Brussels – Behind a door on Rue de Livourne in Brussels lies a whole world that operates almost out of sight, yet has so much to tell. It is the door of the Consulate General of Italy, led by Francesco Varriale, who has decided to tell citizens what goes on in those offices, and what is not normally seen: what services are offered, how they are organised, who is in charge of them, and, in essence, how the Consulate seeks to make life easier for Italians in Brussels and the surrounding area.
To fulfil this role, a weekly column on Facebook and Instagram, “Focus Consolato”, was launched – perhaps the first of its kind – because, as they explain at the Consulate on Rue de Livourne, “many citizens only contact the Consulate to obtain a travel document or to register the birth of their child. Few, however, know that the Consulate also performs certain functions normally handled by the Port Authority’s Offices, or that the Consul can act in the capacity of a guardianship judge.”
The Consulate assures that, through this initiative, “we will reveal, week by week, all the main functions of the Consulate General and the services made available every day to the Italian community residing within our consular district.” A district as large as an average Italian city: 125,000 people across the Brussels-Capital Region, the Flemish Region, the Province of Walloon Brabant and the Province of Flemish Brabant. A population equivalent to cities like Salerno or Monza.
“The idea of presenting the Consulate General in a more direct way arose from the curiosity and surprise people express when they discover lesser-known aspects of our work,” Varriale said. “I’m thinking, for example, of when I talk about the Port Authority’s responsibilities regarding Italian-flagged vessels, or the assistance we provide to prisoners—our fellow citizens—who turn to the Consulate. Similarly, many are struck when they learn that around 100,000 voters are eligible to vote in elections, or when I compare the number of our AIRE registrants to the population of a city like Salerno.”
Varriale is very committed to this project: “What I would like this column to highlight is that behind every service provided there are people who work with dedication and a sense of public duty, striving every day to meet the public’s needs.”
The Consul notes that in just over a month’s time, the Consulate General will have been in operation for two years and, looking back over this period, he says, “we have worked tirelessly to make our services ever more efficient. All this has been possible thanks to the extraordinary dedication of our staff, who are the real driving force behind the Consulate General.”
