CIBPA business partnership for Italian language and culture
TORONTO – As reported in the Corriere Canadese yesterday, CIBPA – Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association – has made a sizeable donation for Italian language instruction in York Region. Why, Mr. Sacco?
Our mandate is to “Protect, Promote and Preserve Italian Culture”. That goal starts with learning the language. First the numbers: Italians are now a block of 20 million people of Italian heritage in North America alone – 1.5 million of them in Canada. This Diaspora outnumbers their cousins living within the borders of the Belpaese by a ratio of 4- 3: eighty million to 60 million. That means, demographically, the Italian Diaspora is 33% larger than Italy. Culture and economics demand connectivity.
We know that CIPBA entered into a cooperation agreement with the American counterpart (NIAF.org) to accomplish those goals. How did that lead you to the York Region Catholic Board?
We work with private, not-for- profit organizations who share who share our vision. Two Trustees from YCDSB, Maria Iafrate and Angela Saggese, also looked at “significant numbers” specific to their board, saw an unaddressed educational need and determined to find a solution. Together, they founded and registered YCDSB ItaliaLinguaCultura and applied for funds from the Italian Government to allocate funds for the YCDSB International Language (IL) – Extended Day Program.
But Mr. Sacco the IL program has been in schools for over 40 years from kindergarten to Grade 8. Why the need now? Why not allocate “local resources to a local issue”?
I cannot speculate as to motives. Iafrate and Saggese became frustrated with the disconnect between what they saw as need and “non-delivery”. They found, after much research, that some shape of the IL program is taught in 214 classrooms in 21 schools across the YCDSB with almost 5,500 students registered, about 20% of the elementary school aged children in the Vaughn/Maple area of alone. Those are compelling numbers! Iafrate and Saggese looked to other, more receptive ears, for a speedier solution.
We gather that a sympathetic and understanding the Consul General, Mr. Luca Zelioli, agreed that it would constitute a total abandonment of cultural continuity if such a powerful cohort of inquiring minds were deprived of the experience to learn about its past and present; so he directed them to you?
More than that; through his efforts, the Italian Ministry of External Affairs agreed to allocate $270,000 to support the many students within the elementary schools enrolled in this International Language Extended Day Program in YCDSB. Moreover, with his encouragement, the CIBPA Education Foundation will assist in funding the YCDSB in the amount of $35,000 along with a grant request from other membersmembers, for example Heritage Calabria (5,000 dollars).
But we understand that this $270,000 funding initiative is for one year only and the program is neither sustainable with existing resources nor can it continue without a new source of revenue.
Additional fund raising will be required to continue the program. CIBPA is committed to working together with the Iafrate/ Saggese organization and apply for funding from the Italian Ministry of External Affairs each year to maintain the financial viability of a program that so enriches the academic, social, cultural growth of elementary students for years to come. We, however, need the support of the community to step up and help sustain this program. The CIBPA Education Foundation will be doing fundraising events and accepting direct donations (tax receipts provided) throughout the year for that purpose.
In the pic above, from left: Laura Innocenti (Consul), the Honourable Joe Volpe, Sabrina Marrelli (VP CIBPA Education Foundation) e Robert Sacco (CEO, CIBPA); the YCDSB trustees Maria Iafrate and Angela Saggese
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