(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Italian embassy is celebrating the Week of the Italian Language in the World, the yearly initiative promoted worldwide by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a rich programme of online activities and social media campaigns which kicked off on Monday and runs until Sunday. 'I am very pleased that the Italian Embassy has found a new way to celebrate the Italian language week through online platforms and social networks, proving its commitment to continuing cultural promotion activities in Qatar, considering that the situation allows limited public events and gatherings, said Ambassador of Italy to Qatar, H E Alessandro Prunas.
Under the patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, who visited Qatar in January 2020, the Week of the Italian Language in the World has represented in the last two decades the main container for events dedicated to the dissemination of the Italian language and culture abroad, becoming over the years a privileged promotion channel in terms of number of activities simultaneously organised by the Italian network of embassies, consulates and cultural institutes.
The initiative is dedicated this year to the theme 'Italian between Word and Image: Graffiti, Illustrations, Comic Books, aimed at exploring the strong connection between language and these forms of art. 'Illustration can be very helpful in learning a language. It certainly supports comprehension through the visual representation of words, concepts and ideas, bringing stories to life and increasing engagement. It is indeed an extraordinary communication tool which can contribute to improve cultural understanding and connect people, said Ambassador Prunas.
On the occasion of the Week of the Italian Language in the World, the Embassy of Italy is promoting on its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts different social media campaigns to contribute to the diffusion of the Italian language, while raising attention on the many talented Italian illustrators and comic book creators who are internationally renowned for their art. Special media contents, videos and visuals are being shared in order to explain what illustrators do, their techniques and the different industries they can work for. 'We are very proud that the Italian artist Elisabetta Farina, based in Qatar, has created for the Italian Embassy exclusive webcomics to teach in a simple and fun way few Italian words, said Ambassador Prunas.
'She created animated GIFs with female characters who talk to each other introducing themselves and using easy conversation. She also wanted to highlight the important role women play in building cross-cultural bridges, encourage social inclusion and promote diversity. 'In order to support the diffusion of the language in Qatar, we have established with Hamad Bin Khalifa University-TII's Language Center a collaboration to offer during the week a range of free classes for kids and adults who wants to start to learn the Italian language.
The classes, held by an Italian teacher, also include cultural activities linked to this year's theme. 'We are proud to have established a very special cooperation with the Dante Alighieri Society — the non-profit organisation promoting Italian culture and language around the world — to organise and offer free online classes of Italian to a selected group of students, researchers and faculties at Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University. "These universities have special relations with Italian academic institutes through MoU and different forms of collaboration to carry out important research projects, so we thought it could be useful to identify academic key figures who will benefit from learning Italian for their activities, while contributing to increasing the network of contacts and relations with Italy.
The participants will connect online with a teacher at Dante Alighieri Society in Italy, who will make them discover also the Italian culture and art. 'We are also glad that this year the Italian students at the International School of London in Qatar have joined the celebration of the Italian Language Week by participating in a vast array of educational activities. The school has a specific language programme to support mother tongue language literacy among foreign students, including Italian.
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