The year of culture between Italy and China was celebrated in an original online meeting on January 20 with a live Fb (which you can see here) organized by Discoverplaces and Istituto OBOR Italia.
A meeting that saw the presence of many young Italians and Chinese who are passionate about the cultures of these two countries that share the largest number of UNESCO sites in the world. Yet, they are geographically distant countries and not everyone is able to appreciate the particularities and nuances that allow us to feel like friends and stop looking at us with suspicion.
The moderators of the meeting were Claudia Bettiol, founder of Discoverplaces, and Michele de Gasperis of the Italian Obor Institute which every year organizes the Belt and Road Exhibition dedicated to relations between Italy and China.
How could you not have Amelie open the session? Amelie Wei is a young vlogger and journalist from Phoenix TV in Hong Kong who has more than 250,000 followers on Weibo who enchants with Italian wonders. You have been commissioned by the ENIT (Italian National Tourism Organization) and by many territories to make known the beauties and Italian culture in China.
In her work she often involves Ciso who with her Instagram profile "a Chinese friend" Italian born Chinese tells a little about culture and daily life in China.
Chi So is a Chinese born in Italy with an accent strongly linked to the territories, both when he speaks in Italian (the historic Garbatella district of Rome) and when he speaks in Chinese. He was born in Rome and learned about China as he grew up. His point of view is always very particular and surprising, and his eyes immediately transmit poetry and love for the two countries. An intensity that few can reach.
Speaking of second-generation Chinese in Italy, Ilaria Mundula, researcher and sinologist at the Prato university, offered us a very original insight into their dynamics. Perhaps Prato is not the largest Chinese community in an absolute sense, but it is certainly the largest in relative terms and the one that is most present in the social life of the city.
Two speeches by the Horse Museum Foundation followed, the president Maria Vittori told us about the wonderful opportunities to create links between Italy and China in the world of horses. Not only for her passion born when she was still a child but also for the direct knowledge in China of the growth of this sector.
Until recently, for the Chinese the horse was a part of their culture and one of the signs of the zodiac, but today equestrian sports are in full development and require ever greater collaboration between Western and Chinese realities.
Still on the opportunities of the horse world, we listened to Alessia di Donna, the social media manager of Horse Museum. Alessia told us about her personal experience of a year of managing the social profile on Weibo of the Foundation. During this year he had many unusual but thrilling experiences, such as when he took a course in horse drawing, with a Chinese master commissioned by their Ministry of Culture to teach art to children, or when he received a painting made by an artist on a photograph of the Foundation.
A pleasant surprise was being able to listen to Oscar Peng, known thanks to Weibo. Oscar had come to visit us with 3 of his friends in Paliano at the headquarters of the Horse Museum. Oscar is a musician and a student at the Conservatory of Florence, where he has lived for more than a few years, and has become passionate about Tuscany and the Italy that he promotes on his social channels in China. Being a musician helped him a lot to integrate because by nature music has no boundaries.
It seems that a desire for collaboration has already been born with Alessandro Muller, another of the guests. Alessandro is one of the founders of Promu, an association aimed at operators in the culture, tourism and entertainment sectors. Together with the Italian Obor Institute he created "Musitaly", a project for the relaunch of the Italian live show (in particular the musical one) at a national and international level.
But Chinese is a difficult language to learn and this difficulty inspired Claudia Unali to write her manual "Chinese for Pessimists" which tells clever tricks to survive the desperate study of this language.
A breath of poetry, then, was the speech by Lucia Gentili of China Communication Academy who reminded us that behind every social network or every action there is a person. Lucia Gentili is a marketing and communication expert for the Chinese market and you immediately recognize her by her hair with the colors of the elves. For those who want to celebrate the Chinese New Year with her you can follow her on this link (...)
And how can you celebrate a New Year without talking about food and in particular the famous Chinese ravioli? Gianni Catani, founder and chef of Dumpling Bar in Rome, he told us that they cannot miss on the Chinese table and that once a penny was hidden in one of the ravioli as luck for those who found it. Gianni is a lover of Chinese cuisine, of which he has become one of the best chefs, and is organizing his particular Chinese New Year in Macerata.
And when it comes to Chinese cuisine, Laura Rizzo, co-founder of ChinEAT, a platform founded by an international team of young and passionate people who introduces the flavors of true and authentic Chinese cuisine, could not be missing. Worth noting is the collaboration with the famous Chinese Hot Pot group, DeZhuang, for the marketing of Sichuan condiments, whose cuisine is also part of the intangible heritage of UNESCO. And Laura not only reiterated the importance of food culture but also the opportunities that are to be seized in the union between Italian food and wine. The real challenge today is knowing how to make the right combination to give a total taste experience.
And the food also characterizes the name chosen by Pai Liu from Studio Tiramisù, who spreads Chinese culture to Italian friends with videos on the wonderful places of China. His communicative way of speaking makes it enjoyable and in his video he tells how we will have to communicate more and more because only knowledge can overcome all barriers and mutual distrust.
And Claudai Rogialli, the founder of the "Orientiamoci in Cina" Association in Prato, knows it well, which among other things organizes the Silk Festival, born during the pandemic for this desire to overcome fears. The association organizes Chinese language and culture courses, promotes cultural exchanges with trips to discover authentic China.
A China that knows Lorenzo Lombardo well, who lived there for several years to take his second degree. In fact, Lorenzo is a lawyer both in Italy and in China with offices in Beijing and with his Chinese mother-tongue wife, they help companies to overcome the barriers that are often more cultural than legislative.
The last of the speeches was the video of Alessia Lucifora from Sahngai. Alessia moved to China as a teenager following her father's job and she considers her China her 'home'. Hearing the noises of the city in the background has thrilled all of us who would like to return to travel and experience those electrifying shocks that Chinese life can give.
The meeting was closed by Bruno Grassetti, a medal of friendship from the Chinese government who has always been committed to creating bridges and collaborations between Italy and China. A man of overwhelming enthusiasm constantly engaged in development projects who is a true mentor for all those who are getting to know China today.
A very pleasant meeting and we are sure that this is only the beginning of a journey. We will immediately begin to work for the occasion of the World Championships of Driving and Eventing and to build bridges in the world of horses!
Ad maiora!
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