How we will get out of it

June 8 - How Will We Get Out of This?

Public Assembly moderated by Ferdinando Cotugno and Fabio Deotto

From the shadows of the present, the light of the future – The role of civic awareness, associations, and grassroots activism in the ecological transition.

The closing day of the Venice Climate Week is not a destination—it is a collective act of awareness and courage. It is a call to action from a city that mirrors the world: fragile and resilient, ancient and visionary.

Here, at the epicenter of a crisis that is environmental, social, and cultural, we choose not to look away. Instead, we turn vulnerability into generative strength.

“How Will We Get Out of This?” is an open, radically democratic public assembly—an exercise in critical thinking and political imagination led by two sharp and passionate voices of contemporary journalism: Ferdinando Cotugno and Fabio Deotto. Together, we’ll explore the shifting global landscape: geopolitical instability, climate justice, migration, and the transformation of production systems.

Above all, this is a space to recognize and amplify the role of associations, grassroots movements, civic networks, and the energy of youth—those who, every day, through creativity and perseverance, keep the possibility of a different society alive.

A clear political message emerges: The transition will only be just if it is shared.

In a time marked by eco-anxiety and polarization, Venice offers a message of active hope: environmental justice cannot be separated from social justice. The future is not something to be delegated—it must be built, together, through new intergenerational and cross-sector alliances.

Cities, local communities, and civic networks are living laboratories of social and ecological innovation. Now more than ever, change is driven by the protagonism of places, and by our ability to listen, co-create, and care for one another.

From this day, a clear call is launched: to build a permanent coalition between associations, activist networks, local administrations, scientists, artists, and regenerative enterprises.To emerge from today’s crises, we don’t need top-down solutions—we need a cultural revolution rooted in solidarity, creativity, and regeneration.

Venice is calling the world. Let’s turn fragility into strength. Let’s turn our voices into a wave of change.

Ferdinando Cotugno - Climate Reporter at Domani // Journalist at Vanity Fair // Independent Journalist at Marie Claire Italia

Fabio Deotto - Author at Bompiani // Science Editor for Treccani // Author for Einaudi Editore

Stefano Ciafani - President of Legambiente

Alessandra Prampolini - Director General at WWF Italy

Angelica De Vito - Un diplomatic counselor for migrants

Lotta - Climate Artist 

Giuseppe Onufrio - Executive Director at Greenpeace Italy

Caterina Sarfatti - Managing Director, Inclusion & Global Leadership at C40 Cities

Marica Di Pierri - Responsible Director for Economiacircolare.com // Director of CDCA- Documentation Centre on Environmental Conflicts

Valeria Barbi, Conservation Project Manager and Partnerships Coordinator

Clara Pogliani, Art + Social Change w/Fondazione Pistoletto, Climate Justice

Alex Braga, Artist

Luca Iacoboni, Responsabile relazioni esterne società civile di ECCO