In 2023, as I was finishing my studies at the University of Chieti-Pescara and before leaving for Macao to study at the University of Macao as an exchange student, I did an internship at the Chieti-Pescara Chamber of Commerce.
It was a beautiful and formative experience because, although I had no major responsibilities, it allowed me to deal with documents and procedures that I had previously only studied in commercial law, private law and business economics courses. It was an experience that allowed me to work closely with the director of human resources (whom I will always thank for the opportunity given to me) but above all to see how all the departments worked.
In this article, I would like to talk about the Italian Chambers of Commerce and then analyse the differences with the Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad.
I have always been critical of Italy, for obvious reasons. However, what does honour to our country is its culture, its history (which unfortunately modernity is destroying and devaluing).
Abroad, fortunately, the image of Italy is historical: if you ask what their idea of Italian music is, fortunately they will never tell you something you hear nowadays on the radio (like Tony Effe), but they will think of some song from the past. If you ask about some city they are interested in or if they like Italy, they will answer Rome (with the Colosseum), Pisa, and so on.
Italian culture, business, trade, crafts and industry are represented abroad by chambers of commerce.
What is a Chamber of Commerce and the main differences between those located in Italy and those located abroad
In a nutshell, a Chamber of Commerce is nothing more than an entity that brings together businesses in a territory to protect their interests, create opportunities and provide any other services (arbitration, marketing, networking, legal advices, etc.). In turn, chambers of commerce can associate in organisations such as Unioncamere.
Chambers of commerce exist all over the world but take different legal forms. In Italy, the chamber of commerce is a public body: therefore companies are obliged to join. In other states, such as Belgium, chambers of commerce are associations, not public bodies, they are private.
As I said before, Italy is one of the most renowned countries abroad, for its history and culture. Italian products can be found everywhere: Italian fashion, one of the most famous in the world (some famous brands are Gucci, Versace, Prada, Tod’s, Iceberg, Ferrari, Bottega Veneta, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, and many others), and food (in supermarkets, even in Macao SAR, China, where I moved, you can find De Cecco, Barilla, Mutti, etc.) pave the way for many Italian companies.
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It goes that Italian chambers of commerce abroad are very popular, they are practically everywhere. Moreover, thanks to associations such as Unioncamere, communication between Italian chambers of commerce abroad and Italian chambers of commerce in Italy is made easier.
A company based in Pescara or Chieti, for example, that wants to expand its business to Hong Kong or Macao, can easily get in touch with the Chieti-Pescara chamber of commerce (where, by law, as we have seen, they must register) and explain the idea they have in mind. Then it will be the local chamber of commerce that, if necessary, will assess whether to contact the Italian chamber of commerce for Hong Kong and Macao. Nothing prevents an Italian company from contacting the foreign ICC (Italian chamber of commerce) directly. Either method can be adopted.
Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao
The Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao is a non-profit organisation, founded in 1997. It is part of Assocamerestero, hence Unioncamere (contacts between the ICCs located in Italy and the ICC in Hong Kong and Macao are therefore facilitated).
This organisation stands out for the many services offered to members (individuals and companies): they offer recruitment, marketing, translations, events management, market reports and B2B services.
The website is always up-to-date and very intuitive. The navigation allows you to explore the events organised by the chamber (which are many and also interesting), allows you to submit your CV, apply for an internship (unpaid), find job opportunities in Hong Kong (where the chamber of commerce is located).
You can visit the official website, clicking here!
Andrea Pimpini is a student of Economics and Management at the University of Chieti-Pescara and, from September 2022 to February 2023, he is also an Erasmus+ student at the University of Split (Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism). Andrea has also taken three courses offered by the prestigious CERGE-EI Foundation and, being a Japanese language enthusiast, has taken two courses provided by the Japan-Abruzzo Association. In 2022, Andrea took the courses “Music Business Foundations,” “Copyright Law in the Music Business” and “Building your career in music: Developing a brand and financing your music” offered by Berklee Online on Coursera.org.
A big hobby of Andrea’s is music and, thanks to his college and web experiences, he manages everything on his own (print and radio promotion, digital marketing, etc.). Media success is not long in coming: in 2020, live streams are shared on national newspapers such as Sky TG24, alongside well-known names from the Italian music scene (Modà, Francesco Renga, Nek, etc.). In 2021, Billboard places Andrea at the top of a chart for 3 consecutive weeks. Finally, in 2022, Il Messaggero, one of the most popular and best-selling newspapers in Italy, interviews Andrea.