International Festival for Gender Equality
Six days of panels, exhibitions, workshops, and performances on equality, held in the historic center of Perugia and at the University.
About Gender Equality Festival
A Festival for Equality, in the Heart of Umbria
The International Festival for Gender Equality is a widespread event animating the historic center of Perugia and the fourteen departments of the University of Perugia. Founded in 2025, it focuses on the theme of gender equality, addressing it from every perspective: work, economy, science and technology, health, urban planning, communication, and gender-based violence.
Panels, Workshops, Exhibitions, and Performances
The program combines thematic panels, meetings with authors, workshops and laboratories, open lectures in university departments, film screenings, exhibitions, theater, music, and stand-up comedy. Events take place in symbolic locations of the city — the Sala dei Notari, the Sala Brugnoli of Palazzo Cesaroni, the Cinema PostModernissimo — and in the university lecture halls, transforming the entire city of Perugia into a laboratory for collective reflection.
A Network Connecting City, University, and Institutions
The cultural direction is entrusted to Giuseppina Bonerba, professor of Semiotics at the University of Perugia. The festival is sponsored by the Umbria Region, the Municipality of Perugia, the Umbria Chamber of Commerce, the University of Perugia, the OSCE in Vienna, and RAI Umbria, and is held under the auspices of No Women No Panel. Access is free until capacity is reached, with optional registration for activities aimed at school classes and businesses.
Gender Equality Festival — edition 2026
The second edition doubled the duration compared to the first, expanding from three to six days, from May 4th to 9th, 2026. Under the cultural direction of Giuseppina Bonerba, the festival brought 60 events and over 200 speakers to Perugia, involving for the first time the fourteen departments of the University of Perugia, with previews in Foligno and a stop in Terni. Panels, workshops, exhibitions, screenings, and performances addressed the themes of work, STEM disciplines, artificial intelligence, health, urban planning, and gender-based violence.
Programme Gender Equality Festival 2026
Monday, May 4th
- 09:00 AM — Sala Brugnoli (Palazzo Cesaroni): Opening with the roundtable "A Festival for Equality in Perugia"
- 10:30 AM — "She Changes Climate" with Lara Scarpitta (Head Gender Issues Programme, OSCE Vienna)
- 10:30 AM — Department of Engineering: "Gender Equality and Disability"
- 02:15 PM — Cinema PostModernissimo: Screening of "Coma"
- 02:30 PM — Sala dei Notari: "Planning the Caring City" with Florencia Andreola
- 03:00 PM — Italian Design Institute: Workshop on fashion and identity
- 04:30 PM — Sala Brugnoli: "C'è un Mare fuori"
Tuesday, May 5th
- 08:30 AM — Department of Economics: "The Role of Young Men for Equality"
- 10:30 AM — Department of Mathematics: "Bias in Artificial Intelligence"
- 11:30 AM — Aula Magna of Economics: "It's Not Just a Joke: Understanding Harassment"
- 03:30 PM — Medicine: "Gender Differences in Pain Perception"
- 04:30 PM — Economics: "Journalistic Representation of Gender-Based Violence"
Exhibitions
- "What Were You Wearing?" — Equal Opportunities Center
- "Protagonists. Women Who Changed Comics" — Chamber of Commerce Services Center
Full program at festivalparitadigenere.org.
Highlights Gender Equality Festival 2026
Prices Gender Equality Festival 2026
Practical information — Gender Equality Festival
Getting Here
Perugia is reachable by train (Perugia Fontivegge station + Minimetrò to the center) and by car from the Perugia-Bettolle bypass or the E45 highway. The venues are in the historic center and university departments.
Admission
Events are free admission until capacity is reached. Some activities for schools, classes, and businesses require registration or accreditation.
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Where does it take place — Gender Equality Festival
Centro storico e dipartimenti universitari di Perugia
Corso Vannucci, 06121 Perugia