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Effects of the pibinko.org Network

People always have many questions about what our projects activities are about. Our activities are all documented on the pibinko.org website and out of jugbandcm.it, the musical side of the pibinko site. One of the questions that is commonly asked following the presentation of our activities is “..and so, what is the point of all this?”

To answer this we decided to summarize some data on a single page about four areas of our work impacts: (1) economic (2) educational (3) media, and (4) mood. We have also included a section for miscellaneous and other possible impacts. For more information: micalosapevo@pibinko.org or whatsapp +393317539228.

The translation from Italian into English of this article was kindly provided by Tre Cani Rossi Tuscan Wine.

Economic Impact

The latest figures we have are from the 2007-2017 period. As parameters we have considered: daily attendance (persons per day, with options for lodging, of interest to the tourism sector), and earning from consulting work.

  • 2008 1° Maggio 15×1
  • 2009/2010 40×3 (Festa di Capo Danno in piazza del Popolo, a Torniella)
  • 2012: October; ENVIROFI Workshop (6×2) + February Florence (25 x2)
  • 2012/2013: 50×1 (New Year’s Eve in Torniella)
  • 2015: March LoNNe campaign in Torniella (12×2) + March in Florence (25 x2) + July in Torniella (4×10)
  • 2016: First Farma Valley Winter Fest (40×1)
  • 60000 Euro of work (mostly consulting or survey)

notes

  • the consulting revenue refers to work directly generated by the network projects (e.g. from the dark sky projects there have been requests for consulation on light planning). It does not include other consulting activities carried out by members of the team outside of the network.
  • If you are interested in the 2018-2023 period please write to micalosapevo@pibinko.org
  • In addition to the daily attendance and consulting revenue there is also the sale of products related to our activities.
  • Other than the impact in terms of income and turnover, in many cases it would be interesting to calculate the increase in profit margins due to the reduction of some costs, particularly related to transport or logistics. For examples, 250 litres of IGT wine sold by a small business in Scarlino to a client in Bolzano, where the transportation costs where zeroed out thanks to our network.

Educational Impact

  • Buiometria Partecipativa was inserted in the educational plan of the province of Leghorn
  • Two high-school internships in the tourism sector
  • 1 Erasmus student for three months in Torniella (hence, with additional economic impact in terms of rent and substitence expence. Note: the student came from abroad without involving and Italian university.
  • Environmental guides (providing 10 out of 20 credits required for yearly professional development)
  • Professional training credits for chartered engineers and architects (see link)
  • Educational credits for students of architecture (see link)

notes:

  • these data are referred to the 2012-2020 periodo. Such experiences can in any case be easily replicated.

Media Impact (as of Sep. 2023)

  • National media: 73 articles or interviews
  • International media: 17 articles or interviews
  • Local Media: 142 articles or interviews

note:

  • please see https://www.pibinko.org/in-the-media/ for details
  • Support from external communication experts of press office: 0
  • In several cases, particularly with radio and television, we have given substantial contributions as co-authors
  • General media include scientific publications with articles in magazines and on conference proceedings. The proportion of scientific publications is gradually decreasing over time.

Effects on mood

We have noticed that those who participate in our events do not remain indifferent. In general, the effects seem to be dependent on the “exposure” to our activity.

  • 5-10 minutes: curiosity
  • 1-8 hours: entertainment and fun
  • 8-16 hours: reflection
  • over 16 hours: your are working with us with a good mood

notes:

  • we have also seen in some cases confusion, perplexity, disorientation (CPD). However, no sad person has ever been observed. After the first New Year’s Eve party in Piazza del Popolo for at least three days after, we only saw people smiling. Some cases of CPD have been resolved by participating in more initiatives, or simply by reading the articles we write with less haste.
  • The average time to completely understand our proposals and activities is around four years.

Miscellaneous points of interest

[Here we have not included photos, but we invite you to browse the news section on pibinko.org and jugbandcm.it]

  • Maximum amount of public funding from 2007: 5% (on one project, otherwise less)
  • Very low share of resources from local public entitites (perhaps 1%)
  • Three cases of people getting together and engaged
  • A blind person mapping with a guide dog and a GPS
  • Brick layers, bartenders and rockers co-authoring national and international scientific publications
  • Research activities initiated via a university department and a National Research Council Institute, started from work carried out by the network (see https://www.pibinko.org/international-journal-of-sustainable-lighting-vol-35-no-1-february-2017/)
  • Various forms of positive social impact, not easily quantifiable but present (e.g. increased resilience of our work groups, etc.)

