L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 6 BAIA, the nonprofit association helping Italians build a professional network across the Bay Area Moving to a new country can be an exciting adventure, partic- ularly challenging if that place is the Silicon Valley. While seeing the San Francisco Bay Area as one of the favorite destinations, very few migrants want to give up on some connections with their homeland. This is also true for Italians, whose community in the bay has been growing very fast. Among others, the Business A s s o c i a t i o n I t a l y A m e r i c a (BAIA) has given a great contri- bution in building a network of professionals willing to share not only ideas, but also the same language and origins. To under- stand the role of this nonprofit association, we talked to Matteo Daste, a lawyer originally from Genoa and one of the three co- founders. BAIA's story began with an unexpected meeting in 2005 that brought the first play- ers together, and prepared the ground for something bigger to come. M a t t e o , w h a t h a p p e n e d back in 2005? The first time I met Giorgio (Ghersi e.d.) was almost by acci- dent. We are both from Genoa and we met through a mutual f r i e n d . I r u n i n t o h i m i n t h e lobby of my building. To make the story short: after knowing e a c h o t h e r a b i t m o r e , w e realised we were in the same stage of life, happy to be in San F r a n c i s c o b u t e a g e r t o m e e t more people from Italy. Giorgio introduced me to another guy from Bologna, Michele (Ursino e . d . ) . I t d i d n ' t t a k e l o n g t o understand we were all looking for the same thing: a network of Italian professionals to hang out with and do stuff together. How a random idea turned into a successful association? The process was very fast. There were no social channels at that time, the only way to stay connected was by creating real o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o g a t h e r . W e decided to get organized through an open organization: no owners, no subscriptions, only individu- als able to help through dona- tions. Starting from there, we a p p r o a c h e d a n d t o l d o t h e r f r i e n d s o u r i d e a a n d s t a r t e d working together. W h a t d i d y o u d o a f t e r BAIA was founded? First thing needed was visibil- ity within the Italian community: we had an event per month, run- ning panels around relevant top- ics. Interesting how, during the initial events, people started ask- ing to join or lead panels in the future. They soon realized we were a true aggregating associa- tion, where everybody's idea counted. Did you get inspired from someone? Our model was similar to the f i r s t E u r o p e a n B u s i n e s s Association in San Francisco, the German GABA. I had met its founder who shared tips and ideas with me. The association has a Board of co-founders and s e n i o r p r o f e s s i o n a l s , a n d a Governance of volunteers who help with different tasks. All our volunteers are highly dedicated individuals, committed to build- ing and helping the community. H a s B A I A c h a n g e d o v e r time? 2011 has been the first turn- ing point: after we got an institu- tional presence and a recognition by the community, the associa- tion changed its face. Young people were using Facebook and LinkedIn to build their connec- tions and startups were getting help by specialised organiza- tions. Since then, we have less events each year and mostly with SERENA PERFETTO a social impact. Everyone knows how to network by now, we only give people an opportunity to do so, setting up a time and a place where to meet. Every month in San Francisco and Palo Alto, we run a free Italian-style aperitivo w ith 50-60 people regularly attending. How and why does BAIA keep the same appeal? We are an open platform, a truly open source: everyone can give his/her contribution, choos- ing a project to run. This way, e v e r y o n e c a n p o s s i b l y f e e d his/her self-satisfaction and cul- tivate a status within the com- munity. Can you identify a weak- ness? Our platform is horizontal, which means we have more than one goal. Our mission keeps changing and adapting to what happens around us. The Italian community itself is now mature, there are many events happening i n S i l i c o n V a l l e y e v e r y d a y , that's why we are now trying to create especially social opportu- nities. L o o k i n g a t t h e f u t u r e : what's the next challenge? We want people to take their knowledge back to Italy. And we would like to blend the local Italian-American community w i t h t h e I t a l i a n e x p a t s . Together, we could become a 'social think tank': learning and organizing existing best prac- tices, before using them some- where else. Any regret so far? Maybe we missed the given opportunity to become a trade association. But we decided to keep our initial mission, serving the community in a free and open way, the one that led us to where we are. The biggest achievement? Being one of our future goals to combine Italians from first and second generations, we par- t i c u l a r l y a p p r e c i a t e d t h e endorsement received last year. The Italian Community Services Agency of San Francisco cele- brated BAIA for what it has already done to help and support Italians in the Bay Area. Being recognized by the oldest and m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l I t a l i a n - American organization is some- thing to be proud of. It also makes us believe that, after all, ours was not a foolish idea: we did, we do, and we can still do a lot for the Italian community in the United States. From the left: BAIA's founders: Matteo Daste, Giorgio Ghersi, and Michele Ursino BAIA Governance members during an event with Beppe Severgnini in May 2014 Nov. 20, Thurs. - Renato D'Agostin: The Beautiful Cliché Exhibit opening. The Leica Gallery San Francisco and the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco present a San Francisco premier event: The Beautiful Cliché, an exhibition and book with work by award-winning and internationally exhi- bited Italian photographer, Renato D'Agostin. Leica Gallery (463 Bush Street). Info at www.leicastoresf.com Nov. 20, Thurs. - NICE: New Italian Cinema Events. Viva la Libertà (Long Live Freedom). 6:30pm - Controra (House of Shadows) 8:45pm. Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento Street (between Presidio and Lyon). Info: http://www.sffs.org Nov. 21, Fri. - NICE: New Italian Cinema Events. Per Ulisse (4:30 pm) - Up To The World (6:30 pm) - Blame Froid (9:00 pm). Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento Street (between Presidio and Lyon). Info: http://www.sffs.org Nov. 22, Sat. - NICE: New Italian Cinema Events. The Art of Happiness (1:30pm), Remember Me (4:00pm), The Medicine S eller ( 6:30pm) , I Can Q uit Wh en ev er I Want. (9:15pm). Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento Street (between Presidio and Lyon). Info: http://www.sffs.org N ov. 22, S at . - Meet t h e f ilm m ak er: Th e Bea u t if u l Things. Come and meet one of the rising stars of Italian cine- ma, Agostino Ferrente, and see a free screening of his new film, Le cose belle (in Italian with English subtitles). 155 Dwinelle Hall, UC Berkeley. Info www.iisaucberkeley.org/ events Nov. 23, Sun. - NICE: New Italian Cinema Events. In the Snow (1:00pm), Border (3:00pm), Human Capital (6:30pm) Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento Street (between Presidio and Lyon). Info http://www.sffs.org Nov. 22 & 23, Sat. & Sun. - Italian Christmas Market. The second annual Mercato di Natale Organized by: Museo Italoamericano, DIVE, Enjoy Silicon Valley. Museo Italo- Americano, Fort Mason Center BLDG C, San Francisco. For info http://museoitaloamericano.org or (415) 673-2200. Nov. 26, Wed. - BAIA Aperitivo Berkeley in partnership with the Berkeley Italian Network: Join and meet other professio- nals from the Bay Area for an informal happy hour - Beta Lounge, 2129 Durant Ave., Berkeley (6pm - 8pm). Info at http://link.baia-network.org/events Dec. 5, Fri.- An evening with Michelle Longega Wilson, An 8- y ear- old A mazon b es t-s ellin g I ta lia n - A m erica n Author. Bring your children for an entertaining and inspiring evening of f un. Italian Cultural Ins titu te o f S an Francisco Info http://www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it. For informa- tion: (415) 788-7142.

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