Month: May 2024

As part of the MoCoSvi – Mobility for International Development Cooperation project implemented by the University of Verona, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will host for a period of 3 months Prof. Lacina Yéo, Associate Professor of German and Global Studies at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Abidjan-Cocody (Ivory Coast), with the aim of promoting a scientific and educational exchange between the two partner universities.

Lacina Yéo will carry out teaching activities in the area of Germanistics, as well as research intercultural exchanges between Africa and Europe, bringing insights and encounters on the topics of the role of African Germanistics in cultural transfers between Africa and Europe and culture and sustainable development in German-African literary relations.

The lecturer’s visit is part of a strategic line promoted by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures’ project of excellence on Inclusive humanities (2023-2027). “The Inclusive humanities promoted by our department aim to fill a cultural and scientific gap”, explains Massimo Salgaro, professor of German Literature. “To date, most of the research in academia comes from Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (Weird) countries, and the proposed models are based on the Western canon; with the Inclusive humanities project, the department intends instead to focus on marginalized groups, minority languages and World literature and its non-Western users.

Thanks to Prof. Yéo, it was also possible to sign an agreement between the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and his department in Abidijan for purposes related to the Inclusive Humanities Excellence Project 2023-2027.

An important roundtable resulting from the Hangzhou-Verona twinning was held on Wednesday, May 29, in the presence of Mayor Damiano Tommasi at the City Hall of Verona, the Director of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Verona, Prof. Roberta Facchinetti, and Prof. Barbara Bisetto, chair of the department’s internationalization commission. Visiting Verona was a delegation of more than 20 representatives from the Chinese city of Hangzhou, accompanied by Chinese Consul General in Italy Liu Kan and Secretary General of the Italian Ministry of Culture Mario Turetta, with the aim of opening new phases of encounter and collaboration between the two cities that have been twinned for five years to enhance culture, tourism and economy. Present at the round table were the councillor for Culture, Tourism and Unesco Heritage, the councillor delegated to European policies, representatives and executives from the Verona Chamber of Commerce Industry Handicraft Agriculture, Destination Verona & Garda Foundation, Arena Foundation, and the president of Veronafiere.

During the panel discussion, director Roberta Facchinetti outlined the potential for cultural dialogue with the different scientific areas of the university, then focused on first concrete possibilities for collaboration in terms of student exchange, enhancement of Chinese literary works, including translations into Italian, and collaborations in the fields of archaeology and cultural heritage. Also receiving the Chinese delegation were Barbara Bisetto, professor of Chinese language and literature in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Monica Molteni, Diana Sergeeva Dobreva and Luca Bochicchio, professors in the Department of Cultures and Civilizations, and two students from the degree program in languages and cultures for tourism and international trade, who portrayed the Chinese legend of the “butterfly lovers” in traditional dress.

The Chinese delegation, led by CPC Zhejiang Assistant Secretary Liu Jie, expressed sincere gratitude for the welcome they received. During the meeting, which featured numerous speeches and moments of discussion, the parties expressed their intention to activate working groups for the mutual enhancement of cultural and artistic heritage and the activation of trade agreements. The commitment to support and promote cultural, scientific, sports, educational and tourism activities was reaffirmed, with a special focus on strengthening the friendship between the peoples enshrined in the twinning. Verona and Hangzhou, 8,000 and 800 kilometers apart, are de facto twinned as of March 22, 2019.

“Both the consul general of China and the head of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, explained Director Facchinetti, ”expressed themselves very positively about a collaboration with our University.  The hope is that this meeting has laid the foundation for the birth of new shared projects, in the areas of teaching and research, and that from this new synergy will also spring international mobility initiatives for our students”.

Finally, Facchinetti presented the seal of Verona University to the secretary of Hangzhou Municipality and deputy secretary of Zhejiang Province.

The “Living in Difference” symposium, organized by Gabriella Pelloni as part of the interdisciplinary research group “Representations of Otherness, Diversity and Marginality in Contemporary European and Non-European Literatures”, took place on Monday, 27 May, in the Co-Working Room. The day marked the first meeting between the members of the team created within the framework of the project of excellence “Inclusive Humanities” 2023-2027, who converged to work on these issues from three different perspectives: spatial, temporal and linguistic.

On 22-24 May, the International Conference “Diversity, Accessibility, Inclusion in the Digital text and Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Perspectives”, organized by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures of the University of Verona with the support of the DAIH centre (Digital Arena for Inclusive Humanities, www.daih.eu) took place.

The conference, held in English, was attended by national and international experts on the topics of inclusion, diversity and accessibility. Challenges related to inclusion and accessibility of digital resources have become particularly relevant with technological development and the emergence of an increasingly pervasive digital paradigm in the cultural sphere. The promotion of diversity, inclusion and accessibility have thus gained more and more space in international policies, including in the publishing sphere (European Accessibility Act), and today the need to promote participation and equity in the production and dissemination of knowledge is a key issue.

The conference therefore aimed to facilitate debate and discussion on the issues in question, drawing attention to experiences, best practices, critical issues and new perspectives, as well as potential solutions that can help overcome the digital divide and promote accessibility of primary sources.