Dr Tiziano Pera - Italy

Born in Verbania 8/8/48, married with two children. Professor at the S.I.S. of Turin University, coordinator for the Master’s Degree course in Industrial Chemistry. He also teaches at Cobianchi Institute in Verbania. He has authored several didactic texts and books on environmental education. Member of the working Commissions of the Ministry for Education, he has collaborated with ISFOL and CEDE of Frascati as an expert in the field. Founder of Ecorete, the structure of schools involved in environmental education. Responsible for the research group organizing “Meeting with Sciences”, an annual congress event about science and didactics.

WE NEED the GOLD of the ROSES

"When the last tree will have fallen, when the last river will be poisoned, when the last fish is captured, only then will we realize that money cannot be eaten". (Leonardo Boff)

Starting from a story that comes to us from alchemy, it is possible to reflect upon the thought of L. Boff, in order to emphasise how much the sparkle of gold - metaphor of our economy – can not help us, when we search for the scent of the roses - metaphor of pleasure bound to a life in harmony with the universe. We need to re-appropriate ourselves of the sense of words: economy, ecology, sustainability, compatibility, wealth, pleasure, need, consumption, efficiency, beauty. And this, in order to look - also within language - for the side effects of a practice linked to the hope to "learn living in the alterative ", the only true criterion of authentic health.