The Superpowers of Culture and Good Relationships
We are a “society of conflict.”
Conflict is a universal human experience; at any time and latitude. Different forms of violence and war are examples of destructive ways of managing conflict.
Conflicts with oneself or with others often over silly matters: between family members, between employers and employees, between colleagues, between neighbors, between those that propose a change and those that resist it, generational conflicts, religious conflicts, conflicts between two or more countries, conflicts between humans and nature and ecosystems, conflicts between humans and non-humans: such as ideas, atmospheric agents, data, technologies, artificial intelligence.
The great challenge of our time, then, is the ability to know how to mediate, conciliate, compose, and build a more robust culture of peace, collaboration, and respect.
The great antidote to conflict, the real super power, is the ability to build and maintain good relationships. Scientists from around the world confirm that good relationships help people live longer, cope better with stress, have healthier habits and a greater resistance to disease.
In the year that Agrigento will be Capital of Italian Culture, the fourth edition of Countless Cities, Farm Cultural Park's Biennial of World Cities, intends to take inspiration from cities around the world to promote projects, strategies, and actions that can build a legacy of lasting “relationships of value” and trigger radical economic, social, and cultural transformations.
The fourth edition of Countless Cities intends to explore the following topics:
Culture Always
Culture as an engine for the development of human beings and a tool for change: to take care of and enhance common goods, to make existing rights real and effective, to recognize new ones, and to take people left behind by the hand.
Healthy Cities
The relationship between the urban environment and health: by promoting those international good practices that, with different approaches related to green areas, mobility, social cohesion, culture or sport, focus on improving the health of citizens.
Cities & Soft Power
An increasingly important role is being given to the concept of “soft power,” which involves not only cities but also companies, museums, universities, religious denominations and other institutions of civil society, to propose culture and values.
