The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, will open the first Italophonia Conference tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. at Villa Madama. This event marks the beginning of a process of global appreciation and promotion of the Italian language and the communities that identify with it.
The initiative will see the establishment of the Italophonia Community, a permanent forum aimed at promoting dialogue, cooperation, and the Italian language. The document establishing this Community will be discussed with representatives of the invited countries, and formally adopted during the Conference.
Minister Tajani said: “With this day, we wish to formally recognize the Italian language as a vehicle for unity, dialogue, and progress. Italian, by its very nature, is a language that unites rather than divides. For this reason, the Italian-speaking Community can become a valuable instrument of peace; a place to promote a shared vision of international relations; a forum for fostering growth and innovation, and a privileged space for cultural exchanges among Italian-speaking communities around the world.”
The agenda of works includes an institutional segment and one dedicated to civil society. The institutional guests attending the event will include the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola (via video message); the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis; the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi; the Minister of Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini; the President of the Società Dante Alighieri, Andrea Riccardi; the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia, Matej Arčon; the Romanian Foreign Minister, Oana Toiu; the Foreign Minister of Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla Schwarz; the Foreign Minister of Somalia, Abdisalam Abdi Ali; the President of NIAF, Robert Allegrini; the UN Envoy for Road Safety Envoy, Jean Todt, and the Undersecretary of State for Education and Merit, Paola Frassinetti, besides Ministerial representatives from over twenty participating countries.
The event will also be attended by representatives of countries where Italian is an official or vehicular language and international organizations that promote multilingualism, as well as institutions where Italian is an official or working language.
This broad participation stems from data demonstrating the use of and interest in the Italian language around the world: according to the latest estimates (2024), approximately 2 million foreigners in 130 countries study Italian in Italian and local schools, at over 900 foreign universities, and through courses organized by Italian Cultural Institutes, managing bodies, and the Società Dante Alighieri . As a result, in 2024 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) awarded more than 500 grants to support the creation and maintenance of Italian language teaching positions in schools and universities in approximately 70 countries worldwide, for a total of over €2,800,000.
