Within the context of the close cultural cooperation relations binding Italy and Germany, the Italian Cultural Institute in Strasburg has been hosting the offices of the local Goethe Institut on its premises for several months. It is a targeted pilot project that was finalized last March through the signing of a convention between the two Countries: an unprecedented initiative that is soon expected to be replicated the other way around in Lion and, in the future, also in other cities.
In order to celebrate this new cohabitation, an event will be hosted in Strasburg today which will be attended by numerous personalities of the Italian, German and French world of culture, representatives of the European Parliament and local authorities. The initial institutional greetings will be conveyed by the Secretary General of the Goethe Institut, Johannes Ebert, and by the Director for Cultural Promotion at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), Roberto Vellano, while two journalists – Massimo Nava from the Corriere della Sera and Stefan Ullrich from the Suddeutsche Zeitung – will hold a debate on “A Europe of Cultures”, moderated by the journalist of the ARTE TV channel, Marco Nassivera.
The inauguration of the joint headquarters in Strasburg represents a milestone along a common path that goes beyond the Italian-German relations and fully merges into the European context. The two Countries actively and consensually support the activities of the EUNIC network grouping together the Cultural Institutes of the EU Member Countries abroad. And it is also significant that this initiative is taking place at the beginning of 2018, the European Year of Cultural Heritage, thus testifying to the fact that the sense of belonging to a common European space is also based on culture, as a resource for growth and a pillar on which the very idea of Europe is founded.
