Silvia Moroni, UNISG alumna, green influencer and author of Parla Sostenibile

How was your vocation for communication born and how did you choose UNISG?
I come from the world of the word, of storytelling and for me communication is an innate action.

Mine was a purely humanistic education: after a three-year degree in Modern Literature in Florence and a master's degree in Italian Studies and Linguistic Sciences in Bologna, I looked for a Master's degree that would allow me to put my vocation as a popularizer to good use.

Paradoxically, I discovered the University of Gastronomic Sciences while I was abroad, during an Erasmus program in London. Some girls I met during this stay told me: "You have to talk about food, given your passion for farmers' markets and local products". And they suggested I search for UNISG. So I did and a world opened up for me!

The University of Pollenzo was the right place: I was admitted to the Master in World Food Culture and Mobilities, coordinated by Professor Cinotto, who gave me a 360° view and I was happy with it.

After completing the Master, how did you put the acquired knowledge and skills to good use and how did you use the UNISG alumni network?
First of all, I stressed the UNISG Career Center in the truest sense of the word, evaluating all the proposals, opportunities and contacts.

One of the goals was to meet people, tell stories and make connections.

I didn't have a predefined plan, but my passion was the dissemination of food sustainability, communicating food, all through real life stories.

At first I wanted to explore the theme of sustainability and I took steps to find a job in this area, orbiting the Pollenzo galaxy.

 In the early days, I worked at Eataly, therefore in the field of event organization, and little by little I built my network. If I made it, it means that the opportunities were there, and I took them!

How was PARLA SUSTAINABLE born?
Parla Sostenibile was born during the period of Covid: it was a turning point for me, despite being a moment of difficulty.

In the midst of the pandemic, in the place where I had just started working, on an agritourism estate where I was in charge of education and communication, I went into layoffs, as happened in many other companies at that time.

And here I started creating what I had been thinking about for some time: I opened my Instagram profile to talk about the world of food according to my approach and style.

My community gradually grew and asked me to deal with sustainability in the round: not only how to eat, but also how to behave in a sustainable way.

After an intense branding and research work, I chose to call myself PARLA SoSTENIBILE so that it could work and have a broad range.

My goal is to broaden the field and bring the lexicon of sustainability from food to various lifestyles. In a word, I chose to do 'Edutainment', to educate while having fun. This was successful and allowed me to stand out from the others: they liked my approach, being clear and informed, but also saying things lightly.

Today my followers are 85% women, aged between 18-40 years old.

What are your projects now? What are you working on?
I'm continuing to study and I'm attending a Master's degree at the University of Pisa in sustainable development and climate change: for me, education is a lifelong pursuit and I want to keep learning.

But the very fresh news is the publication of my first book, for the types of Slow Food Editore, which comes out in bookstores on May 10th.

The idea came from Slow Food; they contacted me and proposed to publish with them.

It was an exciting experience. Initially, I was worried that I would not have the patience to write down all the ideas I wanted to express. However, the process went smoothly, and I realized that I needed to record the vast amount of information that I produce and process. Writing a book is obviously different from creating videos and IG posts. I am satisfied with the result because I believe that I managed to infuse the book with humor and liveliness, using lots of images, graphs, and keywords.

 Above all I want to say that it is a book accessible to all and easy to read.

How do you feel about talking about challenging topics: have you ever feared receiving criticism from the scientific community?
Maybe at the beginning, but I've actually learned how to communicate better, I have a way that avoids and prevents criticism.

When I talk about scientific topics, I either put them in a metaphors of everyday life, or I abstract a small part and talk only about that. On social media I talk about one topic at a time, a small pill.

I'm not an activist, but I want to communicate environmental issues. I've always tried to maintain a popular and informative profile.

Among the courses and teachers you have had in Pollenzo, who has influenced you the most?
I still keep a UNISG folder that contains all the material of the Master’s program and notes on the courses that had particularly interested me: one of these is the course of Prof. Colin Sage on climate change and food sustainability, whose handouts I used a lot!

How do you define your work today Silvia Moroni aka PARLA SOSTENIBILE?
I am currently a freelancer in the communication industry: I am part of a green-themed talent agency that represents content creators who specialize in sustainability.

Sometimes I have some collaborations with schools where I teach sustainability in primary school classes.

I have recently become a brand ambassador for the European Commission in the context of the sustainable and circular textile strategy, and I am proud of it. . In fact, I am working on a campaign to make Italian and European citizens aware of sustainable fashion.