Source: DOC-COM press office
Lagazuoi EXPO Dolomiti is looking for good ideas and best practices that promote the idea of mountains as a territory of the future: the exhibition centre, one of the highest in the world,
is launching the 3rd edition of the Lagazuoi Winning Ideas Mountain Awards, with many new features in the pipeline.
There is time until 12 February 2022 to submit projects. Startups, companies and associations are invited to apply in one of four categories: mountain equipment and clothing, sustainable
mountain tourism, digital innovation & mountain apps, mountain food & wine production.
From this edition, the final exhibition will become a unique permanent exhibition. The most interesting projects in each category – the overall winners and special mentions – can be
discovered by the public in a dedicated room of the Lagazuoi EXPO Dolomiti.
Grand opening on the last winter weekend in April. This will be followed by the official opening, from June 2022 to March 2023.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, 27 December 2021_ AAA Seeking ingenious solutions, small and large digital revolutions, innovative materials for sports at high altitudes, environmentally friendly cuisine,
experiences that revolve around a different concept of tourism, made of authenticity and love for the territory. This is the vision behind the Lagazuoi Winning Ideas Mountain Awards, the third
edition of the prize organised by Lagazuoi EXPO Dolomiti.
The exhibition centre – one of the highest in the world, at an altitude of 2,732 metres – in the heart of the Unesco World Heritage peaks, explores the creative and cultural potential of the
highlands, sources of inspiration for different lifestyles. All this is intended to trigger a paradigm shift, transform the imagery associated with the mountains and pave the way for a different
and better relationship between man and nature.
The ideal candidates are start-ups, companies, organisations and associations that value the mountains as a place naturally dedicated to sustainable innovation.
As in the previous edition, four thematic categories have been identified: mountain equipment and clothing; sustainable mountain tourism; digital innovation & mountain apps; mountain food
and wine production.
Lagazuoi EXPO Dolomiti strongly believes in this project, and in 2022 is preparing to expand the format, transforming the final exhibition into a real permanent exhibition, which will be set
up anew each year. The new features include the different composition of the thematic juries and the entry of three selected partners who, sharing the values underlying the competition, have chosen
to support and disseminate the call, reaching a wider audience.
How to participate
As in the 2021 edition, the competition is open to self-nominations: engineers, artists, farmers, designers, companies, large and small entities are invited to make known to a wider audience the
good ideas and practices that will change the world of mountains. Nominations must be received no later than midnight on 12 February 2022. The names of the winners will be announced by 15 March
2022.
To apply, you must submit your project online only, by registering and filling in the relevant form on the official competition website
www.lagazuoiwima.org.
At the same time, a selection committee will be active, made up of high-profile experts: journalists, representatives of organisations and associations, researchers and entrepreneurs will
contribute to the selection process by identifying and proposing the most interesting projects on the national scene.
The exhibition
The Lagazuoi Winning Ideas Mountain Awards will be inaugurated with a preview in April, the last weekend of winter opening of the Lagazuoi lift. All candidates will be invited to the opening. The
projects dedicated to the innovative potential of the mountain will be hosted in a unique context, the arrival station of the cable car – easily reachable in a few minutes – overlooking the
Lagazuoi, surrounded by a succession of peaks and rock pinnacles that embrace the horizon. Subsequently the exhibition will be open to visitors from June until March 2023, when the new layout will
be prepared with the winners of the next edition.
What’s new for the 2022 edition
The juries
Four juries, one for each category, will identify the winners and award the prizes within each category. They will be composed of three experts chosen from among journalists, entrepreneurs,
representatives of institutions and at least one teacher. All are linked to the world of mountains.
The Partners
The Lagazuoi Winning Ideas Mountain Awards are supported by three partners, who take part in the project with a fundamental role, helping to tell the story of the project and convey the
announcement, supporting communication and dissemination to reach a wider pool of startups and realities. These are Montebelluna Sport System, the Treviso district that brings together SMEs and
large groups specialising in the production of sports footwear, creating a unique economic “ecosystem”, Legambiente, the most widespread environmental association in Italy, which has been fighting
the climate crisis, pollution and ecomafia for over 40 years, and InnoVup, an association that promotes the development of innovative enterprises by bringing together various players such as
start-ups, SMEs, science and technology parks, incubators and investors.
The winners
For each category, the jury will award the winners’ plaque to two projects: an overall winner and a special mention, dedicated to the most innovative start-ups.
The prize
The four winners and the four special mentions will be the protagonists of an exhibition at the Lagazuoi EXPO Dolomiti, which starting from this edition will become a permanent exhibition alongside
the temporary exhibitions organized during the year. A room in the exhibition centre will be dedicated to the Lagazuoi Winning Ideas Mountain Awards.
The four categories in competition
Mountain equipment and clothing. The best proposals for technical clothing and equipment suitable for particular altitudes and climatic conditions.
Selection committee: Marco di Marco (editor-in-chief of Sciare), Pietro Fedon (Vice-President of Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria Veneto), Andrea Parisotto (President of the Shoe Museum
Foundation).
Jury: Andrea Bianchi (journalist for Mountain Blog), Maria Lorraine Berton (president of Confindustria Belluno Dolomiti) and Antonello Marega (architect and IUAV lecturer in Product Design
and Business Strategy).
Innovative and sustainable mountain tourism. Economy, environment, culture: new values that qualify mountain territories. Forms of tourism that meet the needs of travellers and host places
while protecting and improving opportunities for the future.
Selection Committee: Mario Tonina (President of the Unesco Dolomites Foundation), Paola Manfredi, (Vanity Fair journalist), Susanna Sieff, (Sustainability Manager Advisor).
Jury: Andrea Macchiavelli (lecturer at the University of Bergamo in Marketing and Economics and Management of Tourism Enterprises), Vanda Bonardo (Italian President of CiPRA – International
Commission for the Protection of the Alps), Giovanni Moro (Editor-in-chief of Dove).
Digital innovation & Apps: ideas for renewing the mountain experience. From sport to tourism, the mountain world is developing through innovation and digital technologies.
Selection Committee: Gabriele Ferrieri (President ANGI, National Association of Young Innovators), Cristina Angelillo (President InnovUp), Bruno Ruffilli (Innovation Editor of La Stampa).
Jury: Alessia Cruciani (Corriere Innovazione journalist), Iacopo Pertile (founder of AzzurroDigitale and licensee of TEDxCortina), Claudio Lucchese (Ca Foscari Venice, Hospitality Innovation
and ETourism course coordinator).
Innovative and sustainable food and wine production. The world of food is at the centre of a revolution involving food production, consumption habits and the fight against waste. All areas
where we can make a difference.
Selection Committee: Anna Maria Pellegrino (President of the Italian Association of Food Bloggers), Simona Rossotti (MEG, Food and Wine Market), Claudio Sacco (blogger and gourmet
traveller).
Jury: Cristina Mora (lecturer at the University of Parma, degree course in Food System), Massimiliano Tonelli (editorial director of Gambero Rosso and Artribune), Giorgio Colli
(vice-president of the Agro-Food Press Association)
