Last night was the 9th (of the twelve) in person event being held in the month of September at 1001 Woodward Ave for the "LoveITDetroit" initiative. The LoveITDetroit initiative consists in a series of promotional activities to be structured in the form of a "Festival dedicated to Italian creativity" lasting one month, with a permanent installation of Made in Italy products, a parallel presence in the metaverse, and a series of events (in the physical world and in the ether) that make this local event into a global platform from which to connect from anywhere in the world.

The Consulate aims at narrating Italian creativity, declined in the three dimensions (economic, cultural and scientific), both in person and through connectivity in the metaverse.

Last night’s event was dedicated to education, engineering and (not only) Automotive. Focused on showcasing the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna, which has the most famous automotive Companies in the world place their expertise and key innovative technologies at the service of students who want to become the new professionals in the automotive field. Amongst the things discussed were the future of road and racing vehicles, more sustainable propulsion systems and the subsystems for intelligent functions and production facilities in the pursuit of Industry 4.0. CEO of Dallara USA, Mr Stefano DePonti was a keynote speaker, together with Professor Francesco Leali of MUNER. Students and guests of the evening were then able to take place in, an AR/VR demonstration, and thus continue on with networking opportunities with representatives of the industry. On show were a beautiful Dallara EXP (one of only 5 in the whole United States) and three Ferraris.

Amongst the distinguished guest present last night, captains of industry and students alike, the Consulate of Italy was honored to have Detroit City Councilmember at-large Coleman A. Young II, who requested to say a few words. Councilmember Young II then proceed to present Consul Baistrocchi with the Spirit of Detroit Award for her Achievements, Leadership and Dedication to the City of Detroit.

In the words of Consul Allegra Baistrocchi, "I humbled and honored for receiving this award after only one year in Detroit. In a short amount of time I have come to love this city. I think it is vibrant but often overlooked. I want to build those bridges between this Great City and my Country, because there is incredible untapped potential that we can build on to create even more collaborations. I personally want to thank Councilmember Young and the City of Detroit for this recognition and will further endeavor to contribute to the best of my ability".

Consul Baistrocchi in thanking all for attending, conluded inviting everyone to also join us on the metaverse. “We are the first public administration in the world to have our own metaverse. I hope you LoveIT! And I want to remind everyone that this Saturday we will have our Shop and See and you still have time to register for Monday the 26th September event on furniture and sustainability and how Detroit can put in their bid for World Design Capital of the WDO.”