EDUCATIONAL MODULE

Carlo Barbante is a professor at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, founder and former director of the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council (CNR). He has been working for years on climate and environmental reconstructions and the development of innovative analytical methodologies in the environmental and biological fields. He has participated in numerous expeditions and sampling campaigns in polar areas and the Alps and is the coordinator of national and international research projects, as well as the author of over 330 publications in high-impact scientific journals. He has recently been awarded a prestigious Advanced Grant from the European Research Council for the study of anthropogenic impact on climate in pre-industrial times. He was a detached professor at the National Academy of Lincei from 2012 to 2014 and is an elected member and vice-president of the Academy of Sciences known as the XL and Secretary of the Science Class of the Veneto Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts. He was recently awarded the 2024 Minister of Culture Prize by the Accademia dei Lincei. As a science communicator, he has recently published a book entitled “Written in Ice” which was a finalist for the “Mario Rigoni Stern” literary prize.

Enzo Barracco is an Emmy-nominated photographer and author of “The Noise of Ice: Antarctica”,  “Skin of Rock Galapagos” and “The Blue on Fire Hawaii” books, this one realized with the support of Prada Group and features a foreword by  Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility.  

Enzo Barracco’s works are in the permanent collection at LACMA Museum, Los Angeles, Mougins Museum, France and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Enzo lives and works in London and New York. Following a career in fashion and luxury industries, his focus and inspiration shifted towards sustainability, with the aim of raising collective awareness through art. In recent years, he has built a network of global excellence around his projects, involving leading government organizations, cultural institutions, and philanthropic foundations worldwide.

His mission is to create a body of work that documents and visualizes climate change and the transformation our planet is facing right now, a transformation in which we are deeply involved and by which we are deeply affected. 

“I believe everyone has a duty to do something for our planet within their own capacity and skill. I do it through photography because photography doesn’t need translation.” (Enzo Barracco)

Titouan Bernicot is the founder and CEO of Coral Gardeners. He grew up in French Polynesia, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where his parents owned a pearl farm. In 2017, when he was only 18 years old, he created Coral Gardeners with a few island friends after witnessing the alarming degradation of his home reef where he grew up surfing and decided to act to protect his playground. In less than 7 years, Titouan developed the organization into a global team of over 60 members, from gardeners to scientists and engineers, working from all around the world, with field operations across French Polynesia, Fiji and Thailand, soon followed by more locations. Together with his team, Titouan has planted over 100,000 corals and raised awareness to millions, sparking  a global movement to revolutionize ocean conservation alongside renowned  partners including National Geographic, and ambassadors such as Jason Momoa and Cristina Mittermeier.

Valentina Gottlieb has been working in the Event Management sector for over fifteen years. In parallel, she works as a Creative Director and actress for TV and Media projects. As a public figure, Valentina is dedicated to responsible communication with the aim of spreading sustainable values and a love for nature. As a Goodwill Ambassador for SEA BEYOND — the project by Prada Group in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO — her role involves participating in initiatives related to ocean protection and sustainability and helping to spread awareness of the project's values and activities. She has played a leading role in some of Prada Group’s campaigns, diving to the seabed off the coast of Sardinia to document the replanting of Posidonia and into Norwegian waters to witness the impact of human activity on the Arctic ecosystem.

Carmelo Isgrò is a biologist, Founder and Director of the MuMa Milazzo Sea Museum. Member of the Technical Scientific Committee of the Fauna Museum of the University of Messina, he collaborates with various universities, research organisations and associations. He was awarded the title of ‘Cavaliere del Mare’ (‘Knight of the Sea’) by the National President of Marevivo Rosalba Giugni, an honour that in the past has also been awarded to Piero Angela. For years, he has been committed to the protection of the sea and the recovery of struggling or stranded cetaceans and turtles. In 2017 he single-handedly carried out the recovery of the skeleton of a 10-ton Sperm Whale, later renamed SISO, whose death was caused by an illegal drift net off the Aeolian Islands and was featured on the news due to the large amount of plastic found in its stomach. After having reconstructed the skeleton, Carmelo founded MuMa-Museo del Mare in Milazzo, located in the ancient Castle of Milazzo, inside a church dating from 1529 which was later transformed into a military bastion. He is involved in science dissemination and environmental education, from kindergartens to universities. 

環境科学の学位を持つザヴォリは、2009年からフォトジャーナリスト・ドキュメンタリーフォトグラファーとして活躍しています。自然を愛する心から環境ジャーナリズムの道を選び、気候変動が海沿いのコミュニティに与える影響や、グローバルノースの市場が新興市場諸国の森林破壊、水銀汚染、不適切な廃棄物管理に果たす役割に関する問題を取り上げてきました。2012年から2018年までは、インドネシアのジャカルタで暮らし、海と沿岸の海洋環境に関する広範囲にわたる問題に取り組みました。ザヴォリは、環境問題の解決策について話し合い、現地の状況を伝えることで世界中の人々を鼓舞する力を持つ「ソリューションジャーナリズム」のアプローチを信じています。他の人の視点に共感し、尊重し、理解を示す彼女の姿勢は、自らのコミュニティを超えて多くの人々とつながり、事実を伝えるのに役立ってきました。ザヴォリの作品は、生態系の複雑さに対する深い理解を豊かで多層的なビジュアルストーリーへと昇華させています。

プロのフォトグラファー・ビジュアルストーリーテラーとして10年を超える経験を持つザヴォリは、公開された広範で重要な国際的プロジェクトの製作・実現を行っており、複雑なトピックに対する意識や理解を高め、彼女が取材した現地のコミュニティにポジティブな影響を与えてきました。

これまでのジャーナリストとしての功績が認められ、2016年の欧州ジャーナリズムセンター(EJC)や、2021年のアース・ジャーナリズム・ネットワーク(EJN)とナショナル ジオグラフィック協会緊急ジャーナリスト基金など、多数の賞を受賞しています。2022年には、ナショナル ジオグラフィック エクスプローラーとなっています。また、第68回マギー賞や第78回POYi賞などの国際的な写真賞を受賞し、イタリアのゲッティイメージズのエディトリアルのほか、『ニューヨークタイムズ』紙に定期的に寄稿しています。