Welcome to Italy

Android, the Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications, has just released its SDK to public. The Google sponsored open source software for mobiles is running a Android Developer Challenge to promote it around the web. Fact is Italy is out of the games, this is because the heavy, baroque and useless bureaucracy of a Country stuck in middle ages won't allow Google to run the challenge in an acceptable time range.

The Android Developer Challenge is open to individuals, teams of individuals, and business entities. While we seek to make the Challenge open worldwide, we cannot open the Challenge to residents of Cuba, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, and Myanmar (Burma) because of U.S. laws. In addition, the Challenge is not open to residents of Italy or Quebec because of local restrictions.

Land of no opportunities

A part for thing created back in the days, let say until the Renaissance, Italy has not really evolved. Or contributed to world humanity. Well a part from food, maybe. (Catalan cuisine now, and French nouvelle cuisine before it took the prime time in recent years).

Yes, Italy is plenty of ancient ruines and artworks, but they are not enough. If you look at World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Italy ranks at the 33rd place (after Countries like United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Estonia, Barbados, and Malaysia. In terms of incoming tourism Italy ranks at the 5th place (after France, Spain, United States and China).

What about education? Forget it. The first Italian university is the University of Milan, ranked at 102nd according to Top 500 World Universities Meeting of the International Rankings Expert Group organized by Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Contemporary Art? Forget it. Name a contemporary Italian artist? Ok, Maurizio Cattelan. Well, he's living in New York, USA...

Have a look at any World Statistics in Economics, Politics, Science, Technology, Art, Culture, whatever. If you find Italy ranked, chances are it's at the very bottom. I won't even talk about the fashion, designer scenario, if you are looking for young, and talented designers in those fields you probably already know you have to look somewhere else (Hussein Chalayan and Hedi Slimane don't sound so Italian). Architecture? C'mon...

If you thought of Italy as a Country of creative, talented, vital and running opportunities, well... think again.