Dear friends,
Finally, our new website is live! It’s more attractive, faster, more complete, and it will soon allow us to do even more. We invite you to visit it here.
Please note that the areas we use to divide the United States have been reduced from 9 to 6: the new regions are New England, New York, East, Midwest, South, and West. Starting this month, the newsletter will also follow this new structure. So, subscribers to the Great Lakes newsletter will now be part of the Midwest one; those who subscribed to the South East newsletter will be moved to the South; and California newsletter subscribers will join the West.
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of sharing some Italian American stories at the Italia-America Friendship Festival in Vicenza. I believe it’s very important - especially in these times - to organize events that promote dialogue and friendship between Italy and the United States. Vicenza is a special city, home to the largest American community in Italy, and we will be celebrating it in October’s monthly interview. Stay tuned!
We launched the second We the Italians survey, organized within the framework of the Italia America Reputation Lab.
It’s September, and in the United States October is about to be celebrated as Italian Heritage Month. This is because the second Monday of October the US celebrate Columbus Day. For the vast majority of Italian Americans, Christopher Columbus has long been - and still is - a symbol of Italian pride. Of course, not for everyone. In recent years, the legacy of Columbus has come under attack, and some believe that these attacks extend to the very idea of Italian identity in the United States.
We would like to know your thoughts on this issue: do you think Columbus Day should be retained as a federal holiday?
Please answer the survey here.
As always, you’ll also have the opportunity to leave a comment in addition to your response. We kindly ask you to share your opinion freely and respectfully - and we thank you for that.
Just like our first survey on dual citizenship, the results of this survey will be shared both in Italy and in the United States, and will be presented by us to the Italian institutions.
With this second survey, we are beginning to collaborate with three of the most important Italian American organizations: Conference of Presidents of the Major Italian American Organizations, Italian American ONE VOICE Coalition, Italian Sons and Daughters of America. We thank them, and we invite you to spread the word about this survey so that as many people as possible who appreciate being asked for their opinion from Italy can participate.
I mentioned the Italia America Reputation Lab (IARL), where We the Italians is happy and proud to have a partnership with my friend Davide Ippolito. A few days ago, Davide had the chance to greet the new Italian American Pope, Leo XIV, and briefly explain what the IARL is. You can read the story of this exciting meeting here.
Our Facebook page keeps growing, and we’re happy to have reached another nice milestone: 80,000 followers. If you haven’t already, we invite you to follow us - you can find the page here. Next goal: 90,000 followers!
This month we welcome a new Ambassador to our to the We the Italians team.
Jennifer Adriana LaDelfa is our new Ambassador in Brooklyn, New York. Jennifer grew up in Brooklyn’s Little Italy managing programs for Federation of Italian American Organization’s Il Centro. She was a publicist and events producer for the Columbus Day Parade on Fifth and YAA Events Chair of the Columbus Citizens Foundation for over a decade. As a Journalist, Jennifer represents Giornale Italo Americano and the Italian American Museum at City Hall. Jennifer is a Board Member of the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York and of the Conference of Presidents of the Major Italian American Organizations.
As mentioned last month, part of the new direction for We the Italians, we want to include our audience more than ever. We’re launching a new video project aimed at giving a voice and face to Italian stories, emotions, and places across the United States. With your help, we’re creating a series of short videos that tell the story of Italian America - through your eyes, from your community.
These videos will be featured on our Facebook page, which gets 5.5 million views each month, and the best ones will be selected for our exclusive Meta Subscription program. They’ll also be posted on our Instagram and TikTok channels, helping us build a more authentic and engaging social media presence while giving visibility to you and your content.
Want to make a video? Here are a few quick tips:
· Use your phone in vertical (Reel) format
· Aim for 30 to 60 seconds
· Make sure your face is well-lit with natural light (no backlighting)
· Choose a quiet place and avoid loud background noise
· Be yourself, smile, and have fun!
You can focus on one (or more!) of the following topics:
1. Italian festivals or events
2. Local Italian landmarks or businesses
3. “Sauce or Gravy?”
This will be a playful look at the heart of Italian American culture. Once your video is ready, you can send it to us via email or Messenger.
And it doesn’t stop there! That’s why we ask you to subscribe to We the Italians.
It’s all for now. Please stay safe and take care, and enjoy our magazine and our contents on our website. Stay safe and take care: the future’s so bright, we gotta wear tricolor shades! A big Italian hug from Rome.
