, pro-rector of the Milan Polytechnic, will talk about 'Trump the global picketer'.

In front of a strong US stands an increasingly struggling Europe: Marco Buti and Marcello Messori from the European University Institute; Miguel Ángel Fernandez-Palacios, Spanish Ambassador to Italia, and Gianfelice Rocca, President of the Techint Group, will analyse the role of Europe in the world disorder. Enrico Letta, IE University Madrid, will bring a reflection on 'One Europe, One Market', while Sergio Fabbrini, Luiss Guido Carli University, will speak on 'Europe in the Trenches'. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, President of Italo, Fondazione Telethon and Manifatture Sigaro Toscano, will explain why we need a United States of Europe. Analysing instead the situation in Italia starting from numbers will be Lilia Cavallari, President of the Parliamentary Budget Office, and Francesco Maria Chelli, President of the National Institute of Statistics.

Numerous foreign speakers will offer new food for thought: for the first time in Trento, Yaser Faquih, Chief Economist and Deputy Minister for Economic Research and Strategic Insights at the Ministry of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia, will speak on the future of the global financial system. From China, Zhiyi He, dean global institute for the advancement of industry and technology, Nankai University, and Yang Yao, China Center for Economic Research, will dialogue with Giovanni Tria, University of Rome Tor Vergata. On the other hand, Yang Wang, vice president Hong Kong University, will talk about Beijing's resilience and how China is planning for the future, together with Kerry Brown, King's College London, Alicia Herrero, chief economist Asia Pacific at Natixis corporate and investment banking, and Ivan Cardillo, president of the Institute of Chinese Law. Meetings not to be missed will be the one with Bruna Szego, president of the European Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Authority (AMLA), and the one with two professors from the Chinese Communist Party school, Xu Jie and Yang Zhen on "Multilateralism at the Trial by Fire".

On the 'new powers' front, no less than 13 panels will be dedicated to analysing the role of Artificial Intelligence: among them, Paolo Benanti, chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Committee at the Department for Information and Publishing of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and Sabino Cassese, Scuola normale superiore of Pisa, who will discuss 'Digital Empires, the Old and the New Globalisation'.

Intesa Sanpaolo Chairman Gian Maria Gros-Pietro will be interviewed by Maria Latella on the topic of artificial intelligence and new finance.

Discussing 'Power of information, social networks and AI' will be Alberto Barachini, Undersecretary to the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for information and publishing, Presidency of the Council of Ministers; Michele Corradino, President of the Council of State.

Discussing the topic 'To trust or not to trust artificial intelligence' will be Franco Bernabè, president of Techvisory start-up in the field of AI, Andrea Zoppini, University of Roma Tre, and Bishop Nunzio Galantino. Paolo Savona, the former chairman of Consob, will analyse generative artificial intelligence between efficiency and respect for human rights, while Vincenzo Carbone, director of the Agenzia delle Entrate, will explain the evolution of assessments between artificial intelligence and new relations with taxpayers. Also returning for the second year at the Festival of Economics will be the Chief of Police and Director General of Public Security Vittorio Pisani to take stock of security and artificial intelligence, and Salvatore Luongo, Commander General of the Carabinieri, to illustrate the weapon's investments in new generations between technology and tradition.

Among the strands to be analysed in order to understand where the world is going is certainly the evolution of work. The pro-rector of the Milan Polytechnic, Giuliano Noci, will present at the Festival dell'Economia, together with Inps president Gabriele Fava, the research promoted by the Milan Polytechnic and Cassa Padana on 4,000 young people 'Next Gen Power: young people driving the future (and without the need for rear-view mirrors)'.

Of course, there can be no shortage of reflections on the impact that AI will have on the world of work and the new professions it will generate, starting with the evolution of factory work with the arrival of humanoids, Giuliano Noci recounts in dialogue with Andrea Stroppa, Elon Musk's spokesman in Italia.

The coordinator of Base Italia Marco Bentivogli, entrepreneur Silvia Castagna, member of the Artificial Intelligence Commission for Information of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the president of the National Council of Labour Consultants Rosario De Luca, and the president of Alchimia Marina Salamon will discuss 'Work in the Pincer: Artificial Intelligence, Low Wages, Training to Improve'.

The vice-president of the Superior Council of the Magistracy Fabio Pinelli will introduce the panel 'Professions and justice at the test of artificial intelligence' in which Tatiana Biagioni, president of Avvocati Giuslavoristi Italiani; Vito Pace, president of the National Council of Notaries, will speak. Nicholas Eberstadt, American Enterprise Institute, Daniela Fumarola, CISL general secretary, and Maurizio Tarquini, Confindustria general director, will discuss the labour market, productivity, social spending and inactives, while Roberto Viola, European Commission DG Connect director general, and Gregorio De Felice, Intesa Sanpaolo chief economist and head of research, will discuss artificial intelligence, productivity and employment, among others. Franco Gallo, Luiss Guido Carli University will speak on 'Taxes, solidarity and subsidiarity'.

