VIII NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR TEACHERS OF ITALIAN IN AUSTRALIA

The VIII National Conference for Teachers of Italian in Australia took place on Saturday (21) at All Hallows School in Brisbane as part of the XXIII Settimana Della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo celebrations.

The event was organised in partnership with the Italian Embassy in Canberra and the involvement of the Education and Cultural Director, Valentina Biguzzi, the Italian Consul in Brisbane, Luna Angelini Marinucci, the Italian Cultural Institute in Sydney, Paolo Barlera and Co.As.It. Brisbane and its division the ‘Italian Language Centre’.

“La Settimana Della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo” is celebrated annually, on the third week of October worldwide, as the flagship of festivities around the Italian language. In Australia, the Teachers’ Conference takes place in a different capital city each year – Brisbane was selected for the event in 2023.

More than 100 teachers of Italian from all over the country attended the conference as well as those who logged in online. 

University professors from Canberra, and Melbourne including other specialised presenters were involved in the workshops and the presentations for the first part of the day.  We were fortunate to have the Italian Ambassador, Paolo Crudele who opened the Conference and welcomed everyone to this important event for all teachers of Italian in Australia.

Also special thanks to Prof. Monica Barni from Università per Stranieri di Siena who was able to join us on the day and speak to us about various strategies regarding the promotion and the teaching of Italian abroad and what would be required to ensure continuity and sustainability.

This year’s conference was such a success with all teachers and it will continue to attract many more teachers in future. The evaluations collected from this year’s conference will ensure greater engagement and future insight into the needs of teaching Italian in Australia.