Opening ceremony of the school year abroad

The opening ceremony of the school year for Italian schools abroad in the northern hemisphere was held in Barcelona on 28 September. The event was hosted in the new headquarters of the Spanish city’s Comprehensive Italian State School: it is the first time that the opening ceremony of an Italian school has been organized outside the national borders. It was also broadcast live on the School’s YouTube channel so that it could be followed by all the actors of the Italian Education System Abroad (Sistema della Formazione Italiana nel Mondo), which includes 49 Italian state and private schools, 85 Italian sections in foreign schools, and 130 Italian language lectorships in foreign universities, as well as thousands of Italian language and culture courses.

The Consul General of Italy in Barcelona, Emanuele Manzitti, the Director General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy (DGDP) of the MAECI, Pasquale Terracciano, the Director of analysis and planning of the external action department, Joan Maria Piqué, the Head of Office V of the DGDP, Valentina Setta, and the Headmaster of the Comprehensive Italian State School of Barcelona, Patrizia Carfagna, took part in the event.

The event was opened with a greeting from the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella:

It is a thrill to see students virtually gathering from so many countries, together with their families, to shape their future by choosing the Italian Education System Abroad. Whatever future you may be looking at, my wish is to make it happen without ever losing the link with the Italian language and culture.

Ambassador Terracciano then recalled in his speech that ‘since the origins of cultural diplomacy, schools and educational institutions have been very important actors for projecting our country in the global context. This event represents an opportunity to meet and reflect on an increasingly integrated perspective, which enhances and strengthens all the components of the Italian Education System Abroad and their synergies with the foreign network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’.

Representatives of both pupils and parents and alumni of the Barcelona school also spoke about their international experience of training and studying between Italy and Spain. The School’s student representative, Sara Altafaj, recalled how ‘dedication, respect, perseverance and above all integration of different cultures’ are among the school’s founding values.

Numerous musical interludes enriched the ceremony: pianist Andrea Catino introduced the event by performing a piece by the composer Ennio Morricone, taken from the soundtrack of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso; the students of the Institute sang and played the Italian national anthem; young student Arianna Palassini showcased her talent as a violinist and two of the pupils’ parents, Beatriz Jimenez and Cinzia Monari, performed one of the most iconic songs of Italian music culture, O sole mio.

The ceremony can be re-watched on the YouTube Comprehensive Italian State School of Barcelona’s channel.