Embassy to mark ‘Week of the Italian Language in the World’ on Oct 18
An array of cultural and educational activities will mark this year’s “Week of the Italian Language in the World” in Doha on October 18 at Katara – the Cultural Village, the Italian embassy has announced.
The annual celebration, themed “Italian and the web, social networks for the Italian language,” is scheduled to take place from October 15 to 21 in various parts of the world, including Qatar.
In a statement, the embassy said the event will witness professor Angela Campanella teaching Italian language to participants with the aid of smartphones and mobile applications, which will take place at Katara building 18 from 5pm to 5.45pm.
“This will show how new technologies can help people learn a language in new interactive ways and have fun at the same time,” the embassy noted.
The session will also discuss “how did the Internet change the way we speak and write in Italian” and “how much do people know about Italy”. It is open to Italian-speaking children aged 9 to 16 years old.
Such activities, organised by the embassy, cater to the Italian and international communities in Doha, aimed at exploring together how the web, new information technologies and social platforms have influenced the development of the language in terms of opportunities and challenges.
Italian-speaking children aged three to eight will also have the opportunity to take part in “exploring Italy” through a story-telling session from 4pm to 4.45pm.
The embassy will also offer a crash course in Italian from 6pm to 6.45pm as part of the celebration, teaching participants how to greet people, introduce themselves and express their likes and dislikes using Italian in an interactive and fun way. This session is open to adults new to the Italian language.
“During these past eighteen years, the “Week of the Italian Language in the World” has represented the main promotional channel in terms of the number of activities simultaneously organised all over the world,” Italian ambassador to Qatar Pasquale Salzano said.
“This success story is due to the growing engagement of embassies, consulates, cultural institutes and Italian communities abroad, along with local cultural institutions and a host of teachers and academics, who have contributed together to open a cultural and intercultural dialogue with intellectuals and representatives of civil society in a large number of countries,” he added.
According to the embassy, the Language Centre of Translating and Interpreting Institute, which is part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, will also mark the “Week of the Italian Language in the World” today (October 16) with Italian language lessons.
“The Centre will use the latest teaching technologies, demonstrating how Internet can be a valid support in the process of teaching and learning a language,” the embassy added.
The “Week of the Italian Language in the World” is an annual event instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Italy.
The event is celebrated abroad by the Italian cultural and diplomatic network, focusing on a theme that acts as the leitmotif of a vast cultural programme to promote the diffusion of the Italian language abroad.