The Emilia-Romagna region returns to Expo 2020 Dubai on the occasion of Health & Wellness Week, the thematic week dedicated to health and well-being.
After Data Valley, where the Technopole of Bologna, national and European data hub, it is the turn of Wellness Valley first world district of well-being and quality of life. The project was launched in 2002 by Nerio Alessandri, president and founder of Technogym and over the years "has involved dozens and dozens of different stakeholders, which are the various municipalities in the area, regional health, companies, hotels, schools, which have created hundreds of projects with the clear idea of promoting healthy lifestyles ”. He said Silvano Zanuso from Wellness Foundation, a foundation that has been guiding and coordinating this initiative since 2003, actively involving all the main public and private players in Romagna.
The Wellness Valley is the first Wellness Community in the world: an entire territory that has made Wellness its development strategy by creating a model of social innovation that puts people and their health at the center and promotes the constant improvement of the quality of life through programs, events and initiatives that educate about Wellness, a lifestyle that combines regular exercise, proper nutrition and a positive mental approach.
It is “a project that has been very popular around the world and has become an inspiration for other geographical areas, such as Florida or Qatar”, underlined Zanuso. And at Expo Dubai “the goal is to be an inspiration for the world just as Italy is an inspiration for a whole series of values”.
One of the souls of the Wellness Valley is prevention, one of the themes to which the initiatives of the project are dedicated "Personalized medicine: new tools and policies for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy" organized at the Italian Pavilion byUniversity of Modena and Reggio Emilia in partnership with University of Bologna, University of Ferrara, University of Parma, Emilia-Romagna Region, ART-ER.
“There is nothing stronger in the prevention of healthy behaviors - explained Zanuso - the leitmotif of our project is: eat well, move regularly, this means prevention. Nations will be more sustainable in the future if they know how to invest in prevention because now we cannot cure everything, it is no longer sustainable. The Wellness Valley is a living example of effective prevention, which really works ".
In addition, there is a theme of "tourist attractiveness, a very strong element" because in the Wellness Valley "certified hotels participate, tourism promotion companies that we define active", made up of cycling, trekking, and other activities that combine leisure to well-being.
The meeting, which took place at the amphitheater of the Italian Pavilion, brought together the universities of the Emilia-Romagna Region who presented their research guidelines and proposals in the field of personalized medicine with immersive videos, interactive stations, a theatrical piece -sciences and a laboratory.
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