Rome, 22 December 2022. The sixth session of the 15th Conference of Italian Ambassadors, dedicated to Italy’s global appeal, was held today at the Farnesina in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, the Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, and the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini. Among others, during the session they discussed the results and perspectives of the Interministerial working table for the appeal, promotion and internationalisation of the Italian educational model.
The meeting table, also attended by the officials of the Ministry of Culture led by Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, made it possible to draw up some proposals to boost the appeal of Italian schools, universities, academies and places of culture for young international talents, as well as to enhance and promote the Italian educational model in the world, turning it into an increasingly efficient instrument of influence, with significant political, economic, social and cultural returns for Italy.
The session of the Conference of Italian Ambassadors dedicated to these issues allowed the Ministers to agree on the plan of action drawn up at a technical level at the interministerial table. Such plan of action aims to progressively adapt the resources currently dedicated to the appeal, promotion and internationalisation of our educational system to the levels of Italy’s main partner Countries, deploying all the tools available and involving all potentially interested players – both public and private – in the project implementation phase.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, said: “The round table, which I convened at the Farnesina and which has been meeting over the past few weeks, has drawn up a document that identifies a series of short- and medium-term initiatives to raise the degree of appeal of schools, academies and places of culture which is, in fact, the work programme for the coming months. We are already actively working on setting up the first Governing Body (Cabina di Regia) for the appeal and internationalisation of the Italian educational model.”
The Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, said: “We must promote our educational offer in the world in all its expressions, with special attention to greatly innovative pathways, such as the ones of the ITS Academy for businesses abroad dedicated to digital, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, new technologies for health and Made in Italy. Research shows us that those who study the Italian language are more likely to enrol in our universities and post-diploma courses. We therefore have to strengthen the network of Italian schools abroad and work with – as we are already doing – the Countries that plan on adding Italian into their school curriculum.”
To say it in the words of the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, the declared objective of the exercise is to “Create a functional network of Italian, national and foreign creative infrastructures. This is the objective we set by joining the initiative to set up an interministerial Governing Body for the appeal and internationalisation of our educational model. Every year, universities, conservatories, academies and national research centres attract youngsters from all over the world, who choose to study and work in Italy because there is the history, the present and the future of art and research. Our goal is to go one step further. We want these creative infrastructures, active in Italy but also abroad, to be deployed, simplifying procedures and communicating opportunities, to allow our Country to grow and become even more competitive, also thanks to the valuable contribution of the Diplomatic Corps.”
The Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, said: “Italy has an incredible deposit of professional skills that we will pool to promote our language, our culture and our lifestyle abroad. We must ensure that more and more foreign students and cultural operators see Italy as the preferred destination where to train and specialise. And that Italian is seen as a language to be learned and spread.”’