Note:

  • considering that the network began operating in the fields of culture, innovation, and creativity and it maintains a significant amount of research and developments, the percentage of public funding is very low compared to the average in this sector.

Open Data

Open Data for the pibinko.org network are (typically digital) data made available under an open license. They are the perfect partners of Free/open source software to provide “open products” and “open services”. They are best acknowledged and used by “open people“.

The mantra: “free/open source software” or “data under a free/open license” does not mean services or consulting provided based on them not requiring a value exchange (some like to recall that “free” in this context is referred to freedom and not to, e.g. free beer).

Is this a free/open space? (Southern Tuscany, 2016)

Writing this page in January 2022, and having started to use free/open source software in 1994, and open data shortly after that, I am realizing that the ambiguity on “free” is generated by English language, since most other languages we deal with in the pibinko.org network use two different words (e.g. libero vs. gratuito, libre vs. gratuit, frei vs. kostenlos, etc.). This leads me to think that, had “free software” been conceived in a non-English speaking country, the free/open source and open data market might have been a bit more mature that it is at the time of writing, considering the amount of energy required by humanity to explain (or to understand, depending on which side of the game you play) the concept.

In the header picture: Simon Littlesaunders and Darius Canal watching a tutorial on free/open people in Milan, Italy, during the Dec. 2021 geotour

Ricette Bone (Yummy recipes)

Tuscan recipes suggested by Aunt Eda in the Winter of 2010-2011. Available at present in Italian…

Pescando dall’elenco completo che trovate in fondo a questo articolo (ogni volta che si ricarica la pagina l’ordine cambia)

Per categoria:

Difficoltà: Facile Media Difficile

Tempo di preparazione: Veloce Medio Lungo

Altre categorie Antipasto, Contorno, Primo, Secondo, Sottolio, Vegetariano, Dolce

Per tag:

acciughe aceto aglio asparagi bietole burro cacao capperi carciofi carote castagne cavolo fiore cioccolato cipolla farina farina di castagne fichi formaggio funghi latte limone limoni mascarpone melanzane mele noci olio pane grattato parmigiano peperoncino peperoni pomodoro prezzemolo ricotta riso sale savoiardi sedano tonno uova verdure varie zucca gialla zucchero zucchine zucchini

Oct. 18, 2019: BuioMetria Partecipativa in Grosseto, Tuscany, at the AMBITA Forum

The next event for BuioMetria Partecipativa will be on Friday, Oct. 18, from 2 to 3PM (@ FIDIA, villino Pastorelli, via Fallaci). This will be in the context of AMBITA, the forum on Italian Built Environment.

We will speak of the impact of artificial lighting on various aspects of society and nature, and of how simple practice can lead to significantly reduce light pollution without compromising the quality of our lives.

For more information

m(‘)appare

m(‘)appare is a word I created in 2008 for the m(‘)appare Milano project. it encompasses various ideas on mapping, beholding etc …this section will be update shortly – please write to info@pibinko.org for more details.

The branobag: what is it?

“branobag” is the title a gave to a column initially part of my informal blog, and since 2019 integrated in the official site.

In these articles, which are also sent via e-mail to a selected number of subscribers, I propose a song, often the translation of the lyrics in Italian and in the original language of the song, maybe a photo, and a comment.

Currently the branobags are published only in the Italian version of the pibinko.org site (but you can still enjoy the music and learn some Italian through the translations of the lyrics).

Support to Legislation and Policy Making

Since 2004 I have periodically participated to initiatives or actual projects related to the definition of policies and regulations at different territorial scales, from municipal to global.

Local (municipal) level

I attended various participatory design initiatives related to environmental or land planning issues in Cagliari (Sardinia), Gavorrano, Scarlino, and Roccastrada (Tuscany). Since 2004.

In 2015, in my role as Attivarti.org president, I attended the definition of the participatory budget for the town of Grosseto (capital of Southern Tuscany). Here I presented a proposal for the protection and promotion of nightscapes, oriented to benefits for citizens.

