The promotion of the Italian language abroad is one of the main tools at Italy’s disposal and is of priority interest for Italian foreign policy. In South Australia there is a MoU with the Department of Education signed in 2021 (see more details in the section approfondimenti).
The knowledge of the Italian language is in fact the necessary key to come into contact with our culture in a broad sense and to better understand the dynamics of ‘Italian living’. An analysis of data on the spread of Italian in the world shows that over two million foreigners choose to study our language in order to get closer to our extremely rich artistic and creative heritage.
There are approximately 31,000 students in South Australia and Italian is taught in 23 primary and 11 secondary schools in the public system and 60 schools (primary and secondary) in the private system.
At university level, there are Italian language courses at Flinders University and UniSA (University of South Australia).
The bodies active in the language sector in South Australia are the Dante Alighieri Society, SAATI (South Australian Association of Teachers of Italians), the Italian language departments of Flinders University and UniSA.
In recent years, the existence of a strong link between Italian and Made in Italy has become increasingly evident. The Italian language is actually the second most used in the panorama of commercial signs all over the world, even in economic sectors other than the traditional ones, demonstrating how Italian is considered a language that is also liked because it is associated, in the collective imagination, with the many products of excellence of our country. It is also for this reason that the Consulate of Italy in Adelaide promotes not only the literary language and the immortal masters of our culture, but also the modern and dynamic language capable of opening doors to the future of students who want to learn it: commerce, industry, fashion, music, design, hospitality, food and wine are all sectors in which it is possible to create one’s own specific future thanks to the Italian language.