2018 Concorso Letterario Awarded in Houston, Texas

Jun 09, 2018 3741

Students and faculty from Pin Oak Middle School, Bellaire High School, Westchester Academy, and Hargrave High School gathered on April 2, 2018, in the Auditorium of the offices of the Consulate General of Italy (1330 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, TX 77056) for the Award Ceremony for the Concorso Letterario 2018 - Il cinema come finestra sul mondo italiano e americano: contrasti e simmetrie culturali visti attraverso la macchina da presa. (Cinema as a Window onto the Italian and American Worlds: Cultural Differences and Similarities as Seen Through the Lens)

The competition was organized by the Comites Houston in collaboration with the Consul General of Italy. Consul General Elena Sgarbi and Comites members Alex di Bagno and Francesca D'Alessandro Behr assisted the host, Dr. Marina Mocci, with presenting the awards. The consul praised Dr. Mocci, the consular cultural attaché with University appointment, who has been essential to the creation of the Concorso and whose mandate in Houston will end in August. 

During the ceremony, a number of Italian professors were recognized: Prof. Cristina Gemellaro Sisemore of Hargrave High School for opening a brand new Italian program which within one year doubled the number of students enrolled; and Prof. Maria Gloria Borsa for enlisting a high number of students in the Advanced Placement Italian Exam. Special thanks also went to Cristina Giliberti, Monica Ercolani, Francesca D. Behr, Francesca Ercolani, Lucia Fusillo, Cinzia Dragoni, and Alex Di Bagno, all of whom, with great enthusiasm and devotion to the cause, served as the committee of distinguished judges who selected the awardees. 

The Comites Houston was publically thanked by Dr. Mocci for another important step in the promotion of the Italian language in this consular district ~ the creation of a fund instituted for facilitating travel abroad exchange programs with Italy. Bellaire High School, which has an exchange program with the Liceo Bernardino Telesio in Cosenza (Italy), was this year's recipient. 

The Concorso Letterario was created 7 years ago thanks to the initiative of the Consulate General of Italy in Houston which wanted to promote the study of Italian language and the knowledge of the culture and history of Italy. It was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Comites Houston, who since then has annually unreservedly sponsored the event.

For more information, please visit the Comites Houston website (www.comites-houston.org) and the website of the Office of the Italian Consul General in Houston (www.conshouston.esteri.it).

SOURCE: Mary Ann Webster

You may be interested