“What inspires my work is the possibility of truly contributing to meeting the social and health needs and improving the well-being of the most disadvantaged” says Lorenzo Rampazzo, casual in appearance yet very serious to improve services for the mentally ill through his work.

Even a brief conversation with Lorenzo is enough to understand his dedication to the work he does: “I like my job very much. Actually I consider myself very lucky because I got the job I would like to get.” Lorenzo is in charge of the regional Mental Health Office of the Veneto Region government in Italy, responsible for setting guidelines and standards, as well as allocating resources and planning social and health services for the mentally ill.

Lorenzo’s typical working day is extremely diverse - he coordinates working groups at the regional level, participates in the interregional and inter-institutional meetings at the national level, collects and analyses data and participates in preparing regional decrees and decisions regarding social services. In addition, he is part of the ESN Working Group on Mental Health, bringing together professionals from across Europe to share good practice and expertise.

But juggling a busy schedule and dealing with challenging tasks brings a sense of satisfaction. “The most exciting experience is that of succeeding in achieving a hard, challenging and socially relevant goal. The last achievement I found most rewarding was the approval of the 2010-2012 Regional Mental Health Plan,” Lorenzo says.

One of the priorities for the Veneto Region, member of ESN, is that of securing reasonable funding for their social services from the State, corresponding with the taxes paid at the regional level. The financial crisis has had an additional impact on the general reduction of financial resources for social and health services, but Lorenzo remains optimistic: “Only part of my work is related to financing and there are many other challenges to work on.”

Lorenzo is interested in improving service provision and management at the local level and is keen to see benchmarking at the European level. “Comparison at the European level encourages new ideas and approaches and is a real stimulus for innovation and competition...and the European Social Network plays a fundamental role in this exercise,” Lorenzo says.

To young people seeking satisfaction from a career in the field of social policy, Lorenzo’s advice is to always try and get some added value - such as studying, working abroad or volunteering in a third world country. “Accepting the first offer to get your foot in the door is good, but always look hard to find what suits you most - regardless of remuneration and prestige,” he says.