Courage and the Future: IULM Returns to the Camogli Communication Festival

Following the success of the 2025 edition, IULM University returns to the Camogli Communication Festival, taking place from 10 to 13 September 2026, with a packed programme featuring talks by IULM faculty members alongside hands-on workshops.

This year’s edition is dedicated to the theme #courage, with the four-day event in the Ligurian town centred around the question: “What does it mean to have courage in a world where Artificial Intelligence is redefining the way we communicate?”. Against this backdrop, the IULM programme – taking place on Friday 11, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September – seeks to address this complex question by bringing together different areas of expertise and perspectives, ranging from neuroscience applied to communication and artificial intelligence to the transformations brought about by digital technologies and new approaches to learning.

The IULM programme

Friday 11 September

4.00 pm – Terrazza Miramare

Vincenzo Russo
Courage in the Brain: Neuroscience of Fear, Decision-Making and Transformation

Here, courage is explored through its opposite: fear. Drawing on neuroscience, the talk examines how the brain processes threats and guides decision-making, and how communication can help transform fear into conscious action, influencing behaviour and choices.

Live streaming: https://youtube.com/live/rVPIHAJVY6o

Saturday 12 September

9.00 am – Barcollo & Barracuda

Mauro Ferraresi
The Courage to Live with Hybrid Communication

In this case, courage means engaging with an increasingly “hybrid” form of communication, created through the interaction between people and artificial intelligence, without giving in either to uncritical fascination or to the rejection of technology.

10.00 am – Terrazza Miramare

Simone Arcagni
Courageous Captains. The Digital World Today Between Utopia and Dystopia

The talk focuses on the possibility of imagining a different future for the digital world and on the possible paths towards building it.

Live streaming: https://youtube.com/live/OsRVnGd9yms

Sunday 13 September

12.00 pm – Piazza Colombo

Riccardo Manzotti
The Voice of Courage: How to Communicate Who You Are

A reflection on courage as the ability to choose, act and put oneself on the line for a value, a person or an idea that does not yet exist. Courage as the drive to move beyond the boundaries of what is already known and, through our choices, give shape to what is yet to come.

Live streaming: https://youtube.com/live/J-Lh_pihCpE

Workshops

Friday 11 September, all day, from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm – Terrazza dei Saperi

IULM Behavior and Brain Lab: What Drives You to Act? Neuroscience of Communication and Decision-Making

A hands-on workshop exploring how words and images influence attention, engagement and decision-making. Through eye-tracking and physiological measurements, participants will be able to see first-hand how the body responds to different messages and reflect on the role of neuroscience in communication.

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, all day, from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm – Terrazza dei Saperi

IULM International Center for Research on Collaborative Translation: A Virtual Journey into the Immersive Learning of the Future

Through an immersive experience, participants will be able to explore language and translation learning using the Meta Quest 3 headsets employed during classes at IULM University.

IULM Info Point – Terrazza dei Saperi

Throughout the Festival, students, families and professionals will have the opportunity to discover IULM’s educational offering, explore its study programmes and receive personalised guidance on the University’s courses and opportunities.

Click here to view the full programme of the Camogli Communication Festival.

Please note that some talks require advance booking through the Festival’s official website