L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY T h e n e w C O M . I T . E S , the groups rep- resenting Italian e x p a t s a l l o v e r the world, officially formed a few months ago, opening a n e w c h a p t e r f o r m a n y cities and areas in the world that will last five years. As t h e i r m a i n t a s k , t h e COM.IT.ES work on identi- fying social, cultural, and overall needs of the Italian c o m m u n i t y a n d b r i n g r e q u e s t s i n f r o n t o f l o c a l authorities and institutions. With up to 18 members, the COM.IT.ES are meant t o r u n i n i t i a t i v e s t h a t involve young people and o l d g e n e r a t i o n s , g i v i n g s o c i a l a n d e d u c a t i o n a l assistance as well as hosting sports and leisure activities. One of the main focuses of the COM.IT.ES. is related to the Italian language and all programs ensuring its pro- m o t i o n a n d s p r e a d i n g a c r o s s c o m m u n i t i e s a n d generations. Lastly, Italian immigrants should be able t o a s k t h e i r l o c a l C O M . I T . E S f o r h e l p a n d s u p p o r t w h e n i n n e e d o f assistance and they want to see their rights better repre- sented. S a n F r a n c i s c o s h a r e s COM.IT.ES representatives w i t h s o m e o t h e r s t a t e s , among which Washington State, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Hawaii, a n d s o m e o t h e r s m a l l i s l a n d s . T h e g r o u p g o t together for a formal pre- sentation to the community on May 1st at the Museo Italo Americano in San F r a n c i s c o . T h e d a t e a l s o marked the Festa dei Lavo- ratori (International Work- e r s ' D a y ) a n d t h e e v e n t became a moment to cele- b r a t e a l l I t a l i a n w o r k e r s worldwide. COM.IT.ES San Francisco, with their repre- s e n t a t i v e s i n t h e h o u s e , s h a r e d m o r e a b o u t t h e vision and the goal for the future. President Isabella Weiss Di Valbranca was joined by some other repre- s e n t a t i v e s w h o t o o k t h e stage to talk about projects a n d f u t u r e p l a n s . T h e COM.IT. ES uses working Committees to deliver on the projects, each one run b y a l e a d a n d f e w m o r e members. Paola Tonelli, who was elected for the first time in 2021, has a background in Physics, she had a career in t h e t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s industry and held presti- gious roles both in corpo- rates and at UC Berkeley. In recent years, Paola has been part of initiatives in the Ital- ian community and organi- zations like the Leonardo da Vinci Society and the Italian S e c t i o n C l u b a t B e r k e l e y University. She coordinated t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n f o r t h e COM.IT.ES and shared her f i r s t i m p r e s s i o n s i n t h i s r o l e : " I a m n e w t o t h e COM.IT.ES. and very inter- ested in collaboration with Italian American associa- t i o n s t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e "Italian Identities" of cre- ativity, innovation, and tra- ditions are integrated and enhanced by the Bay Area spirit of launching startups w i t h o u t e x c e s s i v e f e a r o f failing." T h e R e s e a r c h a n d Innovation working com- mittee will promote, facili- t a t e , a n d c o o r d i n a t e t h e activities of the Italian com- munity in areas like acade- mic research, entrepreneur- s h i p , a n d i n n o v a t i o n b y building a strong collabora- tion with the Italian Con- s u l a t e a s w e l l a s e x i s t i n g Italian and Italian-Ameri- can organizations. The goal of the Business a n d T o u r i s m w o r k i n g committee is to offer visibil- ity and stimulate local Ital- ian entrepreneurs in indus- t r i e s t h a t b e s t r e p r e s e n t Italian excellence, like the so-called agroalimentare (agri-food), tech, and arti- sanship. As for tourism, the focus will be on promoting t h e t u r i s m o d i r i t o r n o , a special initiative of the Ital- ian government aimed at supporting the local econo- my of less known areas and off-the-beaten-path desti- nations. The food industry gets its o w n w o r k i n g c o m m i t t e e called Italian Communi- ties and Traditions, with work to introduce unique I t a l i a n p r o d u c t s a n d m e t h o d o l o g i e s . T h i s i s e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t because it can help preserve and spread the knowledge about Italian agricultural traditions, cultivation meth- ods, and special products brought from Italy to the US by old generations of immi- grants. More initiatives are also coming in relation to Gov- e r n m e n t B o d i e s a n d Institutions, especially to p r o m o t e , w e l c o m e , a n d coordinate activities of the Italian community in the area of policies, communi- c a t i o n , a n d e x c h a n g e b e t w e e n I t a l i a n a n d U S institutions. This working committee will be in charge of putting together, review- i n g , a n d r e c o m m e n d i n g p o l i c i e s t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e interaction between local governments and institu- tions, keeping in mind the priorities of the areas that are represented. