Sustainability: what plants teach us. With Stefano Mancuso

!! CULTURAL EVENING CANCELLED !!

On 24 April 2026, Professor Mancuso informed us that he is unfortunately unable to give his talk at USI. We are therefore obliged to cancel the cultural evening “Sustainability: What Can Plants Teach Us?”, which will no longer take place. We apologise for the inconvenience.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU DURING THE DAY, FROM 12:00 TO 18:00, FOR ALL THE UNIVERSO ACTIVITIES, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE AS PLANNED!

On Saturday, 25 April at 6 pm, in the Aula Magna of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) at Via Buffi 13, Lugano, plant biologist Stefano Mancuso will host the talk "Sustainability: what plants teach us". The event is part of UniVerso – USI Open Day.

Plants do not speak, but they have much to teach us, particularly regarding sustainability. During the evening, Stefano Mancuso will take the audience on a journey through the plant world to discover how strategies of adaptation, cooperation, and efficient resource management that plants have developed can offer valuable insights for rethinking the relationship between humans and the environment.

Having inhabited the planet for millions of years without depleting its resources, plants represent remarkable models of balance and resilience. Observing their way of life and their interactions with the environment can offer new perspectives for tackling contemporary environmental challenges and imagining more sustainable forms of development.

The event is part of the programme for UniVerso – USI Open Day, an initiative that invites the public to discover the university through cultural activities, talks, and moments of dialogue between research and society.

Stefano Mancuso

Founder of plant neurobiology and a passionate science communicator, Stefano Mancuso is one of the world's leading authorities on the study and promotion of a new truth about plants: that they are intelligent, sensitive creatures capable of choosing, learning, and remembering. A Full Professor at the University of Florence and a member of the Accademia dei Georgofili, he directs the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology, with branches in Florence, Kitakyushu, Bonn, and Paris. He was included in The New Yorker's list of people "destined to change our lives".