LIBRI DI STEFANO SPILLARE

This book results from the project Interreg Europe SinCE-AFC, which aims to provide horizontal mechanisms to enhance the capacity of Small and Mediumsized Enterprises to implement new production models and contribute to sustainable growth in the agrifood sector in the European Union. The main goal is to elaborate on theoretical and practical aspects of the circular economy in this sector, introducing the concept and its limitations, outlining the regulatory framework and the recent policy developments.

Il libro intende offrire uno spaccato dei temi e degli approcci utilizzati dai sociologi della comunicazione e della cultura italiani e spagnoli in due ambiti privilegiati: quello della comunicazione istituzionale, sociale e politica da un lato, e quello dedicato agli inediti sviluppi e ai possibili approdi delle tecnologie digitali e “immersive”, dall’altro; due prospettive che si intersecano e che rimandano l’una all’altra, accomunate dall’evidenza delle ripercussioni che le tecnologie digitali hanno sulle nostre vite.

Attraverso i risultati di una ricerca sul territorio nazionale, il volume fa il punto sulle pratiche di riduzione dello spreco alimentare orientate all’inclusione sociale presenti in Italia. Superando una visione meramente economicistica, il libro focalizza l’attenzione sull’impatto sociale delle pratiche dell’antispreco alimentare, valutando se e in che misura esse possano essere considerate delle risposte innovative alla crisi che ha attraversato l’Italia nell’ultimo decennio.

Social media represents for public administration an important area to experi-ment forms of democratic innovation, however this potentiality is often unex-plored. This article, with a focus on the case of the city of Bologna aims to explore 1) whether and how public communication practices enhanced in local participa-tory processes can support a substantial form of participation; 2) which roles so-cial media specifically play in enhancing a participatory environment; 3) which kind of dynamics of interaction emerge between public administration and citizens and the challenges which need to be addressed by a public communication orient-ed to the public engagement.

A New Food Economy (NFE) is emerging also in Italy as part of a wider food movement about health and sustainability in food matter. In this new model different actors are often involved in collaborative networks in which the differences between consumers and producers are more and more blurred. In the light of this phenomenon, the present research aims to investigate the bases and the development of their collaborative capability, mostly high¬lighting trust-building processes and social capital, assessing implications in their empowerment as fundamental factor for the full-establishment of the NFE. Facing a wide range of Italian case studies and with the help of in-depth interviews, the paper thus provides a comparative analysis of different Civic Food Networks (CFNs), including those in which the role of ICT is prominent. In doing so, the research introduces the concept of Civic Food Platforms, highlighting also the specific role of ICT in innovation and improvement of the NFE in Italy.

Starting from the fact of the crisis of the current model of development, this work aims to propose an interpretive framework to the possibilities of alternative social development based on "critical consumption" and its ability to stimulate social capital, civic engagement and the shared responsibility. The assumption is the relationship and collaboration between consumers, between consumers and producers, as well as among all the other social stakeholders of the local context (businesses, government and associations). Thanks to the example of the alternative organic food supply chain (the socalled Alternative Food Networks), the authors examine the way in which consumers, farmers and civil society could be involved in the creation of alternative models of understanding economic relations, now more focused on the concept of common good than based on the mere economic interest.