The Italian Embassy in Singapore, with the support of APICS, has donated to the National Library Board some 15 Italian children’s books translated into English. These include books on Dante and The Divine Comedy, Gianni Rodari’s Telephone Tales and books on Italy’s major art cities, including Venice, Florence and Milan. Ambassador Mario Vattani and NLB CEO Ng Cher Pong, among others, were present at the donation ceremony, which took place a few days ago as part of the “World & us: learning Beyond Boundaries-WNU” project.
I am grateful to APICS,” Ambassador Vattani said, “which gave us the opportunity to establish contact with the National Library Board. The National Library Board is a network located throughout Singapore that also includes various buildings characterised by themes such as sustainability, design, multimedia. They represent an ideal partner for us to introduce Italian culture and our excellence to the varied and always curious local community. The cultural and ethnic wealth that coexists in Singapore in a multiplicity of languages and realities is very striking”.
The donated books are destined for the new children’s collection at the Punggol Regional Library, which will open in mid-2022. The new library will be Singapore’s first fully inclusive library, targeting people with special needs and disabilities through the development of innovative and digital services to support them. In recent months the Italian Embassy has already donated to the NLB some 20 copies of Geronimo Stilton’s novel ‘A Thousands Wonders‘.
