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Feb.13,2005 -Feb.20,2005 |
Keeping younger generations interested
Bursaries and larger funds are key to keeping Italian culture alive in Canada
By Roberto Cavagnaro
Originally Published: 2002-01-20
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Professor Olga Zorzi Pugliese
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Rome announces, Canada listens and makes suggestions. Our series, trying to take the pulse of the Italian-Canadian community, goes to the University of Toronto, at the Department of Italian Studies, chaired for the past four years and a half by Professor Olga Zorzi Pugliese. Hers is an authoritative voice in Toronto's cultural landscape and beyond, strengthened by her 34 years of teaching at UofT, as well as her fellowship at Victoria College.
An expert on Italian literature and thought in the 15th and 16th centuries, her publications include English translations and editions of works by Lorenzo Valla, a volume on Ficino and Renaissance Neo-Platonism; she's also authored Il discorso labirintico del dialogo rinascimentale and co-authored Rekindling Faded Memories: The Founding of the Famee Furlane of Toronto and Its First Years (1933 - 41).
Voting rights for Italians abroad is just the starting point of our report, so maybe we can start our conversation from there. What do you think about that?
"Personally I'm opposed. I think that the right to vote should be exercised in the country where one lives and not in the one left behind, maybe many years ago. I also have the impression that many expatriates share my opinion, having little interest in influencing Italian politics."
In Italy, during last spring's election campaign and in the final months of the previous legislature, much was said about these voting rights, and today they have become real. Where should the Italian government concentrate its energies in dealing with Italian communities abroad?
"From my point of view, the most important aspect is support for cultural activities. Migratory fluxes from Italy to Canada have been minimal since 30 years ago, but in Toronto, for instance, our community is still the second largest. The problem lies in the fact that first-generation immigrants are being replaced by second- and third-generation Italian-Canadians who were born here. When the latter will be predominant, preserving our culture and our language will be the most important task at hand."
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