Milan, 31 October 2019 – The Prada Group will present “Shaping a Sustainable Future Society” on November 8th 2019 in New York, marking the third edition of the Group’s conferences dedicated to stimulate a debate on the most significant changes taking place in contemporary society.

This year’s event will explore the meaning of social sustainability seeking to define what this truly means. The speakers will reflect on the responsibility of business and institutions to foster an environment that encourages freedom, equality and justice. Dialectic thought and diverse perspectives will underpin the day’s discussions and the various speeches. True to the Shaping series usual format, rigorous academic research will be an integral part of the day.

The morning will start with a keynote speech by acclaimed architect Sir David Adjaye OBE, followed by a roundtable dedicated to discuss on how businesses can keep abreast of new challenges posed by an ever-evolving society; the conversation will be moderated by Professor Gianni Riotta, journalist and Executive Vice President of the Italy-US Council. The panel will involve speakers with diverse experience and expertise, including Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation; Amale Andraos, Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Mariarosa Cutillo, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) – Chief of Strategic Partnerships; Amanda Gorman, poet and activist; Kent Larson, City Science Director at MIT Media Lab and Livia Pomodoro, President of Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, former Magistrate and President of the Court of Milan. The roundtable will be followed by the contribution of Paralympic champion Simone Barlaam.

The event will continue by offering the contribution of the two academic partners, the Schools of Management of Yale and Politecnico di Milano Universities, to explore the conference’s theme from two different perspectives. The Yale Center for Customer Insights will present a survey developed in partnership with the Prada Group on how consumer choices and behaviors are affected by social issues. Moderated by Gianni Riotta, a free-flowing discussion between Professor Raffaella Cagliano from Politecnico di Milano School of Management and Professor Kate Crawford, writer, composer and producer will follow, to examine how innovative digital technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), are reshaping our daily lives, and how society should anticipate and manage the risks of biased or unethical use of digital technologies. 

The day’s closing remarks will be provided by Rula Jebreal, award-winning journalist, author and foreign policy expert.

The whole conference will be live-streamed on www.pradagroup.com, starting at 9.30 am EST / 3.30 pm CET.
Follow the day on social media via @Prada, which will tweet live from the event and join the conversation with #ShapingASustainableSociety

An overview of the event, as well as the agenda of the day and the gallery of speakers are available on the Prada Group website in a dedicated section.