Magma Fest 2026

Is there a Mediterranean way of doing business?

The economies of the Mediterranean coast have long been viewed through a negative lens - characterised by businesses deemed too small or informal compared to models developed elsewhere. The opening day of MAGMA 2026 examines these same traits from a fresh perspective, asking what they actually make possible: economies where trust and proximity replace rigid formal structures, and where adaptability is a rational response to unstable environments. We aim to put this hypothesis to the test - including its grey areas, from precariousness to unrecognised labour.

This same inquiry applies to skills. Those who cross the Mediterranean bring knowledge forged through mobility and community networks - qualities that formal certification systems often fail to capture. Which skills can we truly define as "Mediterranean"? Who validates them today, and what do local territories lose when these capacities remain invisible?

The event coincides with the 2026 Open Day of the EIT Culture & Creativity Regional Hub South, which has chosen Matera as its venue, supported by the scientific expertise of the CNR-DSU. Together with our participants, we aim to discover whether the practices observed across these regions constitute a distinct model - and under what conditions they can form a shared, cross-shores agenda for cultural and creative enterprises. In the evening at the TAM (Tower Art Museum), the conversation shifts to a personal scale: To which world do we belong?

What holds a community together when its inhabitants are constantly changing?

Migration, the climate crisis, and regional conflicts are reshaping the Mediterranean faster than institutions can adapt. Meanwhile, genuine coexistence is already taking shape on the ground through everyday practices that rarely feature in public debate: collective economies and shared spaces and resources.

The second day of MAGMA 2026 starts here. How do we build community when confronted with difference, without reducing it to a problem to be managed? What does it mean to remain in places that people have left for generations, when choosing to stay requires deep cooperation?

These questions resonate differently depending on which shore of the Mediterranean you stand on. For this reason, the day brings together researchers and community practitioners to analyse concrete cases -cities transformed by migration, and places where communities form long before institutions arrive. Our goal is to leave Matera with a preliminary map of emerging Mediterranean communities, alongside a clearer understanding of what we have yet to discover.