EST - NAPOLI INNOVATION FESTIVAL

“EST – Napoli Innovation Festival” is a free initiative open to the city and the local community, organised by SPICI and Fabbrica Italiana dell’Innovazione, promoted and co-funded by the Municipality of Naples as part of the 2026/2027 cultural programming. From 21 to 24 October 2026, the Technology Hub Fabbrica Italiana dell’Innovazione, in the San Giovanni a Teduccio district, will become a meeting space for skills, projects and perspectives on major contemporary transformations: from Artificial Intelligence to digital creativity, through to educational and social innovation.

The Festival promotes dialogue, experimentation and active participation between institutions, schools, universities, businesses, communities and citizens. It aims to enhance the urban ecosystem of San Giovanni a Teduccio and consolidate the role of East Naples as the innovation industrial district of the metropolitan area. EST is among the 55 projects of the Culture Naples 2026 call for proposals, which will animate all municipal areas of the city until March 2027.

Three days reserved for schools

The Festival opens with a pre-event reserved for schools on 19, 20 and 21 October. The three days of workshops are divided into the AI Generation Lab, Startup Lab and PlayLab pathways:

• 19 October – AI Generation Lab: the talk “AI: what do you know about it and what do you think?” introduces the key concepts of Artificial Intelligence and its creative applications through quizzes and discussions. The “Digital Creativity” workshop guides students in designing multimedia content and storytelling using images, podcasts and social media.

• 20 October – Startup Lab: with “From idea to startup” and the “Create your digital startup” workshop, run by Fabbrica Italiana dell’Innovazione, students experiment with entrepreneurial culture, design thinking and business model canvas. With ITS Academy MIA Moda Campania, they discover the new luxury professions in the talk “Fashion and AI between Innovation and Sustainability” and in the AI Fashion Lab, dedicated to prototyping, 3D modelling and fashion marketing.

• 21 October – PlayLab: the in-depth session “Educational Robotics” by Protom explores immersive technologies, virtual and augmented reality in educational contexts. The “Gaming & gamification” workshop offers an experiential journey into metaverse and digital storytelling.

Schools at the Festival

Even during the days open to the public, from 22 to 24 October, the programme includes activities designed for students, curated by universities, businesses and local associations:

• coding and robotics workshops;

• retro video games to learn about the European RISC-V processor, with Parthenope University;

• the meteo@uniparthenope centre for marine and atmospheric monitoring;

• digital archaeology with LiDAR and AI;

• museum accessibility;

• phygital platforms combining culture, play and AI;

• the city of Naples recreated by young people in a video game.

On 21 October at 16:30, the Festival officially opens to the public with the inaugural event, in the presence of the Councillor for Digital Transition and Smart City of the Municipality of Naples, Valerio Di Pietro. This will be followed by over 50 events including panels, talks, workshops, exhibitions, video points and guided walks in East Naples, also set up thanks to a Call for Proposals. The four themes are STEAM disciplines, innovation and startups, local development and emerging technologies.

ROLE OF SPICI

SPICI conceived and is organising the Festival together with Fabbrica Italiana dell’Innovazione. Regarding the Education sector, it is responsible for:

• designing the programme for schools and the AI Generation Lab, Startup Lab and PlayLab pathways;

• direct delivery of talks and workshops on Artificial Intelligence, digital creativity and gaming;

• engaging educational partners such as ITS Academy, universities, businesses and associations, to build a broad and multidisciplinary educational offer;

• relations with schools and booking management;

• telling the story of the ecosystem through the video projection “Innovation Chronicles”, produced by of SPICI.

With EST, SPICI confirms its commitment to a shared and accessible innovation, starting from the new generations and generating value for the local territory.

Full programme: www.festivalnapoliest.it · Info and school bookings: eventi@spici.eu