Italian celebration in Indonesia: Unas hosts language week

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Italian celebration in Indonesia: Unas hosts language week
Features - December 09, 2007
Gama Harjono, Contributor, Jakarta

Jakarta has recently taken part in a global event, the 7th International Week of Italian Language 2007, which took place from Nov. 5-9 in Indonesia.

Now in its seventh year since its launch in 2001 by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the annual event quickly became a significant flagship to promote the Italian language worldwide, and involves a series of conferences, film screenings and debates as well as specialized updating courses for teachers.

A theme is chosen every year to mark the occasion. This year's Italian language week celebrates "the Italian language and the sea", featuring the works of Emilio Salgari, a novelist from Verona whose many sagas set in Southeast Asia were published in the early 1900s.

The National University (Unas) in South Jakarta was host to the weeklong celebration, which opened on Nov. 5 was inaugurated by Ambassador of Italy to Indonesia Roberto Palmieri and Unas rector Prof. Umar Basalim.

In his address, Ambassador Palmieri highlighted the current state of Italo-Indonesian relations. In particular, he highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation in the cultural and economic fields, with a goal to enhance the image of "the Italian style" and promoting Indonesia through intensifying Indonesian studies at l'Orientale University in Naples.

Attending the program were those who teach Italian in Java and Bali, two guest professors from the University for Foreigners Perugia, Prof. Maddoli and Bagianti, and Italian cinema critic Giacomo Gambetti. The latter conducted a lecture and open discussion on Italian cinema.

A presentation on the region of Umbria and Italy's many traditions received a great number of responses from participating students. Most of these students study at Indonesian universities and academies where Italian is offered as an elective or to the public, and who claim to enjoy learning the Romance tongue with their native Italian teachers.

Gavin, 24, an Unas student, said the Italian unit was quite well promoted at his campus.
"Learning about the culture is what's most interesting. I love their traditional feasts. Italians seem to well-natured," he said.

Another favorable opinion was expressed by Yessica, 21, an English major student at the University of Indonesia (UI), who said she was going to Italy in July 2008 on a three-month scholarship to study the local language and culture.

Education appears to be a key point of exchange between Italy and Indonesia. To date, 468 Indonesian students are undertaking or completing their studies at Italian schools and universities.

Similarly, their Italian counterparts have received grants from the Indonesian government to study the country and its culture.

Filomena Vaccaro, 25, majors in Asian languages and is now in Jakarta undertaking Indonesian studies. "We have Faizah Soenoto, who teaches Indonesian to Italians students at l'Orientale in Naples. When I first learned Indonesian, I instantly felt at ease with it," she said. "I applied for my scholarship in November 2006 and l'Orientale sent me here. I arrived in Jakarta in September 2007, and I love Indonesia and its people."

Furthermore, Vaccaro is teaching Italian at the Italian Institute of Culture in Menteng, as well as attending classes at Unas until June 2008. Immensely enjoying her new experience in her host country, she graduates in Italy next year, and hopes to find a job in which she can utilize her Indonesian knowledge.

Italian appears to be the "new" French globally, although its penetration remains very limited in Indonesia. Enrollment to Italian language courses worldwide has risen by about 30 percent in the last five years, says a source at the Italian Embassy.

In Indonesia, Italian is taught at universities and institutes in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali.

"The key to have Italian studied throughout the Indonesian archipelago lays in mutual exchanges," explained the director of the Italian Institute of Culture, Prof. Ostelio Remi.
"We need to strengthen our bilateral cooperation in all sectors, from sports to science to politics. There is an affinity between our two nations in terms of characters," he said. "Indonesia is absolutely important for Italy as to its economic potential and richness in culture. On the other hand, Indonesia could learn from Italy's savoir faire in many industries."

Meanwhile, the future of the Italian presence in Indonesia seems to be promising. Recently, Indonesian student Tri Astuti Oktavianti of Unas won second place in an international essay contest organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

And Shandya Rani Yunita, who studied in Italy on scholarship in 2006, is now an assistant of the Italian course offered at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.