Kosovo: the Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo is back, it is the event dedicated to the promotion of Italian as a language of prestige both in classical and contemporary culture, organised annually by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Farnesina diplomatic-cultural network under the high patronage of the Italian Presidency of the Republic.
Now in its 24th edition, the event will be held from 14 to 20 October under the theme ‘L’Italiano e il libro: il mondo fra le righe – Italian and the Book: the World between the Lines’, with the aim of encouraging reflection on the function of the book as a fundamental component of Italy’s linguistic, cultural and value heritage. It will also give the opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the publishing sector, one of the country’s most important creative industries, playing a fundamental role in Italian culture and economy.
To mark the occasion, the Italian Embassy in Pristina and the Italian Cultural Institute in Tirana, also responsible for Kosovo, are presenting a rich programme of events, including debates and film screenings, aimed at adults and younger people, which will decline Italian literature according to its multiple dimensions.
‘We are about to celebrate an event that, for 24 years and with the participation of the Italian diplomatic-consular network, has animated the international debate on the Italian language as a tool of cultural expression and identity. This year’s theme offers us a valuable opportunity to reflect on the role of books, which should not be seen as mere containers of words, but as real bridges uniting generations, cultures and thoughts, preserving and transmitting our linguistic heritage and values,’ said Ambassador Antonello De Riu. ‘At a time when digitalisation and changes in cultural consumption patterns are challenging the publishing industry, it is crucial to promote reading as an essential practice for personal and collective growth, and to highlight the transformative power of books in enriching our language and our relationships,‘ added De Riu. ‘At the heart of the events we have planned is Italian literature, conjugated in its multiple dimensions: from cinematographic translation, to didactics, to its social and anthropological dimension, with an eye to modern technologies that can help promote its knowledge, especially in Kosovo, notoriously the youngest country in Europe. Moreover, the promotion of the Italian language, with its richness and diversity, leads us through the lines of stories and cultures, making each reading a unique and unforgettable journey, capable of stimulating an intercultural dialogue and strengthening the bonds between different communities, a particularly relevant issue in the Balkans,‘ concluded Ambassador De Riu.
The week will open on Monday 14 October at Kino Armata with the screening of ‘L’amore molesto – Nasty Love’, 1995 (in Italian with English subtitles, free admission), by famous director Mario Martone, based on the homonymous novel by the celebrated writer Elena Ferrante, to whom the closing event of SLIM will be dedicated.
Then, on Tuesday 15 October, Kino Armata again will screen ‘Pinocchio‘, 2019 (in Italian with English subtitles, free admission), in the version by the acclaimed director Matteo Garrone, based on the book of the same name by Carlo Collodi, the most translated work from the Italian language.
Wednesday 16 October will see the opening of the CELI Examination Centre (Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language from the University for Foreigners of Perugia) at the University for Business and Technology (UBT) in Pristina. This is a great milestone for the dissemination of the learning of Italian because, from January 2025, it will allow to sit the Italian language certification exams in Kosovo, specifically at the UBT Institute of Foreign Languages. The event will be followed by a screening for the students of the film ‘Perfetti Sconosciuti – Perfect Strangers’, 2016, by Paolo Genovese, in Italian with English subtitles.
On Wednesday 17 October, as part of the Embassy’s fruitful cooperation with the public television network RTK, the documentary ‘Enzo Ferrari. Il Rosso e il Nero – The Red and the Black” will be broadcast at 21 h on RTK1 (in Italian with Albanian subtitles). The broadcast of the documentary will be preceded by a video message from H.E. Ambassador Antonello De Riu.
The week will end on Friday 18 October with an event dedicated to the renowned writer Elena Ferrante. A literary and socio-cultural dialogue entitled ‘Le Donne di Elena Ferrante – The Women of Elena Ferrante’ will be held at the Italian Embassy in the afternoon of 18 October, focusing on the female protagonists of Elena Ferrante’s novels. The discussion will be led by Aida Baro, editor-in-chief of the famous publishing house Botime Pegi, and Edi Gusia, Executive Director of the Kosovo Agency for Gender Equality in the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, and moderated by Edlira Qefalija Zeka, famous journalist and television presenter.
Throughout the week, the social campaign ‘Pillole di libri – Books pills’ will take place. Every day, short excerpts of Italian classic and contemporary literary works with their Albanian translation will be posted on the social media of the Italian Embassy, so to promote the knowledge of Italian authors. To finish, a series of readings of texts by contemporary Italian authors will be on the programme of the ‘Qendra Dante’ and ‘Britannica ELT’ language schools.
The Week of the Italian Language in the World is the main event for the promotion of the Italian language on a global scale, organised annually by the Italian diplomatic-consular network and by the Italian Cultural Institutes in collaboration with the traditional partners for the promotion of the Italian language (Ministero della Cultura, Ministero dell’Istruzione e del Merito, Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca, Centro per il Libro e la Lettura CePeLL, Governo della Confederazione Elvetica, Accademia della Crusca, Consiglio Generale degli Italiani all’Estero CGIE, Comunità Radiotelevisiva Italofona, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, RAI Italia e Società Dante Alighieri).
Follow on social media the events of the XXIV Settimana della lingua italiana nel mondo – #SLIM2024
