Founded in 1962, the Italian Cultural Institute of Haifa is an office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation dedicated to promoting Italian culture in northern Israel through the organization of events and the provision of cultural services.
Under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the advisory committee and its staff, the Italian Cultural Institute of Haifa complies with this commitment by cultivating cultural exchanges between Italy and Israel in different areas of interest, ranging from arts to humanities and science.
The mission of the Italian Cultural Institute of Haifa is to promote continuously the understanding and enjoyment of the different expressions of Italian culture.
The initiatives undertaken by the Italian Cultural Institute of Haifa include, among others, developing academic exchanges, organizing and supporting exhibitions and festivals, incentives towards the publication of Italian books, promoting the study of the Italian language, and collaborating with local institutions in planning events involving music, dance events, film, theatre, architecture, literature, etc.
The Italian Cultural Institute of Haifa organizes and promotes:
- Italian language courses of various levels and duration;
- exams to obtain a Certificate of Italian as a Foreign Language in collaboration with the University for Foreigners of Perugia (CELI) and with the Dante Alighieri Society (PLIDA);
- refresher courses for Italian teachers;
- conferences, conventions and round tables on various aspects of Italian culture;
- exhibitions of Italian works and artists;
- meetings with Italian writers;
- concerts of Italian music and by Italian musicians;
- festivals and retrospectives of Italian film
- screening of films and documentaries on videotape and DVD.
The Italian Cultural Institute of Haifa provides documentation and information on:
- Italian cultural and scientific events in Israel;
- cultural and scientific events in Italy;
- enrolment at Italian universities.
Finally, the Italian Cultural Institute of Haifa has a Library open to students of Italian courses and to members of the “Amici dell’Istituto” association, for the consultation and loan of Italian books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, journals and newspapers.
