On Friday 10 May 2024 Deputy Head of Mission Federico Palmieri offered a sneak peek of the “Italy is young” initiative of the Embassy of Italy in Riga, speaking at the Italian Foreign Ministry pavilion at the Turin International Book Fair.
The presentation was part of the programme of events of the Foreign Ministry’s space at the Fair, where diplomats and cultural attachés have presented the audience their activities and some innovative projects aimed at promoting Italy and its culture and creativity abroad.
The Embassy’s “Italy is young” initiative will feature 10 public events taking place from the end of August to December 2024. Their aim is promoting Italian and Latvian young creativity: Italian and Latvian creatives aged 35 or younger will meet for public conversation events included in the programmes of renowned local festivals and initiatives. The full program of the project and the list of partners will be announced in the coming weeks. The project has been awarded by the Italian Foreign Ministry in the framework of the second edition of the “Capitals of Italian creativity abroad” contest.
The Italian Foreign Ministry at the Turin International Book Fair 2024
From 9 to 13 May 2024 the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs took part in the Turin International Book Fair with its own pavilion, titled “La Farnesina incontra…” (The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs meets…) upon initiative of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani.
“Culture is a bridge for dialogue and a source of shared growth: for a country such as Italy, which holds the world record for the number of UNESCO sites, soft power represents the real added value for conveying our interests and values in the world,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tajani, who recalled the impulse given to cultural diplomacy actions since the beginning of his mandate, as an essential foreign policy lever.
Over the past year and a half, at Tajani’s behest, the Ministry has in fact worked hard to strengthen cultural diplomacy: from support for publishing – Italy’s leading creative industry – to the promotion of Made in Italy, from support for Italian archaeological missions abroad to strengthening the teaching of the Italian language in schools and university cooperation abroad, including through scholarships. All that will be illustrated in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation pavilion, thanks to dozens of events and the testimonies of those who promote Italy in the world. The Ministry will also organise a series of events in the exhibition’s conference rooms.
