L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 2023 L'Italo-Americano I t has been a few busy w e e k s f o r t h e S a n Francisco Bay area, and so it was for the I t a l i a n a n d I t a l i a n - American community. San Francisco hosted the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooper- ation (APEC) conference, one of the largest gatherings of global leaders in San Francis- co. More than 20,000 people attended the historic confer- ence, including Heads of State and Dignitaries from over 20 member economies in Asia, the Pacific, North America, and South America. During this time, the Italian Ambas- sador to the US, Mariangela Zappia, paid her first visit to San Francisco, which took place on November 16th and 17th. Consul General of Italy in S a n F r a n c i s c o , S e r g i o Strozzi, managed the two-day agenda, with meetings cover- ing the rapidly growing collab- oration between Italy and the Bay Area, the promotion of Italian startups and innovative ecosystems in Silicon Valley, academic and scientific collab- o r a t i o n , s u p e r c o m p u t i n g , emerging technologies and cultural promotion activities, including the Botticelli exhibi- tion at the Legion of Honor. As the first stop, Ambas- sador Zappia met with Italian physicist Federico Faggin, t h e m a n b e h i n d t h e f i r s t microprocessor, who worked at Olivetti and Fairchild Semi- c o n d u c t o r s , a n d f o u n d e d ZiLOG - the first company dedicated to microprocessors - and Synaptics, a company that developed the first touchpads and touch screens. During t h e i r c o n v e r s a t i o n , t h e y focused on the role of "disrup- tive technologies," and how to keep them in line with human and social dimensions; gener- ative artificial intelligence, and the significant presence of Ital- ian researchers and scientists in the tech industry in Silicon Valley. The new Italian Innova- tion and Culture Hub in San Francisco, INNOVIT, was home to a roundtable called "Boosting the relations between Italy and Silicon Val- ley in the fields of innovation, technology and science." In her opening speech, address- ing guests such as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Apple, Dr. Luca Maestri, and the Director of Investments of NVIDIA, John Wesley, Ambassador Zappia underlined the novelty and importance of this project. A way to promote and support Italian innovation players such as startups, research cen- ters, universities, and large t e c h n o l o g i c a l c o m p a n i e s . "Contamination" was the key- word, fostered by initiatives in different industries, like busi- ness, tech, science, and cul- ture. During the conference, alongside a presentation made by INNOVIT Director, Mr Alberto Acito, representatives of the two Italian business associations in the Bay Area took the stage, Giacomo Mari- ni, President of SVIEC (Silicon V a l l e y I t a l i a n E x e c u t i v e s Council), and Matteo Daste, founder of BAIA (Business Association Italy America), followed by the Co-President of the Bay Area Chapter of the ISSNAF (Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America F o u n d a t i o n ) , P r o f e s s o r Alessandro Ratti. " O v e r 1 0 0 s t a r t u p s a n d innovative SMEs accelerated in 2023, more than a hundred events organized, over 4,000 g u e s t s — t h e s e n u m b e r s demonstrate the success of this Italian project," Ambas- sador Zappia highlighted. "This commitment was one of the agreements made by the Italian Prime Minister and President Biden in their meet- ing in Washington at the end of July. With INNOVIT, Italy brings its excellence in the sectors of energy, biotech, fin- tech, digital, aerospace, robot- ics, cybersecurity, and the internet of things to Silicon Valley." The evening on the first day e n d e d w i t h t h e h o n o r o f Knight OMRI, granted by the President of the Republic, to Mr. Luca Maestri. Ambas- sador Zappia thanked Mr. Maestri for promoting invest- ments with high educational and technological value, such as the creation of the Apple Developer Academy at the F e d e r i c o I I U n i v e r s i t y o f Naples, the support of educa- tional and training programs for young people, and his par- ticipation as an INNOVIT Advisory Board member. D u r i n g h e r m i s s i o n , Ambassador Zappia stressed the relevance of collaborations in the academic and scientific fields, in particular during her meetings at the University of California - Berkeley, in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. This lab was first financed by the federal gov- ernment, which includes cut- ting-edge structures such as the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, NERSC, and