“Women are the driving forces of change, in every field, from foreign policy to economics, from art to education.” This, highlights the Ambassador of Italy to the United States, Mariangela Zappia, is the guiding theme of the commitment of the Embassy of Italy in Washington for Women’s History Month 2023. The importance of a female perspective in foreign policy and international security; the impact of women’s employment on economic growth; key Italian women leaders in design and fashion; the challenges of women artists; access to higher education denied to young Afghan women are the key themes for the Embassy’s main initiatives.
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On March 2nd, Ambassador Zappia, together with her counterparts from Denmark and Ireland, spoke at the “Women in Diplomacy” workshop, organized by American University’s School of International Service. The discussion focused on the main issues of international current events according to the perspective of three women at the helm of European embassies in Washington: the war in Ukraine, the transatlantic relationship, relations with China. The added value of a “feminist” foreign policy and the direct correlation between the rate of female employment and economic growth also come up.
On March 8th at 6:00 pm, the “Donne & Arte Oggi: Women and Contemporary Art in Italy and beyond” Seminar was held at the headquarters of Vital Voices in Washington on the relationship between contemporary Italian women artists and women’s empowerment. At the heart of the event was the social commitment of young contemporary women artists, Italian women particularly, who address the issues of the intersection of their different social identities and experiences with discrimination and oppression in their works. Speakers included Markette Sheppard (Senior Director of Communications at Vital Voices), Cecilia Canziani (curator of the “Io dico io” exhibition at the GNAM [National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art] in Rome), Ilaria Conti (art curator focused on contemporary art and social justice), and Susan Sterling (Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts).
On March 16th, Ambassador Zappia will inaugurate “Fashion is Female: Lights on Italian Design as Cultural Legacy” in Miami, the main event in the United States for Italian Design Day 2023. Iconic garments of famous Italian designers who have made Italian fashion great around the world since the post-war period will be on display at the new Italian Cultural Institute in Miami: Elsa Schiaparelli, the Fontana sisters, Fernanda Gattinoni, Mila Schon, Krizia, Lella Curiel, Laura Biagiotti, and Miuccia Prada. In the exhibition, organized by the Consulate General together with the Salone del Mobile (Milan Furniture Fair), Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (National Chamber of Italian Fashion), and the on-site offices of the Istituto Marangoni and ICE (Italian Trade Agency), each fashion garment will be combined with light sources of famous Italian brands, such as Flos, Foscarini, Artemide, Kartell, and Baleri Italia, set up as micro-architectures that interact with each garment to enhance it.
On March 21st at 5:00 pm, the historic Avalon Theatre in the U.S. capital will host the screening of Chiara Tilesi’s film Tell It Like a Woman, nominated for the Academy Awards 2023 for the best original song “Applause” and produced by the Italian ILBE in collaboration with We Do It Together. The feature film is a choral fresco in seven short stories, some inspired by real-life events and some fictional, that portray women who face particular challenges that make them stronger and more self-aware. Each story has been edited by an international director, including the Italian Maria Sole Tognazzi, and the film features stars, such as Eva Longoria, Cara Delavigne, and the Italian Margherita Buy.
On March 27th, the Embassy of Italy in Washington will host the event “Afghanistan’s Education Crisis: Ensuring Access to Education for Women and Girls” in collaboration with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security-GIWPS and ’Women In International Security-Italy. Afghan personalities, experts in the education and human rights fields, representatives of international organizations and partners, academics, and policy-makers will speak at the event. The subjects at the core of the dialogue include: the denial of secondary and university education to Afghan girls and women; the scope for action available to the international community to contribute to the urgent removal of such obstacles. The event will also touch upon the restoration of educational paths to young women and the creation of new ones, an essential prerequisite for the full inclusion of Afghan women in the social and economic sphere of their country to the benefit of society as a whole, the challenges and opportunities associated with these issues, also in relation to the action of international organizations, civil society, and other local actors. The reflection will be attended by, among others, Rina Amiri, U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights, Adela Raz, former Afghan Ambassador to the U.N. and the U.S. and Director of the SPIA Afghanistan Policy Lab, Richard Bennett, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, Habiba Sarabi, former Minister for Women’s Affairs and Governor of the Province of Bamyan.
Throughout the month of March, the Embassy of Italy is participating in the social media campaign of the European Union Delegation to the United States for Women’s History Month. The campaign amplifies the stories of European women and women-led organizations in Europe working to support the Ukrainian population in defending themselves against the Russian invasion. For Italy, the Embassy has chosen the association D.i.Re – Donne in Rete contro la violenza (Women against violence), which manages two Blue Dot centers in Tarvisio (Udine) and Fernetti (Trieste) for Ukrainian women fleeing their country, in collaboration with UNHCR Italy and UNICEF Italy and with ARCI, Save the Children Italy, and the “Stella Polare” association. From April to December 2022, D.i.Re met more than 3,000 Ukrainian women and their children fleeing the war in search of protection and support. In 63 cases, the association has activated its anti-violence centers, highlighting how abuse and gender violence continue, in different forms, even after fleeing from their country.
