CCN/ATERBALLETTO AT THE STATES-GENERAL OF CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

On Monday 9 October, CCN/Aterballetto was hosted at Palazzo Vecchio, in Florence, for the States-General of Cultural Diplomacy, to meet the directors of Italian cultural institutes and discuss new strategies for international cultural diplomacy.

FND Aterballetto – Preludio – prove – ph. Nicola Stasi

Sala dei Cinquecento is the charming setting where Aterballetto danced Preludio by Diego Tortelli, in the presence of Antonio Tajani Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Anna Maria Bernini Minister of University and Research, Daniela Santanchè Minister of Tourism, Paola Frassinetti Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Education and Merit, Gianmarco Mazzi Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Culture, Dario Nardella Mayor of Florence, Alessandro De Pedys Director General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy, Roberto Grossi Scientific Director of the Atlas of Cultural and Creative Enterprises in Italy, Federico Mollicone President of the Cultural Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Massimo Osanna Director General for Museums, Piero Angelo Cappello Director General for Contemporary Creativity.

Preludio is part of Italia Danza, a complex project by CCN/Aterballetto, designed together with the Directorate General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy (Maeci), in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institutes and with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. The project emphasizes Italian creativity in order to generate new languages and audiences. It imagines that Italian embassies and Cultural Institutes venues can be reshaped into stunning spaces to discover dance. A preview of the project has been held in Florence, and it will be officially presented in November.

Hon. Tajani‘s comment:

“Cultural diplomacy is a strategic tool at the service of the national interest, on which we must focus to power Italy’s attractiveness and influence in the world. The cultural economy is worth 90 billion euro with an employment spin-off of about 1.5 million jobs. This is why I convened in Florence the States-General of Cultural Diplomacy with the 86 Italian Cultural Institutes and the competent Ministers, with a country system approach. Through cultural diplomacy we need to create a great process of internationalisation and Italian investment abroad, based not only on the sale of goods, but also on the export of cultural services“.

This is how Minister Filippo La Rosa describes the project born together with the CCN/Aterballetto:

“The network of Italian Cultural Institutes abroad and the Directorate General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy are building new projects and investing resources for the international projection of Italian dance. The aim is to consolidate relations with the main choreographic institutions in the territories, through co-production and residency projects. This results in the collaboration with Centro Coreografico Nazionale/Aterballetto, that will be realised in an initial tour in the autumn 2023 and continue in 2024. Contemporary dance is confirmed as one of the fundamental areas for the international diffusion of Italian culture“.

An opportunity to develop important collaborations, as director Gigi Cristoforetti states:

“Putting ourselves at the disposal of projects abroad, in the name of cultural diplomacy, is one of the missions of a National Choreographic Centre. We are grateful to the Directorate General of Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the opportunity it gives us to disseminate our creations, and to develop stimulating collaborations, not only related to dance. The intrerchange with visual arts and music becomes an ideal working ground to offer an articulated look at Italian creativity”.

On 10 October, during the session Perspectives 2024 – The importance of effective and coordinated programming, some strategic vision lines, moderated by Tommaso Giordano, Vicar Office III DGDP, Gigi Cristoforetti will speak in anticipation of Italia Danza project, conceived with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and implemented through the Directorate General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of Maeci. The project will be launched in November 2023 and will run until 2025, carried out in collaboration with Italian Embassies and Italian Cultural Institutes abroad, with the support of Emilia-Romagna Region and City of Reggio Emilia. Italia Danza aims to transform the venues of the Italian Embassies and Institutes of Culture into surprising and lively spaces to explore dance and draw attention to the contemporary, a key aspect of the cultural made in italy able to build new languages and audiences.