the Advanced Light Source, ALS, and 16 Nobel Prize winners among the scientists who worked there. The group explored together supercomputing, the application of particle acceler- ators for scientific research in different industries, as well as the excellent level of collabo- ration between Italy and the University of Berkeley, facili- tated by the large presence of Italian scientists in the Cali- fornian university. The time in Berkeley concluded with a meeting at UC Berkeley Sky- Deck, the university accelera- tor, where Director Caroline Winnett, Professor Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli, and the Head of SkyDeck Europe, George Panagiotakopoulos, presented the progress of Sky- Deck Europe programs in Milan. Ambassador Zappia also met with three Italian startup founders, who are cur- rently part of the SkyDeck- Berkeley acceleration pro- gram: Supplai, Plino, and Klaaryo. T h e I t a l i a n a n d I t a l i a n American community of San Francisco and the Bay Area was also at the center of the visit, with a special meeting at t h e C o n s u l a t e G e n e r a l o n November 17th. The Ambas- sador paid her tribute, empha- sizing the importance of the unity of the Italian community abroad, when it comes to both the integration and collabora- tion between historic Italian- American associations and those of expats, such as scien- tists and entrepreneurs in the most innovative industries. "I really wanted to meet this community because, as institutions, we cannot have a n y s u c c e s s w i t h o u t y o u . When I look at the numbers, I can see how much commit- ment comes from these asso- ciations. Italy in Washington DC is among the few allies of the United States and this is also because of the footprint we have in this country. Very recently I was at the White House for Italian Heritage Month and the warm atmos- phere proves how much the First Lady is attached to her roots," Ambassador Zappia said. "It's important to keep the parade and its symbols alive, by looking at the past as well as the present and the future. Italians come here and stay, not only is mobility con- tinuing, but it also makes our relations stronger," she con- cluded. The visit concluded with a special pre-opening event of the "Botticelli Drawings" exhi- bition at the Fine Arts Muse- um and Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Curated by w e l l - k n o w n e x p e r t F u r i o Rinaldi, the exhibit presents an unprecedented number of autograph works by the Flo- rentine master, eleven paint- ings, and most of his draw- ings. Director of the Legion of Honor, Thomas Campbell, gave his greetings to Ambas- sador Zappia in his opening speech and highlighted the relevance of the great mono- graphic retrospective on Botti- celli in collaboration with major international - especial- ly Italian - museum institu- t i o n s . O n t h e s a m e n o t e , Ambassador Zappia under- lined the exceptional value of the exhibition in terms of both the works on display and the route and exhibition methods, congratulating the manage- ment and curator Rinaldi. As the main representative of the community across dif- ferent states, Consul General Sergio Strozzi shared his final thoughts: "These were intense days of work, meetings, and events related to many indus- tries where relations between Italy, San Francisco, and the Bay Area came to life. Innova- tion and tech, startups and investments, energy and envi- ronmental sustainability, pro- motion of art and culture, Ital- i a n a n d I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n community. The so-called Sis- tema Italia of the North-West Coast welcomed the Ambas- sador and was able to share upcoming strategic projects: INNOVIT and the strengthen- i n g o f I t a l i a n i n n o v a t i v e ecosystems; American invest- ments in Italy; academic and scientific collaboration; the multiple initiatives of the Ital- ian community in the Bay Area; the unique Botticelli exhibition at the Legion of H o n o r i n S a n F r a n c i s c o . Ambassador Zappia's visit was an extraordinary opportunity to show a more innovative and dynamic Italy in Silicon Valley to our American friends." Ambassador Mariangela Zappia visits San Francisco, highlighting the constructive collaboration among Italian excellences SERENA PERFETTO From left, Simone Mazzetto, Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Furio Rinaldi and Consul General Sergio Strozzi at the pre-opening of the Botticelli exhibit at the Legion of Honor (Photo: Enrica Cavalli) NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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