Author: martina

Good premiere for “In principio era la Rupe” (In the beginning there was a cliff) the new show of Teatro a Rotelle (Theatre on Wheels) directed by Jana Karšaiová and Nicoletta Vicentini. On Tuesday, 11 June, the actresses and actors of the university theatre company made their debut at the Veronetta Contemporanea Festival in Santa Marta, with a show that comes to life from the research on the perception of disability in different eras up to the present day.

The title of the show, “In principio era la rupe”, staged by people with disabilities, is an ironic and provocative reference to the Spartan practice of abandoning infants considered weak or disabled on Mount Taygetus, a cliff, to let them die. Starting with this historical reference, the theatre group wanted to emphasize within its performance how much the perception of people with disabilities has changed over time. The self-mockery of the title highlights the absurdity and injustice of discrimination, reversing the historical narrative to highlight the strength and determination of people with disabilities in claiming their place in society.

The performance offered an evening of intense emotion: through acting, choreography and engaging music, the performers entertained and amused the audience, demonstrating that art knows no barriers. The main objective was to forcefully claim their rights and dignity, highlighting that people with disabilities have the same abilities and potential as so-called “healthy” people, although they need additional support.

The seminar “In the Dock of discrimination: confronting structural inequalities in law and literature” was held on 4-6 June at the Santa Marta University Campus. The joint seminar with Universität Osnabrück in Lower Saxony coincides with the start of the new Erasmus exchange that will be active from A.Y. 2024-2025, taking advantage of the faculty and student mobility agreement for the event.

The seminar, organized by Prof. Sidia Fiorato in collaboration with Dr. Laura Zander and Prof. Peter Schneck, took place in the interdisciplinary context of law, literature and culture and represented a first event to consolidate the scientific collaboration of the two departments in the direction of collaborative research-based teaching in an international context.

The seminar activities focused on legal issues found in literary works and films related particularly to the judicial context and the concept of justice.

An in-house professional development workshop funded by the Project of Excellence “Inclusive Humanities” kicked off on Wednesday, 5 June, and will enable faculty members to acquire the most appropriate communication skills for disseminating their research.

The first lecture, delivered by Luca Barbieri, a trainer for Niuko – Innovation & Knowledge (the organizers of the course), addressed the concepts of: newsworthiness, media communication best practices, media and social media, effective formats and writing techniques for social networks. Luca Barbieri is a communications consultant for research centres, innovative SMEs and startups, and an entrepreneur and journalist. He is founder of Blum, a consulting firm that helps large and small innovative companies and research centres grow through communications, media relations and events.

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.