Italian literature compared with that of Kenya and other African countries: this is the theme of Africa Day 2022, which the Italian Cultural Institute of Nairobi will offer together with that of Pretoria in South Africa, Adis Ababa in Ethiopia and Dakar in Senegal, with an interesting Italian-language "webinar" in which everyone can participate free of charge, next Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m. (Kenyan time).
Created to celebrate the anniversary of the "Africa Unity" organization, mother of the African Union, founded on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation celebrates Africa Day every year. The anniversary has the dual purpose of reflecting on the importance of collaboration between Italy and Africa and enriching cultural diversity on the continent.
Each of the four Sub-Saharan Africa Institutes involved will address a literary topic that links Italy to its host country, making use of the presence of scholars and experts.
Speaking for Nairobi will be Professor Graziella Acquaviva, researcher and professor of Swahili language and literature at the Department of Humanities, University of Turin, with a dissertation on ecology as a literary topic in Italian and Kenyan literatures entitled "Ecologismi a confronto: issues and perspectives of ecological discourse in Kenya and Italy."
Acquaviva has previously collaborated for the Nairobi IIC in past years, translating writer Gianrico Carofiglio's book "Unaware Witness" (Shahidi asiyekusudiwa) into Kiswahili, among other things, as well as editing the translation of the complete work of Carlo Collodi's "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (Hekaya za Pinokio).
The Addis Ababa IIC will be connected instead with Professor Gianfranco Lusini, from the University of Naples "L'Orientale," who will offer a talk entitled "One Multitude: Italian-Ethiopian literary interweavings between the Middle Ages and the 20th century." Two will be the literary suggestions brought by the Italian Cultural Institute of Pretoria: one on "Pasolini and Africa" curated by Dr. Giovanna Trento, the second on "Dante and the Divine Comedy in South Africa," with the "speech" by Professor Anita Virga, professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Finally, for the IIC of Dakar there will be the presence of Professor Alice Bellagamba, professor of Political Anthropology and Cultures and Societies of Africa at the University of Milano-Bicocca, with the speech on "Intangible Heritage and the Legacy of Slavery in West Africa."
To participate in the webinar, you must register at the dedicated webpage: https://italianculturalinstitute.co.za/africa-day/