At a ceremony held at the residence of the Italian Ambassador to Australia, Paolo Crudele, Brendan Smyth, Director of International Affairs for the Australian Federal Capital Territory (ACT), was awarded the rank of Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy.
The Embassy works closely with the ACT to promote Italian excellence “Made in Italy” in the Australian capital.
Numerous cultural events have been organised as part of this partnership, including the Multicultural Festival, where the Embassy and the Canberra Committee have sponsored the participation of the flag throwers of San Gemini (2023) and Faenza (2024), and Windows to the world, an annual event in which the main embassies accredited to Australia open their doors to the public.
In the last edition, the Italian Embassy presented to the numerous guests an innovative system for presenting all the works of art housed in the Residence through the use of mobile devices that allow immediate access to the content.
“My friendship with Brendan Smyth is long-standing,” said Ambassador Crudele during the ceremony. “Over the years, thanks to the support of the ACT authorities and in particular Director Smyth, we have organised important events promoting ‘Made in Italy’, which is very much appreciated here in Australia. It is an area of cooperation with a very high added value, which makes it possible to organise events attended by tens of thousands of people every year”.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Smyth emphasised the great cultural value of the initiatives carried out with the Italian Embassy and the fundamental contribution made by the Italian community to the development of the Australian capital. He cited the architect Romaldo Giurgola, who designed today’s beautiful Houses of Parliament, as a symbol of this.
