The New York launch of La Rivoluzione Bilingue was a success. It was hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute in their beautiful mansion on Park Avenue. The event was organized by InItaliano and the Consulate of Italy in New York.
Founded by Stefania Puxeddu, Benedetta Scardovi, and Francesco Fadda, InItaliano strives to keep parents informed about their options in their children’s education. In their own words, here is how these engaged parents saw this event: “As we all know, in this country, parental involvement, along with the support of the DOE key players, is what makes the difference in this Bilingual Revolution. Together we can make informed decisions and make a change!” This group is now looking at opening a third, and perhaps a fourth Italian dual-language program in New York, while also looking outside of the city for future projects. Thanks to CALEC, all net proceeds for “La Rivoluzione bilingue” support InItaliano and their work towards creating more Italian dual-language programs in the United States. You can support these non-profit organizations here and here.
The book talk was introduced by Paolo Barlera, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, followed by Francesco Genuardi, Consul General of Italy who reminded us of his country’s engagement for multilingualism and for the advancement of the Italian language in the United States. Education Director Annavaleria Guazzieri conducted the interview and moderated the discussion. I was thrilled to talk about my book and the process of writing it and how it has been received around the world.
It was great to launch the Italian translation in such grand style. I was equally pleased to have both the book’s cover artist, Raymond Verdaguer, and Italian translator Stefania Puxeddu, both in the room that night. I was also given a new name by Consul Genuardi and others throughout the evening: Fabrizzio Jaumonte, which sounds pretty good when pronounced by the Italians.
Thank you also to Silvia Limoncini, Alicia Winnicki, Anthony Pizzillo, Elsa Nunez, Domenica Faziola, Louise Verdemare, Denise Desjardin, Robin Sundick, Brian Zager, Mico Delianova Licastro, Ilaria Costa, Arturo Pagan, Karia Passerini, Marcello Lucchetta, Dariusz Zawislak, and Lucas Liu, for taking the time to attend this book launch.
Special thoughts to Lucia Pasqualini, now Consul General in Guangzhou, who supported the initial Italian dual-language meeting a few years ago when she was posted in New York and now continues to promote dual-language education wherever she goes.
Fabrice Jaumont 