Cocktail at the De Russie Hotel, July 7th
Andrea Illy, Stefania Lazzaroni, Clemens Pflanz
Ambassador Susanne Wasum-Reiner and VP Antonio Tajani
Plenary Session at the Conference at Ministry of Foreign Affairs
VP Antonio Tajani
60 Italian and German companies, members of Altagamma and Meisterkreis, met on July 7th and 8th in Rome to debate on some of the most relevant issues of the high end industry. For the first time the companies exchanged views on the future of the industry, on the contemporary challenges and on concrete projects to be developed jointly, also within the European Union. On Thurday 7th, German Ambassador Susanne Wasum-Reiner hosted a Gala Dinner at her residence at Villa Almone. The meeting on Friday 8th was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Altagamma and Meisterkreis are part of the European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance (ECCIA), which represents the main Associations of the European high end industries, united together in sustaining the development of a sector which accounts for 4% of the EU GDP, for 17% of its export and 1,7 million jobs. Italian and German companies, in particular, represent together approximately 30% of the worldwide luxury market share.
The conference was participated by Andrea Illy, Chairman of Altagamma, by Clemens Pflanz, Chairman of Meisterkreis, and by several representatives of Italian and German Institutions: Vincenzo De Luca, Director General for the Promotion of the Economic System, Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the European Parliament, Paola Amadei, Deputy Director General/Principal Director for Multilateral Economic and Financial Cooperation, and Ambassador Dr. Susanne Wasum-Reiner. The Undersecretary to Economic Development, Ivan Scalfarotto, contributed to the debate with a video message.
The meeting was the occasion for a proactive discussion on the common key issues, through three private workshops focusing on Craftsmanship, Digitalisation and Millennials, Young Talents.
The workshops identified three initiatives for the Cultural and Creative Industries: fight against counterfeiting, encouragement of craftsmanship and strenghtening professional education, in collaboration with National Governments and the European Union.
The next meetings will be held in Berlin in the first semester 2017, among Altagamma, Meisterkreis, ECCIA and the EU and these areas will be on top of the agenda.
