Good day. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Francesca Emanulla Vallardi, born in Milan on 01 February 1980. I am an Italian citizen currently residing in South Africa. Together with my husband Luigi and my daughter Cecilia, I moved to SA in 2015 and since then, my family and I have lived in Johannesburg. In 2019 we have welcomed the fourth member of the family: our son Alvise. We relocated to SA due to work opportunities. My husband was offered a permanent academic position in the School of Literature Language and Media at the University of the Witwatersrand. Shortly after, in early 2016, I was offered a managing position at Capago International, a France based multinational company that provides services in outsourcing for Schengen countries diplomatic missions abroad. I was employed in Capago’s biggest branch that is in Johannesburg. Alas. The covid-19 crises has determined the critical financial situation for CAPAGO and the ownership was forced to proceed with a global retrenchment, effective from 4 th October 2020. My position was as Senior Communication and PR Manager and Tender Coordinator. In the past years I was also Managing Editor of the quarterly glossy magazine and multimedia platform called My Italian Link [​http://www.******.*** The magazine’s publication is currently on hold due to the global situation. As part of my tasks I had to establish and run on a daily basis the relations with the highest diplomatic personalities in the country, specifically those who we worked closely with, Italian and French ambassadors and Consuls General. Briefly summarised, my duty was to manage, as well as assist and support the PR activities with the Diplomatic Missions, as well as the many activities and relations needed for business and local development. As a managing editor of the magazine and platform I was leading a group of 9 people. Among them there were journalists, translators, community managers, etc…. My task was to coordinate and to further develop strategies linked to the managing of the advertising portfolio of the company. This entire multimedia platform was maintained with the revenues from the advertisements and the contributions of the founding members of the local business communities, that I have started this journey from zero and build up with perseverance and trustfulness. In 2018 I was asked by the CEO to join the Business Development Unit with specific hands on the tender processing and drafting of the call for tenders replies. I enjoyed this last challenge for I was in the position of learning new skills, in particular the legal technicalities and the administrative aspects related to international contracts. In the same time I carried on with my previous duties in which I was most suited for, that are PR and networking. I strongly believe that my precedent working experience, interwoven with the good relationships I have been able to establish at diplomatic level, provided me an holistic perspective throughout which I could be a very important asset for any company.