Local (province) scale

In 2009 I participated as an expert to the public review of the tender subsequently issued by the Province of Grosseto for the co-funding of a science and technology park on mechanics. This is active since 2016 in Cinigiano, Southern Tuscany.

In 2011 I took part in a participatory design workshop called “Chiamati in causa per investire” (i.e. “Called to invest”). This was proposed by the Province of Grosseto for the prioritisation of about 40 MEUR of public spending. Out of various ideas and proposal recored during the workshops, in the final session of the event one of the rapporteurs mentioned palla a 21 and buiometria partecipativa)

Local (regional) scale

In collaboration with Francesco Giubbilini, based on the BuioMetria Partecipativa project, we participated in 2012 to the public consultation concerning the revision of Tuscany’s Environment and Energy master plan. We provided eight comments, four of which were accepted. Among others, the plan acknowledges night sky as a resource for tourism and environment.

National scale

I was invited to take part in the drafting of part of a national law (however I could not participated due to technical issues)

European Union scale

In 2010 I was part of a European Commission working group for a workshop on EU policies on the Digital Earth initiative. The ideas defined in this workshop have been consolidated in an article on “A European perspective on Digital Earth“.

In 2011 I was invited at a workshop jointly organized by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and NASA for the ideas on key areas for research funding (Socio-economic Benefits from the use of Earth Observation). On that specific occasion I proposed a presentation called “Accounting for People in Earth Observation – Some Experiences from Italy” . The workshop proceedings are available.

Between April 2012 and October 2012 I was appointed as the facilitator for a working group of five experts for the creation of the data specifications for the “Production and Industrial Facilities” theme (Annex III of the European INSPIRE Directive on spatial data infrastructures).


Global scale

In 2015 I was selected as one of the Italian citizens for a meeting leading the collection of ideas to be reported to the Italian government for the definition of the COP15 Paris agenda. Namely, I attended the meeting in Florence.

Music and Rhymes

updated Sep. 2018

Music (and rhymes) not just as a form of entertainment, but to convey environmental and land planning issues.

2000- to date: photo sets of live shows (up to 2006 and after 2006

2012- to date: daily posts on music with the Branobag and Bosco Riserva

2010-2014: design, development, and maintenance (including a weekly newsletter) for the LO-FI club in Milano

2011 e 2015: Presenter for the musical afternoons of the May 1st celebrations in Piloni-Torniella (typical attendance: 500 people), introducing seven bands in 2011 and four in 2015

2006 – to date: production of musical videos, or videos with live soundtracks (typically from lesser known bands, buskers, etc.).

Since 2006: composition of rhymes (normally improvised, mostly in Italian, but occasionally in English)

2012: Collaboration for the 100th anniversary of the Torniella Philarmonic Band (with the creation of the digital archive for the band, and other promotional material)

2005 – Organization of two concerts for the Nema Problema Orkestar (Milan and Massa Marittima, Tuscany)

2009 – New Year’s Eve party in piazza del Popolo in Torniella, with the Fabulous Filters (psycho garage rock from Anzano del Parco, Como)

2011 – Teleporting Ottava Rima poets, tenores di Orgosolo and other Sardinian poets in his grandma’s living room in Scansano, Southern Tuscany

2012 – New Year’s Eve party in Torniella, with Hardisco (leading to five more concerts in the area during the following year

2014 Ottava Rima workshop in Grosseto (link in Italian)

2015 Ottava rima workshop in a confidential location (link in Italian)

2016 – Booked date for De’ Soda Sisters in Palazzetto (Chiusdino, Southern Tuscany)

2016 – Creator and manager of the Farma Valley Winter Fest, with five live sets in three days

2017 – Geomatics and music poster at the FOSS4G-IT conference in Genova, Italy, including live show

2017 – Jam session after the International Open Data Day in Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, Tuscany

2017 – International webinar on open-source geomatics, environment, and music

2017 – Second Farma Valley Fest

2018 – Etruschi & Friends Country Session at the White Rabbit Hole in Tuscany

2018 – launch of the Metalliferous Hills Jug Band

2018 – Third Farma Valley Winter Fest

2019 – Since Spring 2019 all music-related activities by pibinko.org are documented on http://www.pibinko.org/jugbandcollinemetallifere/