The Italian Embassy in Washington hosted the first semi-annual meeting in 2022 of the National Observatory of the Italian Language, a steering and orientation body for the promotion of the Italian language and culture in the United States.

The meeting was attended by about sixty members of the Observatory, including the Deputy Secretary General of CGIE, Silvana Mangione, some professors from the University of Perugia, representatives of Eduitalia, the heads of the consular network in the USA, consuls, school directors, directors of cultural institutes and the presidents of the 14 managing bodies in the area.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Chief of Mission, Min. Plen. Alessandro Gonzales, who in opening the meeting underlined the priority that MAECI and our diplomatic-consular network give to the diffusion of the Italian language also as a vehicle for the promotion of Italian culture, society and economy, as well as a tool for the enhancement of the excellence that makes Italy unique in the most diverse fields: a complex objective that can be achieved only through a synergic action of the country system.

The most recent data for the 2020/2021 school year indicate an increase of 14.6% (214,175) in the number of Italian students compared to the survey conducted the previous year (186,894). The United States, for the fifth consecutive year, is the fourth largest country in terms of the number of Italian students, and Italy represents the second largest destination abroad for American students (39,043, only 315 less than the United Kingdom).

The meeting also highlighted the qualitative improvement in the performance of Italian students, with an increase in the percentage of students who passed with flying colors the Italian Advanced Placement exam.

In approving the strategic plan that defines the lines of action for the promotion of the Italian language for 2022, the Observatory indicated the main challenges on which action to support the diffusion of Italian must focus in the coming months: teacher training, the adoption of teaching methodologies that also integrate distance learning, support for universities where there are Italian majors and minors and the updating of collaborations between US universities and Italian companies.