Today, 28 September, the school year started for Italian schools abroad in the northern hemisphere. The event, also broadcast in live streaming, was held at the new premises of the Istituto Italiano Statale Comprensivo in Barcelona, one of the seven Italian state schools in the world. This was the first time a school year opening ceremony dedicated to Italian schools outside of Italy was organized.
The event was opened with a message of greeting from the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella: “It is exciting to see students from so many Countries gathered virtually; together with their families, they are shaping their future by choosing the Italian Training System in the World. Whatever future you are looking at, I wish you to turn it into reality without ever losing touch with the Italian language and culture.”
The ceremony was attended, both in presence and remotely, by teachers and students from Italian schools in the northern hemisphere, and their families; Italian language lecturers in Spanish universities; headmasters and directors of the Schools Offices of the Italian Embassies and Consulates in countries where there are Italian schools.
The ceremony brought together all the components of the Italian Training System in the World: a global network of school and educational institutions managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, which includes 49 Italian schools, both state-run and private, 85 Italian sections in foreign schools, and 130 Italian language lectures in foreign universities, as well as thousands of courses on the Italian language and culture. Together, they promote the Italian language and culture in the world, based on plans that take into account the needs of the cultural, social and economic context of local realities.
“Since the beginning of cultural diplomacy, schools and educational institutions have been very important players in projecting our Country in the global context,” said Director General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy, Pasquale Terracciano, who attended the inauguration in Barcelona. This event is an opportunity to meet and reflect on an increasingly integrated perspective that enhances and strengthens all the components of the Italian Training System in the World and their synergies with the foreign network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.”
More information on the Italian Training System in the World is available at:
https://www.esteri.it/it/diplomazia-culturale-e-diplomazia-scientifica/cultura/sistema-della-formazione-italiana-nel-mondo/;
https://italiana.esteri.it/italiana/chi-siamo/mappa/
