Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, sent a video message on the occasion of the first Italophonia Conference. This initiative aims to create the Italophony Community, a permanent forum aimed at promoting dialogue, cooperation and increasing the value of the Italian language. “I am very pleased to welcome all of you to Rome, the Ministers and Heads of Delegations, who have accepted our invitation and chosen to give life to the Italian-speaking Community with us – said Giorgia Meloni in a video addressed to the Italian-speaking Community – This is an initiative in which we strongly believe, because it has a fundamental objective: to respond to the growing demand for Italy in the world. From music to design, from art to literature, from science to industry, from fashionable tourism. It is a question expressed in many languages, but sums up its essence in the language of Dante, Leonardo, Michelangelo, the greatest artist of all time; the language of bel canto and grand opera, recently recognized as the intangible heritage of mankind;
An incredibly rich language, both ancient and modern, that spreads its cultural mission to every corner of the planet. Because beyond national borders, Italian is spoken by more than 80 million people and has established itself as one of the most studied languages in the world, also thanks to the valuable promotional efforts carried out by cultural institutions and schools abroad. Italian identifies us. It tells who we are, our history, our lifestyle. And thanks to Italy, its beauty and wealth, our society is able to go global. If they listen to us, it is also thanks to our language, which grew out of the synthesis of classicism and Christianity, brought to life in universities, castles, monasteries and on pilgrimage routes. Today we want to give more power to this legacy, and we want to do it together with you. Because the promotion of the Italian language and culture abroad is a strategic investment no less important than the promotion of our economic or industrial offer.
Today we signed a joint Declaration consisting of concrete commitments and operational initiatives and we laid the foundations for a new Community, to be built and maintained together. We will do this relying on the energy, passion and sense of belonging of the Italian people abroad who have always represented the Ambassadors in the world of love for our homeland, our language, our culture. Because Italian is a film where every word is a scene and every sentence is a masterpiece. So thank you for what we will do together and for the results we will achieve in this new challenge.”
