President’s Memo

Chamber’s Patrons 2020

LUCA CICO

President of The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao

President’s memo

Dear Members and Friends,

As the first half of 2020 comes to a close and we enter into the 3rd quarter of the year, we are at last seeing signs that the effects of COVID-19 are abating. Hong Kong is on the path to recovery, having implemented prompt and robust supporting activities like the Anti-epidemic Funds, and effective social distancing measures. Italy, our loved home country, lifted the national lockdown on June the 3rd and has cleared its citizens for domestic travel.

Undeterred by the physical limitations brought by the pandemic, the Chamber has organized a steady stream of events by delivering several informative online webinars. During these interactive events, the participants had the opportunity of exchanging experiences and sharing their learnings on a wide range of topical subjects, including digital marketing, e-commerce and government support measures. We organized also webinars with a special focus on Retail, F&B and Fashion industries.

June is the month of the Italian National Day celebration: for this significant occasion, the Chamber invited the members of the Italian community to join My Dear Italia, the initiative consisting of a series of online events themed about Italian culture. The initiative kick off was a social media contest on Facebook and Instagram, encouraging the participants to share their most memorable experiences in Italy. The Chamber also hosted the Quiz Night on 2 June, where the participants were challenged to answer several questions on Italian history, pop culture and art. In both events, the winners were rewarded with fabulous prizes, generously provided by our sponsors – details in the Highlights section.

As for our tradition of focusing our magazine on Italian culture, arts and cuisine, in this issue we look at these topics from the perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as how industries involved with the arts have adapted their practices to navigate this unprecedented storm. This issue’s cover stories cover the fine art of food and fragrance industries, as well as museums as representatives of the arts and culture sector. And of course, this issue would not be complete without a taste of Italian culture from our staple Italian Chats and Imperfect Cuisine sections.

Last but definitely not least, I wish to thank all our Members, Sponsors and Partners in the local, Italian and global communities for their continued collaboration and support during this tough and critical moment: THANK YOU!