For the first time, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is taking part in the Turin International Book Fair with its own stand.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, stated that he “strongly wanted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be present at this extraordinary showcase for Italian publishing, which, once again this year, is confirmed in terms of turnover as one of Italy’s leading cultural industries”.
Tajani added that support for the publishing sector is “one of the activities for the promotion of the Italian Economic System, which includes a wide range of initiatives, such as contributions for the translation of Italian works into foreign languages (more than 1,700 contributions in 51 countries in the last decade), collaboration with the most prestigious national literary prize winners, and Italy’s participation as guest of honour at the most important publishing fairs in the world (at the Paris Book Festival this year, and at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2024). Promoting Italian culture abroad means disseminating Italian values and affirming a precious tool for dialogue with other countries”.
The promotion of Italian publishing and cultural heritage, as well as of the Italian language, is carried out through a wide range of additional activities coordinated by the Italian Directorate General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy, supported by an active network of 86 Cultural Institutes, as well as Embassies and Consulates (more than 9,000 initiatives in 2022), a capillary system of 53 Italian schools in 33 countries, more than 11,000 Italian language courses, and an articulate network of 132 Italian language lecturers in the universities of 64 countries.
