Last Monday the Consulate General of Italy in Boston held the award ceremony of the literary contest named “Come, scusa? Non ti followo” (Sorry? I’m not following you). On the occasion of the XXII Italian Language Week in the World, the Education Office at the Consulate General of Italy in Boston launched the literary contest intended for high school students of Italian, which was enthusiastically supported by several schools in the Consulate’s district.

The presentation of the contest was launched online in October 2022 and included a talk by Elisa Castiglioni, an Italian writer and teacher at the Italian Language and Culture “IES Abroad” center in Milan. Ms. Castiglioni studied in New England and collaborated with a variety of American magazines. Her successful novels are published by "Il Castoro." During her talk, she offered the students valuable advice and writing strategies for their short stories.

The young participating students were asked to use the expression "Come, scusa? Non ti followo" at the beginning of their short story, which was the subtitle of Italian Language Week announced by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The choice of words was intended not only to spark students' creativity, but also to help them reflect on their relationship with the Italian language, and express their new voice as authors in a foreign language.

The initiative was extremely successful, including more than fifty participants submitting exceptional short stories as a testament to more than just the academic interest of American students in the Italian language.

The award ceremony, organized by the Consulate in Boston, was attended by the four young winners with their families, the editors of the Italian News Clicks portal, and a representation of the board of the Massachusetts Italian Teachers Association (MITA).

The recipients of the awards are: Dahlia LUBIN, Caterina MIOTTO and Penelope RATZ from Winchester High School and Matteo D’Aveta from Medford High School who received the Honorable Mention. As prizes, the students received a basket of traditional Italian food products provided by Eataly Boston, a copy of the novel “The Girl with the Green Backpack” by Elisa Castiglioni offered by “Il Castoro”. The students had the opportunity as well to have their stories published on “Italian News Clicks”, a website which highlights current events in Italy through a selection of articles from Italian newspapers. The award ceremony was also an opportunity, particularly appreciated by the students, to hear the motivation for the jury's choices, aimed at enhancing the originality and quality of their work.