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s between the members of the v a r i o u s m i g r a t o r y w a v e s present in the area will be revitalized through the ini- tiatives of the Migration, Diversity and Integra- tion working committee. T h e y w i l l d o s o b y d o c u - m e n t i n g t h e i n t e g r a t i o n processes that have radical- ly changed Italian society through cultural initiatives, film festivals, presentations by artists and writers of the second generation. This also includes a special spot for multiculturalism and tradi- t i o n s a n d i t s i n t e g r a t i o n with Italy's new trends. The Education working committee will use new and existing tools to promote t h e I t a l i a n l a n g u a g e a n d culture and start collabora- tions with schools, universi- ties, cultural institutes, and a s s o c i a t i o n s . G o a l s v a r y from expanding the offer of Italian language courses in the area to f a c i l i t a t i n g c u l t u r a l exchanges between Italian and American schools and universities; organizing cul- t u r a l e v e n t s a n d l i t e r a r y prizes for students of Ital- ian; and promoting summer camps for the study of Ital- ian language, culture, and art. Lastly, keeping everyone i n f o r m e d w i l l h a v e t h e Communication working c o m m i t t e e b u s y w i t h t h e website and social media as main channels for updates a n d i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h e c o m m u n i t y o n C o n s u l a r S e r v i c e s , c u l t u r a l a n d s c h o o l e x c h a n g e s , t a x e s , health, and entrepreneurial issues. I s a b e l l a W e i s s D i V a l - branca, the new President of the COM.IT.ES San Fran- c i s c o , i s o r i g i n a l l y f r o m Rome. She has a degree in Common Law and practiced a s a l a w y e r . I s a b e l l a i s a freelance journalist, worked for Rai International, and g o t a M a s t e r i n B u s i n e s s Engineering from the Uni- versity of Rome Tor Verga- t a . S h e h a s a l w a y s b e e n active in the Italian commu- nity of San Francisco. Isabella, congrats on becoming the new Pres- i d e n t . H o w d i d t h i s experience start? Thank you so much! We started in December, after a c a m p a i g n w h i c h s a w t w o groups competing for the elections. When done with elections and ballots, we got together and started work- i n g o n d i f f e r e n t p r o j e c t s and ideas. We formed many working Committees to help o u r c o m m u n i t y f i n d t h e r i g h t t o o l s t o n a v i g a t e among, sometimes, confus- ing information, by offering connections and contacts. W e k n o w t h a t S a n Francisco is the place w i t h t h e h i g h e s t p e r - centage of people send- ing their ballot for the C o m . i t . e s . W h y i s i t important to vote? We got one of the highest percentages in the US, high- e r t h a n N e w Y o r k j u s t t o mention, and higher than a lot of other big European cities. We acknowledge that it is hard to vote to choose the COM.IT.ES representa- tives, since people have to request their ballot and the Consulate has to verify that they belong to the AIRE, the register of Italians abroad. That is why a lot of votes are not coming in on time, compared to the number of Italians who are residents. I t t a k e s a l o t o f e f f o r t t o push people to vote. On the other hand, we got a very high participation from the Northwest area, Portland and Seattle. We have four elected representatives from t h e r e . V o t i n g f o r t h e COM.IT.ES is important as we are the liaison between the Consular Institutions and the Italian community. T h e m o r e p e o p l e a r e involved, the more we can do for the Community. What's coming up for the Com.it.es and how the members will deliv- er on the programs? W e i n c l u d e d t h e m a x i - mum number of non-elect- ed members from local and state-wide Italian-American A s s o c i a t i o n s . T h e y a r e going to help us reach more and more people and deliv- er projects, events, and sup- port. Personally, I would like to work on wider com- munication, reaching out to as many people as possible, organizing events for the community, listening to the most important issues, and trying to include members o f t h e c o m m u n i t y i n o u r projects. D o y o u h a v e a n y o t h e r e v e n t s s o o n ? Should we expect more events like the one we did on May 1st? There is going to be an event on May 15th in Port- land, where people from the N o r t h w e s t c a n m e e t o u r representatives, together with the Consul General of San Francisco. Of course, w e a r e g o i n g t o o r g a n i z e more events where we can g e t p e o p l e t o g e t h e r , p r o - m o t i n g n o t o n l y t h e l a n - g u a g e , t h e c u l t u r e , t h e Made in Italy, craftsman- s h i p , s p o r t s , I t a l i a n skillsets, success stories of success, but also a strong sense of community and, why not, fun! I encourage everyone to follow our Face- book page https://www. f acebook. com/SFComites and check our website to get t o k n o w w h a t w e d o a n d w h o w e a r e h t t p : / / w w w . sfcomites.org. You can con- tact the members via email a t c o m i t e s . s a n f r a n c i s c o @gmail.com COM.IT.ES SF kicks off its programs on International Workers' Day at the Museo Italo Americano SERENA PEFETTO

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