She arrived in London to sign her long-awaited permanent employment contract. Before that, however, she had visited Australia and in future hopes to move to New Zealand. Thirty-year-old Chiara Chiusolo, originally from Rome, has been working in the customer service sector for 6 years and is the perfect embodiment of today’s young emigrant. She has a thirst to discover, learn, grow and take risks. “At present I’m working as assistant manager with a multinational but in the past I had jobs as a waitress and in a hostel. I spent a year in Australia and I’d happily go back. And I’d like to go and live in New Zealand”. Chiara speaks about her life and work in the United Kingdom in “Post cards from the other Italy” (Italian title “Cartoline dall’altra Italia”), a web series produced by the 9colonne media agency. The project enjoys support from the Directorate General for Italians Abroad and Migratory Policies at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
There are about 500,000 Italians in Great Britain, about half of whom living in London. 60% of the new immigrants are under 35, while 25% are in the 35-44 age group. “Here in London there are lots of Italians”, Chiara agrees, “but it can be hard to make friends. Many of them are here ‘in transit’. They come and go. At the beginning I only socialised with Italians but now I’ve got friends of various nationalities”.
Lastly, a hope for the future and a thought for Italy. “I hope for another Italy, an Italy with another mentality. Above all I hope it will pay more attention to young people: their future and their potential”. “Cartoline dall’altra Italia” is on a quest to discover the world of the new emigration: creating links with young Italians who – out of necessity or aspiration – have decided to experience life abroad. With their testimonies, the web series keeps that invisible thread linking them to Italy alive. Each week will feature a new video-interview that can be viewed on the 9colonne.it website or on the Nove Colonne YouTube channel.
