The Consulate General of Italy in Montreal has organised, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, the first edition of the Stati Generali della Lingua Italiana in Québec.
The event, entitled “L’italiano in Québec: stato dell’arte e prospettive per il future” (Italian in Québec: state of the art and perspectives for the future), closed the Week of the Italian Language in the World after a series of conferences on the theme of sustainability curated by the Italian Cultural Institute and involved universities (Concordia, UQAM, University of Montreal, Université Laval in Québec) schools (the three branches of the English Montreal School Board where Italian is part of the curriculum), cultural centres (Società Dante Alighieri di Québec), promoting bodies (CESDA and PICAI) and media (the multicultural ICI Television, the Italian radio station CFMB 1280, the monthly magazine Panoram Italia and the weekly magazine Il Cittadino Canadese). Divided into three panels, the conference allowed to take stock of the state of preservation and diffusion of the Italian language in Québec.
For the occasion, Consul General Enrico Pavone awarded prizes to three children of Italian origin who won the “Il Pianeta che vorrei” (The planet I would like) drawing competition organised with the English Montreal School Board. They were presented with the Geronimo Stilton book A Thousand Wonders. A journey to Discover Italy, also in order to help them rediscover their Italian roots. All conference participants were also given “sprout pencils”, i.e. pencils containing seeds, a gift that symbolically brings together culture and sustainability in line with the theme of the 2023 edition of the Week of the Italian Language in the World.
The event was filmed by local ICI Television and will be covered in a special segment, to be aired in prime time in the coming days.
