The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edmondo Cirielli, today launched the 26th edition of the Week of the Italian Language in the World (19–25 October 2026) at the Farnesina; this is the leading initiative dedicated to celebrating the Italian language worldwide, under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic. This year’s edition, entitled Lingua geniale: ideare, progettare, creare con l’italiano (Brilliant Language: Conceiving, Designing, and Creating with Italian), highlights the role of our language as a vehicle for Italian know-how – a byword for quality that is recognised and appreciated throughout the world. During the event, several prominent figures from the worlds of culture, science, industry and sport took the floor, including the astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and the Olympic champion Arianna Fontana.
The Deputy Minister highlighted the role of the Italian language and the Italian-speaking world as strategic tools for supporting economic growth and as vehicles for projecting an innovative image of our country abroad – from science and technology to design, from fashion to gastronomy, right through to literature and art – all of which are recognised worldwide for their quality. Cirielli also highlighted the role of Italian as a language of dialogue and peace, capable of building bridges between peoples and cultures.
Launched in 2001 in collaboration with the Accademia della Crusca, the Week of the Italian Language in the World is organised every year, during the third week of October, by the diplomatic and consular network and the Italian Cultural Institutes, together with their traditional partners in language promotion: The Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC), the Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM), the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), the Centre for Books and Reading (Cepell), the Government of the Swiss Confederation, the Dante Alighieri Society, the Accademia della Crusca, the General Council of Italians Abroad (CGIE), the Italian-Speaking Radio and Television Community, the Treccani Italian Encyclopaedia Institute and RAI Italia.
In 2025, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded more than 300 grants to support Italian language chairs in schools and universities in around 70 countries worldwide, totalling approximately EUR 2 million. There are over 1.5 million students learning Italian in 112 countries around the world; the Community of Italophony, established in 2025 at the initiative of Minister Tajani, already has 22 member countries, with others interested in joining.