PERUGIA - With the constant goal of enhancing Umbria and its "cultural excellences", in all sectors, always moving with a spirit of cohesion and sharing, “Connessioni 01”. Through the conception and implementation of its first shared project, Brand Culturale turns his gaze to Northern Europe to "bring" Umbria to the Netherlands, and vice versa, through a natural, shared, convivial path, with the aim of starting new cultural, artistic, commercial, tourist and educational relationships.

The new hub inclusive of Umbrian creatives based in Perugia - which has thus begun to imagine, develop and promote projects between tradition, modernity and sustainability, aiming at the synergy between the world of culture and business - then announces the two days (17-18 june 2022) scheduled in Amsterdam and in L’Aja.

From the very beginning, the project has connected Umbrian partners such as the Region of Umbria, Sviluppoumbria, the University for Foreigners of Perugia, the International Airport of Umbria, the Municipality of Perugia, and Italian institutions in the Netherlands such as the Italian Embassy in L’Aja and the Italian Cultural Institute of Amsterdam, with the aim of generating new opportunities to strengthen the link between culture and business.

The aim is therefore to connect Umbria with Holland even more, to help generate inbound tourism thanks to the existing Perugia-Rotterdam flight with the Transavia company, to determine new distribution opportunities for agri-food products, to enhance the aspect connected to them through targeted presentations, networking with operators and the Dutch press, while at the same time promoting commercial and training relations, facilitated by the actions of Made in Umbria ambassadors who have chosen our region from Holland.

The project therefore arrives for this first edition Friday 17 June in Amsterdam, and exactly to theItalian Cultural Institute which since 1952 is the official cultural representative of Italy in the Netherlands. The Italian Cultural Institute of Amsterdam, the foreign office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, aims to promote and disseminate the Italian language and culture in the Netherlands through the organization of language courses and Italian culture and cultural events to encourage the circulation of ideas, arts and sciences. For this reason, the involvement of the University for Foreigners of Perugia is of fundamental importance for "Connessioni 01", which here will promote cultural exchange with the universities of Leiden, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Delft, Groningen and Tilburg.

From 3pm the program includes: Greeting and introduction by Paola Cordone, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Amsterdam; The University for Foreigners of Perugia meets other Dutch universities to initiate contacts and develop synergies: the rector of Foreigners Valerio De Cesaris in comparison with the Director of the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Leiden, the full professor of Italian literature at the University of Utrecht and other representatives of the universities of Amsterdam, Delft, Groningen and Tilburg involved in teaching Italian; to follow a tourism promotion event with operators and Dutch press edited by Sviluppoumbria.

the Italian Embassy in L’Aja, led by Ambassador Giorgio Novello, will be the backdrop for the second day, Saturday 18 June. The Embassy is competent for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has bilateral, consular and multilateral competences, including the numerous International Organizations and Courts based in The Hague. The Embassy deals with bilateral relations between the Italian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the political, economic and cultural fields. In the latter area, it makes use of the Italian Cultural Institute, based in Amsterdam.

Here a delegation of Cultural Brand and other Umbrian institutional partners will be welcomed by the Italian Ambassador for the presentation of some initiatives and projects that aim to strengthen the socio-cultural and economic exchange relationships between Holland and the 'Umbria.

From 10.30am the program includes: Welcome and introduction by Giorgio Novello, Italian Ambassador to L'Aja; "Culture, business, cooperation, excellence, internationalization: Umbria-Holland, a lasting bond and affinity", presentation by Brand Cultural of portal in Dutch and Italian on Umbrian excellences; "Why a Dutchman chooses Umbria", the architect Gianluigi Caldarelli (from the Architecture & Interior Design articulation of the Umbrian hub) will illustrate an architectural project of a house in the rolling Umbrian hills (in Gubbio) built for a Dutch family, with the lawyer Dennis de Breji, one of the best and best known Dutch lawyers in the business sector, who will then tell the story that led him to love and choose Umbria; "The University for Foreigners of Perugia: ambassador of Italian language and cultures in the world" will be the speech of the rector Valerio De Cesaris; "Living Umbria and getting to know the world through the University for Foreigners of Perugia", with prof. Roberto Dolci, delegate for international relations of the Foreigners; "Umbria in flight", with Umberto Solimeno director of the Umbria International Airport for the theme of opportunity and international connections between the region and Europe; "The Umbria of San Benedetto and San Francesco", presentation of the volume by the sole administrator of Sviluppoumbria, Michela Sciurpa; "Treasures of Umbria", at 1.30 pm working lunch with the Dutch Ambassador, operators and journalists to encourage tourism promotion on the Dutch market (promoted by Sviluppoumbria and with Dutch chefs who will prepare dishes featuring Umbrian oil, wine and truffles, precious testimonials of the regional tourism offer).

The intention of "Connessioni 01" is therefore to create a choral story of the region in a continuous dialogue of exchange with Holland. All this starting from the concept of "cohesive companies", that is, those that create not only economic value, but that operate to create sustainable value by anchoring profit to an idea of growth and revenue that looks to the long term, rejecting approaches aimed at immediate gain, and overcoming the traditional dichotomy that believes cohesion is incompatible with competitiveness as an end in itself.

Cultural Brand is in fact trying to weave, from its birth, relationships both between those who already "live" its spaces and with external stakeholders (among the various actors also companies, public administrations, universities, clusters, associative world, communities, citizens), in a continuous dialogue and exchange of ideas. And it is above all the territory that assumes importance, which thus becomes one of the fundamental assets of the hub.

Territory that is at the center of the projects and activities that Brand Cultural is working on in the fields of culture, social, cooperation and internationalization. A sort of "workshop of ideas" in evolution where you can share the various designs, including the one already announced last December during the inauguration of the headquarters in the historic center of Perugia: “Umbria Brand Fest”. Scheduled for 2024, the event thus aims to be a kaleidoscopic representation of everything that revolves around the concept of brand, sign, peculiarity. "Umbria Brand Fest" will thus arise from the desire to reflect on the need to communicate one's identity in an increasingly clear and innovative way. It therefore aims to be the event to discuss and discuss branding and brand identity.