Paranoia Festival 2026 in Turin
Date of the event:
The Paranoia Festival 2026 is the closing stop of a touring event dedicated to young people's psychological wellbeing, held in Turin on 13 and 14 November between the spaces of the Bunker and the Duomo at OGR Torino. The event, presented on the morning of 10 November, follows stops in Bergamo and Milan and offers two days of talks, workshops, book presentations and music on the themes of vulnerability, identity and the mental health of the new generations [1][2].
Origins and themes
The festival was created in 2023 as a response to the social isolation that emerged after the pandemic and was devised by a group of young people who chose to tell their own experience in the first person, turning youth distress into an opportunity for discussion free of stigma [1]. The theme of the 2026 edition is “Tutto questo Niente” (“All this Nothing”), a reflection on the gap between real and perceived identity, on social expectations and on the pressure exerted by digital role models [1][2].
The 13 November programme at the Bunker
The opening day is aimed in the morning at upper secondary school students with the workshop “Weaving Sounds Scuole”, run with Progetto Itaca ETS, which turns personal objects into a collective musical composition. In the afternoon there is the talk “La società dell'algoritmo: AI, benessere mentale e regolamentazione” (“The algorithm society: AI, mental wellbeing and regulation”) with Matteo Hallissey and Luca Bernardelli, followed by the Paranoia Lab organised with Associazione Nessuno APS, with discussion tables led by educators and professionals. The day closes with “Paranoia Festival Night”, devoted to music [1][2].
The 14 November programme at the OGR
On 14 November the festival moves to the Duomo at OGR Torino with the screening of the documentary “L'età del vetro” (“The Age of Glass”) by Niccolò Cacace, which tells the story of anxiety through ten accounts of people aged between 10 and 100. This is followed by talks with the psychologist and neuroscientist Andrea Bariselli, presenting his book “Unspecial. Smettere di essere straordinari per tornare a vivere” (Rizzoli), and with the authors Jonathan Bazzi and Livio Ricciardi, as well as writing workshops and activities devoted to creative expression and the relationship with one's own body [1][2].
Institutions and related research
The City of Turin's councillor for Youth and Education Policies, Carlotta Salerno, stressed the duty of institutions to give young people a voice and to listen to it, describing the festival as a space for free expression without judgement [1]. Turin is also where data collection concludes for the survey “Chi stai diventando?” (“Who are you becoming?”), carried out with Assirm and the Lombardy and Piedmont associations of psychologists, on the construction of youth identity amid social expectations and digital pressures; the results are presented on 15 November [2].
Sources
- TorinoClick — 10 November 2026
- ANSA Piemonte — 10 November 2026