The Italian Cultural Institutes in Israel are located in Tel Aviv and Haifa, with separate administration. The Institute is a body of the Italian State and operates as the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Italy in Israel. The Institute has the task of promoting the knowledge, dissemination and appreciation of Italian culture in Israeli society, with particular focus on the study and dissemination of the Italian language.
The Institute also implements the programmes envisaged by the Italy-Israel bilateral agreements on cultural cooperation, scientific cooperation and youth exchanges.
The Institute has participated for many years in all the most prestigious Israeli national events: the Israel Festival, the Jerusalem International Book Fair, the Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa Film Festivals, the Acco Fringe Theater Festival (St John of Acre), the New Israeli Opera season.
The Institute’s policy has always been to engage with the Israeli general public, starting from the most significant and popular cultural places and institutions in the country. Therefore, the Institute’s initiatives are produced and promoted jointly with Israeli representatives and are held in areas already familiar to the local public. Italian culture is thus present in film libraries, museums, concert halls, cultural centres, fairs, Israel’s most popular festivals, as well as in sectors of different ethnic groups and languages.
The Italian Cultural Institute organizes:
- courses in Italian language of various levels and duration
- exams for certificates in Italian as a foreign language in collaboration with the Universities for Foreigners of Perugia and Siena
- Italian teacher training refresher courses
- conferences, conventions and round tables on various aspects of Italian culture
- exhibitions of Italian works and artists
- meetings with Italian writers
- concerts featuring Italian music and musicians
- reviews and retrospectives of Italian cinema
- screening of films and documentaries in videotape and DVD format.
The Italian Cultural Institute of Tel Aviv provides documentation and information on:
- Italian cultural events in Israel
- cultural and scientific events in Italy
- Italian cultural institutions
- language and culture courses in Italy
- study awards for language courses in Italy
- enrolment at Italian universities
- study and research grants
- exchanges of Italian and Israeli professors and researchers
The Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv provides computerised documentation services to satisfy requests for information and to offer advice to Italian and foreign scholars and cultural operators. The Institute has an annual membership fee of 200 NIS.
