The traveling exhibition “Looking Beyond”, conceived by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Italian Space Agency and Telespazio/e-Geos, has opened at the Jærmuseet in Sandnes, near Stavanger. The exhibition is the result of the collaboration between the Italian Embassy in Oslo and the Italian Cultural Institute, with the support of the Italian/Norwegian company Vår Energi.
“Looking Beyond” shows spectacular satellite images acquired by the COSMO-SkyMed constellation and coming from the database of Telespazio/e-Geos and the Italian Space Agency. Divided into six different themes – agriculture, water, urban centers, climate change, natural disasters and deforestation –, the exhibition transports the visitor into an immersive experience that aims to combine the beauty of the images depicting glaciers, lava flows, metropolises, expanses of cultivated fields and rivers from various areas of the world with a reflection on the consequences of human activity on the planet and on the possible solutions to global problems such as deforestation, desertification or air and marine pollution. In this sense, the satellites of the COSMO-SkyMed constellation can offer an invaluable contribution to the preservation of the territory, being able to help predict landslides and floods, coordinating relief efforts in the event of earthquakes or fires, or monitoring crisis areas from above.
Speaking at the inauguration of the exhibition, the Italian Ambassador to Norway, Stefano Nicoletti, highlighted how: “The Italian technology for monitoring and observing the Earth developed by ASI and Telespazio is now widely used and used in areas of crucial importance such as risk prevention and management, mapping of arable land or the preservation of forestry heritage. The ‘eyes’ of the COSMO-SkyMed satellites are also used to scrutinize the vast Norwegian territory, by virtue of a collaboration agreement between e-Geos and Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT).” Ambassador Nicoletti also thanked the Jærmuseet “for having immediately and enthusiastically accepted the proposal of the Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute to host the exhibition in its spaces. We want to support the Italian institutions and associations present in Norway in order to promote the art, culture and science of our country not only in Oslo, but also in the so-called ‘minor’ centers. In this regard, I would also like to thank Dr. Alessia Galfano, Honorary Vice Consular in Stavanger, for her invaluable assistance in organizing the event, and the management of Vår Energi for the support received”.
Ny utstilling: Looking Beyond – Vitenfabrikken (jaermuseet.no)
