15 July 2024 (Rome) - The Philippine Embassy in Rome conducted the  first-ever “Pinoy Ragazzi - Kumustahan sa Embahada” event on 11 July 2024 at the Embassy Social Hall participated in by fifty (50) second and third-generation young Filipinos and Filipino-Italians.  The activity aimed to empower the Filipino youth or “ragazzi” in Italian,  in Rome and the rest of Italy to pursue their studies and achieve success in their chosen career path.  

In his speech, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Neal Imperial encouraged the participants to “avail of the vast opportunities offered in Italy” and challenged them to complete their university education or any selected technical vocation to improve their family life. He cited figures from the 2022 Filipino Community in Italy report from the Italian Ministry of Labor, which stated that a mere 9.4% of Filipino workers in Italy are university graduates, 41% are high school graduates, and almost 50% of Filipinos at work have a middle school diploma. In terms of occupational types, unskilled manual labor constitute around 64% of the Filipino workforce, 23% are employed in sales, clerical, and personal service sectors, 8% belong to the skilled manual labor and 3% are executives and professionals in the intellectual and technical fields. 

Consul General Randy Arquiza noted that most young Filipinos would rather work after high school, trapping them in the same household work as their parents. He challenged them to surpass the generation of their parents by availing of higher education opportunities in Italy so that they could have higher earnings and better job opportunities. 

As an additional highlight, the event also featured inspiring testimonies of young Filipino achievers, both based in Rome and in Manila.  Dr. Arrianna Divina Mae Dueñas, one of a few Filipino licensed medical doctors in Italy, shared her success story of completing her Degree in Medicine and Surgery at the Università  Roma Tor Vergata, to inspire and motivate her fellow young Filipinos.  Ms. Ivy Stephanie Manalo, who is fluent in the Italian and Filipino languages, was present online and talked about her employment journey with Accenture Manila.

Officials from Accenture Manila and Naples also provided a brief overview of the IT company and the various possible job opportunities awaiting participants with a Filipino-Italian heritage  in Manila.

Ambassador Neal Imperial poses with  participants of

Pinoy Ragazzi - Kumustahan sa Embahada and with representatives of Accenture

Ambassador Neal Imperial delivers his inspirational message to the young Filipinos 

and Filipino-Italian participants

Mr. Giovanni Marchitto, Senior Manager, Program Management Office, Accenture Naples talks about

Accenture Italy with virtual participation from Ms. Ivy Ms. Ivy Stephanie Manalo of Accenture Manila 

Dr. Arrianna Divina Mae Dueñas shares her university journey to inspire and motivate  fellow young Filipinos and Filipino-Italians