The archives are a repository of stories:
The Barbara Picutti Creative Contest is just the right time to tell them!

This year’s theme is:
TOOL TALES

Plastic models and old working tools used by professionals in the past have emerged from the ware- houses of MAIRE’s Milan headquarters, over 300 pieces that bear witness to the company’s history and the many personal stories that deserve to be uncovered and told. This is where the idea of a creative contest began, along with the memory of our colleague Barbara Picutti, “engineer and hu- manist,” as she liked to call herself, who passed away prematurely in June 2023, and one that could involve all of her colleagues.

Download the regulations

The challenge will be to write a story related to one of the old tools or project models in which its history, functionality and possibly how it has evolved over time to present day is explained. We would love to be able to read true or fictional stories that take inspiration from these objects and take flight! Scientific and technical knowledge combined with creative and narrative skills and a love of beauty: these are the cross-cutting and multidisciplinary skills of the humanist engineer!

The stories will be selected by a jury, chaired by our president Fabrizio Di Amato and composed of:

  1. Franco Ghiringhelli, MAIRE Group Human Resources, ICT, Organization & Procurement Senior Vice President
  2. Carlo Nicolais, MAIRE Group Institutional Relations, communication & Sustainability Vice President
  3. Gianni Bardazzi, MAIRE Group Risk Management, Special Initiatives and Regions Coordination Senior Vice President
  4. Sergio Paggi, Tecnimont Technology and Process Engineering Senior Advisor
  5. Simona Dolce, MAIRE Group Corporate Affairs, Governance & Compliance Vice President
  6. Maria Selli, MAIRE Group HSE&SA and Project Quality Vice President
  7. Fabio Brignoli, Nextchem Tech Business Development Manager
  8. Francesca Rabino, Nextchem Tech Strategic Research & Development Engineer
  9. Michele Pantaleo, Infrastructures Senior Project Engineer

The stories deemed most interesting will be showcased by being published on the various platforms of communication of the Maire Foundation and the MAIRE Group, and by being shared at events and interviews with the authors.

The rules to be followed, under penalty of exclusion, are: 

  1. The competition is reserved for employees of MAIRE Group Companies and retired colleagues.
  2. Applications from members of the contest jury, from MAIRE staff involved in the Foundation’s activities, from members of its Board of Directors will not be accepted.
  3. Each short story may have a maximum length of 8,000 characters including spaces. Short stories in Italian or English language are accepted.
  4. The story must be related to the theme of the 2024 edition (“TOOL TALES”) and inspired, in any way and to any extent, by the selection of objects found on the Maire Foundation website OUR HISTORICAL EQUIPMENT.
  5. Each story must be submitted together with the image(s) of the instrument chosen as the subject of the story, which can be downloaded from the Foundation’s website, under the section OUR HISTORICAL EQUIPMENT.
  6. Only story writing (both true stories and fiction) will be accepted. Essays, manuals, historiography and other forms of writing will not be accepted.
  7. Each employee may propose only one story on one or more work tools.
  8. The story may be structured in paragraphs. Footnotes are not allowed.
  9. Short stories must be unpublished. Any partial exceptions (e.g., quotes) must be reported and will be screened by the Maire Foundation.
  10. The employee who submits the story must be fully responsible for its content, in terms of intellectual property, rights to use, confidential or sensitive content, compliance with applicable regulations, etc., and agrees to fully assign the copyright on the submitted story to the Maire Foundation.
  11. Short stories should be emailed to: francesca.rinaldo@fondazionemaire.com  no later than April 8, 2024.
Download the images