Connected to artificial intelligence is also the thread on energy, an increasingly strategic sector for Big Tech that needs to power the data centres that train the large language models of these new advanced technologies. "Artificial intelligence and data centres, where energy will come from" is the title of the panel in which Antonio Zoccoli, president of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, and Davide Tabarelli, president of Nomisma Energia, will discuss the subject. He will also speak at the meeting dedicated to Asia's thirst for energy together with Alessandro Lanza, director of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.

The big names in the energy sector will also be in Trento: among them, Paolo Scaroni, president of Enel, who together with Antonio D'Amato, president of Seda International Packaging Group, will analyse the future of the green deal.

Among the appointments not to be missed in the Urban Transformation strand, archistar Carlo Ratti, director Massachusetts Institute of technology, senseable city lab, will explain how Artificial Intelligence can improve cities, while the Mayors of Rome, Milan, Trento and Treviso - Roberto Gualtieri, Beppe Sala, Franco Ianeselli and Mario Conte - will discuss what it means to govern cities today.

Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Maurizio Fugatti, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Roberto Simoni, President of the Federazione Trentina della Cooperazione, will discuss 'Europe and Territorial Cohesion The right to remain living in the place everyone calls 'home'.

Furthermore, on the occasion of World Biodiversity Day, which falls on 22 May, the Festival of Economics will host a number of events at Muse: among them Andrea Illy, president of illycaffè, will explain the tools and strategies for regenerating ecosystems.

For the Medicine, health, healthcare strand, Immaculata De Vivo, from Harvard Medical School, will speak on 'Optimism and gratitude: invisible capitals of the economy'; Fabrizia Lapecorella, deputy secretary general of the OECD, will address the subject of the economy of longevity; Maurizio Landini, secretary general of the CGIL, will speak on the panel dedicated to 'Emergence of the National Health Service.

For the strand devoted to demography, Giulio Tremonti will bring his thoughts on the connections between the demographic crisis and the democratic crisis. Then the appointment with the analysis of the quality of life of children, young people and the elderly in the Italian provinces by the editorial staff of Il Sole 24 Ore returns.

After the great success of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics, Olympic and Paralympic athletes arrive at the Festival of Economics to reflect together with Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milan Cortina Foundation, on the transition from Olympic medals to the economy of life.

Once again this year, alongside the analyses of economists and academics from all over the world, the Il Sole 24 ORE Group is bringing the vision of entrepreneurs to encourage the comparison and exchange of ideas and experiences in the field between the academic world and the business world. In addition to those already mentioned, the Trento Festival of Economics will also be attended by Emma Marcegaglia, president and CEO of Marcegaglia holding, Luigi Abete, president of Confindustria Cultura Italia, the past presidents of Confindustria Vincenzo Boccia and Carlo Bonomi, and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, president of the Caltagirone Group.

On the business world front, Trento will also discuss the challenge of Italia exports in an increasingly unstable scenario with Federico Silvestri, managing director of the Il Sole 24 ORE Group, and Maurizio Tarquini, general manager of Confindustria, and Made in Italia conquering the world with Eraldo Minella, strategic advisor of the Il Sole 24 ORE Group, Massimo Pozzetti, managing director of Pastiglie Leoni, and Luigi Riva, president of Assoconsult. The Trento Festival will also be an opportunity to present Il Sole 24 Ore NextMed, the Group's new initiative dedicated to the economies of the enlarged Mediterranean, in the panel 'Mediterranean, geography of the future' at which speakers will include Marco Magnani, Luiss Guido Carli University, and Marco Minniti, former Minister of the Interior and President of the Med-Or Foundation.

The viewpoint of the world of finance is not missing in Trento. Abi president Antonio Patuelli will explain why banks are a strength of Europe. Fabrizio Testa, CEO Borsa Italiana, Euronext Group, will speak on stock market investments and algorithms. Edward Freeman, Darden Business School University of Virginia, will address the topic of stakeholder capitalism and the role of young people. Fabrizio Palenzona, Massimo Ponzellini and Luigi Bisignani will participate in the meeting 'The night of the Republic, old and new protagonists'.

There will also be the big names and commentators from Sole 24 Ore: sociologist Aldo Bonomi; Roberto D'Alimonte, Luiss Guido Carli University; Giuseppe Lupo, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Fabrizio Onida, Bocconi University; Alessandro Rosina, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

On the political front, 16 ministers have already confirmed their participation, plus Maurizio Leo, deputy minister for the economy and finance, and Federico Freni, undersecretary of state for the economy and finance, to talk about tax reform and capital market reform. Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein will also be present.

A large number of rectors and deans of universities and business schools were present in Trento: Elena Beccalli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Max Bergami, dean Bologna business school, Francesco Billari, Bocconi University of Milan, Paolo Boccardelli, Luiss Guido Carli University, Marina Brambilla, University of Milan, Rita Carisano, director general Luiss Guido Carli University, Stefano Caselli, dean SDA Bocconi school of management, Flavio Deflorian, University of Trento, Anna Gervasoni, Liuc Cattaneo University, Giuliano Noci, pro-rector Milan Polytechnic, Maria Cristina Pierro, University of Insubria, Donatella Sciuto, Milan Polytechnic, as well as Franco Bernabé, president University of Trento, and Paola Severino, president School of Law Luiss Guido Carli University.