Elvira Stephanie De Giacomo
Born in 1983 in Toronto to parents from Lucania who moved there for work, she relocated to Matera with her family in 1990 out of a desire to return to their homeland.
Her multicultural disposition led her toward a master's degree in “Sciences of Intercultural Mediation” (English, French and German) from the University of Bari, which she earned with 110 cum laude. Her passion for the area was decisive in completing a PhD in Economic Geography, with specialization in Geography of Tourism. She also collaborated with the Basilicata Territorial Promotion Agency from 2006 to 2018, maturing qualified skills in statistical data collection and processing, tourism legislation, and the tourist accommodation system.
In 2013 with great enthusiasm, she accepted the proposal to collaborate in the drafting of the first Matera 2019 Candidacy bid book: months of intense work, characterized by a strong spirit of collaboration and a great cultural ferment, during which she followed and verbalized the meetings of the Scientific Committee; in addition, she coordinated the drafting of the bid book that passed the first selection phase among the 20 Italian candidate cities. At the end of this intense period of work, she left the Committee to give birth to a baby girl. She continued to work sporadically in different activities first for the Committee and, following the victory, for the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation.
She returned to work on a permanent basis for the Foundation in December 2017, with the role of Executive Secretary, supporting the activities of the General Management and the Administrative Office, assisting in the organization of institutional meetings and coordinating the activities of the Managers of the various areas of the Foundation. To date, she plays a coordinating role between the Management and Administrative Offices, supporting information flow, document editing, information publication and archiving.
Since January 2023 (ongoing activity) she has been Coordinator for Basilicata of the PNRR Italea project “Tourism of Roots,” conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for International Cooperation. As part of the project, in collaboration with regional authorities and territorial networks, she supports groups of public and private operators in organizing the tourism offer aimed at Italians abroad and in fostering awareness with respect to the theme of Italian emigration and the reception of root tourists. She also participates as a speaker in seminars and meetings on the subject, as well as in international events for the dissemination of the Italea project, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the support of ENIT and other public and private organizations.
