Cisco chooses Venice and brings in new Venetians, 1,800 young people interested in moving
VENICE – A virtual platform created to bring new workers and possible future residents to the historic center of the lagoon in a context marked by an inexorable decline in citizens, now almost 50,000 visitors. The formula, at least in its intentions to prevent the depopulation that Venice has been witnessing for some time, is all contained in the Venywhere project, born from the Venice Foundation (which finances it) and Ca ‘Foscari University, whose partners are VeniSIA and H-Farm, for build a community willing to invest its future in the reality of water. All while keeping an emblematic concept at the center of the proposal, the fulcrum of the entire initiative: hybrid work. Yes, because those who arrive in the city will bring with them a fundamental baggage, that is their reference work, which they will be able to continue to carry out remotely, thanks to the tools of Cisco (including Webex), within widespread spaces already identified in cities, such as Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, Querini Stampalia Foundation and Arsenale. Places well in the city fabric, to which others will be added as the project is run in.
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The goal is not only to carry out one’s business in an alternative environment, but to also feel part of the Venetian community, with its traditions, becoming civil in commitment projects and initiatives focused on climate change, generated economic growth. from hybrid work and circularity. An idea dedicated to inclusiveness and the creation of exchanges. «Our team underlines Gianmatteo Manghi, CEO of Cisco Italy was looking for a city in Italy in which to create a combination of flexible work and the concept of a distributed office, when Venywhere was pointed out to me. To which we created the connection ».
The first to experiment with the initiative are 16 young pioneers, employees of the Cisco Southern Europe Greece area (Italy, Spain, France, France, Greece), who moved to Venice to put into practice the functionality of the project and as people, work groups and companies can work together in the best possible way. An important team, which participated in that of Cisco, which also participated in an in-depth analysis of the experience, carried out in collaboration with a Ca ‘Foscari research team, which must answer for the implementation of models and solutions of easily replicable. Meanwhile, the 16 Cisco employees have arrived and will remain in the city for three months (even the future intent is for a stay from 6 months to a year), helps in the search for an apartment in the historic center, whose cost of rent is supported by them.
“The platform comments Massimo Warglien, creator of Venywhere, specifying how from May he starts to think about the arrivals of September is attracting a population of people under 45 (many women), all coming from the most disparate sectors: from the creative ones to the of finance and marketing. In a couple of months there were 22 thousand visits to the site and of these, 1800 registered. Among them, there are also Venetians who would like to return to the city, but the lion’s share is made up of England, the United States and Canada ».
“The comment by Tiziana Lippiello, director of the university who wants to bring connections and relationships to the city, is an experimental project”. “There is a lot of talk about residency, concludes Michele Bugliesi, president of the Venice Foundation and I believe that it is realized above all through work”.