MercolEdù · sorsi e discorsi

MercolEdù started in 2020 to answer a specific need in our community: a real, horizontal space for discussing complex topics that rarely make it into a bar conversation. The name — sips and talks — says it all: the discussion comes with a social aperitivo, and the point is never to impress with a lecture but to strip away academic hierarchy. As we like to put it, this isn't a stage for lecturers.

Over the years MercolEdù has become a recurring appointment able to host experts and activists on genuinely uncomfortable topics: nuclear energy, acupuncture, universal basic income, gender violence, mental load, inclusive language, digital loneliness, secularism, death, urban mobility. In 2025 alone we ran five key sessions — artificial intelligence in schools, the sharing revolution, robotics, mindful photography, and Palermo's new General Urban Plan. Since 2020, the tally has grown past 25 topics.

The method has never changed: topics are chosen fluidly and collectively, requests to speak come through direct contact with whoever's coordinating, and misunderstanding is treated as fuel for creativity rather than a problem to fix. Around MercolEdù we've built a network of like-minded, horizontal-minded partners over time — Teatro Atlante, UAAR Palermo, Coaching Mediterraneo, 100% Me Stessa — each bringing their own angle to the agenda.

It's a zero-budget project: the association only covers the aperitivo's running costs and provides the coworking's space and equipment for free. Coordination runs on members' free volunteering, outside the 60-hour annual commitment required by our bylaws — a sign that some people simply do it for the pleasure of doing it. In the end, that's what MercolEdù really is: a conscious alternative to passive content consumption, a Wednesday evening spent talking, in person, with whoever's sitting across from you, instead of scrolling.