The Presidency Committee of the General Council of Italians Abroad (CGIE) will meet at the Farnesina from September 29 to October 3. The CGIE is the representative body of Italian communities worldwide before all institutions that implement policies of their interest, with functions of research, proposal, planning, and consultancy.
At the center of the agenda are the promotion of the Italian language and culture, one of the CGIE’s priority themes for the second half of the year, along with the history of migration, the promotion of its teaching in Italian schools, and the reform of the founding law of the General Council. These issues will be the subject of institutional dialogue, together with the reform of citizenship, on which feedback is expected from Parliament following the openings expressed by the President of the Republic and by Minister Tajani.
On the first day, the Presidency Committee will meet with the Director-General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), Minister Plenipotentiary Filippo La Rosa—together with the Chair of the CGIE’s Language and Culture Committee, Lidia Campanale—to discuss major transformations in the sector: from the structural changes in the Farnesina’s organizational chart, to the creation of the Italophony Community, to the severe crisis affecting several major institutions engaged in teaching Italian worldwide, which has led to the withdrawal of several managing entities.
As is customary, the Presidency Committee will also meet Undersecretary Giorgio Silli, who will present the Government’s report, and the Director-General of the Directorate General for Italians Abroad and Migration Policies (DGIT) of the MAECI, Minister Plenipotentiary Luigi Maria Vignali. Discussions will focus on the follow-up to the Plenary Assembly, the reform of the Farnesina, the Government’s policies toward Italians abroad, and issues related to budgetary chapters concerning the representative bodies at the grassroots and intermediate levels (Com.It.Es. and CGIE), which must be guaranteed the resources needed for the proper performance of their legally mandated functions. This aspect will also be addressed during meetings with parliamentary groups and hearings before the Foreign Affairs and Budget Committees of both Chambers. Furthermore, the urgency of the formal convening by the Prime Minister of the Fifth Plenary Assembly of the Permanent Conference State-Regions-PA-CGIE will be reiterated.
The commitment of the General Council to new mobility, incentives for return, and the recognition and enhancement of the contribution made by Italian communities worldwide to the national system will reach a key milestone with the signing of the inter-institutional agreement between CNEL and CGIE, scheduled at Villa Lubin on October 1. The signing represents the culmination of a process launched last April in view of joint initiatives. The event marks the beginning of cooperation between the two bodies, aimed at fostering permanent links between Italian communities abroad and national institutions, as well as developing joint research initiatives, and formulating legislative and operational observations, proposals, and recommendations in areas of shared interest.
The Roman sessions will also provide an opportunity for meetings with the Chairs of the thematic committees in order to define the work of the internal bodies for the second half of the year and the first half of 2026.
The conclusions of the proceedings will be presented on Friday, October 3, during the traditional press conference held in the Zuppetti Room of the Farnesina.
