CULTURAL AGREEMENT
Between Italy and Cyprus an Agreement on Cultural Cooperation was signed in Nicosia on 29 June 1973 and it is aimed at enhancing cooperation in the cultural, educational and scientific fields, plus scholarships. The agreement is executed through Protocols with the validity of three yeras. On 6 June 2005 the two countries have signed a new agreement titled "Cultural, Scientific, Technological and Educational Agreement". This is a more comprehensive and articulated agreement, which intends to promote wider joint activities and further developing the bilateral relations. Pending ratification, this agreement is not yet in force.
ITALIAN MONTH IN CYPRUS
Every year the Embassy of Italy organizes the Italian Month in Cyprus, an articulated program of event to promote Italian culture, music, design and gatronomy. The initiative meets an increasing success among the Cypriot public.
ITALIAN LANGUAGE IN CYPRUS
The Italian language in Cyprus is taught at the High Schools, University, Dante Alighieri Society and numerous private schools. Over the past years Italian course have grown steadily thanks to the increasing request by students, both young and older.
The Embassy of Italy in Nicosia cooperates with such institutions providing funds, scholarship, various didactic materials, assistance and information. Since November 2008, the above institutions can freely loan 339 titles of classic and more recent Italian flims (List of DVDs).
Every year in October, the Embassy of Italy organizes the Week of the Italian Language with promotional events, conference and meetings in cooperation with the Dante Alighieri Society, the University of Cyprus and the Associations Leonardo Da Vinci and that of the Italian teachers (see 2008 events).
High Schools
Italian is taught in numerous High Schools of Cyprus with 13 permanent teachers and 26 on a contract. Italian is choosen by more than 52% of the students and is currently the most preferred foreign language after English.
For the current year, the students are:
Class B
- 3774 students attending 2 periods
- 24 attending 6 periods
Class C
- 4311 students attending 2 periods
- 49 students attending 6 periods
University
Italian is taught at the Language Centre of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Cyprus and is based on four levels. Students enrolled were the following: 160 in 2002, 144 in 2004, 183 in 2006, 189 in 2007 e 172 in 2008. The courses are usually 10 or 11 at level 1, 2 and 3. Since 2008 level 4 was activated.
Students acquire the four linguistic skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) together with knowledge of social, historic and cultural aspects of Italy. Apart from textbooks, these courses are conducted also through guided use of contemporary media such newspapers, television, films and other forms of instructional technology including the Internet and the WebCT course management system. The staff of teachers consists of 2 teachers of Italian mother language appointed by the University and a Lecturer sent from Italy by the Ministry of Italian Foreign Affairs.
The courses are structured according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The courses offered at present are of four levels. They are mainly aimed at teaching the living current language. Various other aspects of the Italian culture and literature are taken into consideration, mainly at level 4.
For more information: University of Cyprus
Courses Description
Beginner Italian Level 1
The general purpose is to acquire the ability to speak and understand basic Italian, oral and written, for immediate personal needs. Special attention is given to pronunciation and basic grammar structures.
Beginner Italian Level 2
The aim of this level is to give students the ability to understand and use expressions for communication in routine tasks and matters and to describe personal background or local environment. Attention is mainly focused on the verbs and more complicated structures.
Intermediate Italian Level 1 Course 3
Students learn to produce broader range of communicative and interactive expressions related to personal information, social events and exchanges, buying, employment. Students comprehend clear messages and announcements. Particular aspects of Italian customs and culture are studied through articles from magazines and other papers.
Intermediate Italian Level 2 Course 4
A wide range of different situations will be given regarding exchange of everyday information and expressions. Students acquire the ability to express themselves in written and spoken Italian using more complex syntactic structures. At this level students are confronted with more culture of Italy and extracts of literary texts of contemporary Italian authors.
Dante Alighieri Society
STUDY IN ITALY
To study in Italy, please find all the necessary information in the dedicated web site Study in Italy.
SCHOLARSHIPS
In the framework of the Cultural Agreement between Italy and Cyprus, the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs offers on a yearly basis 20 months of scholarships for studying in any Faculty of recognized Italian Universities, both public and private. The criteria for granting the scholarship are decided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Every year, the Embassy informs the Cypriot Authorities of the number of available scholarships. These are then publicized on the Official Journal of the Republic of Cyprus. Usually, preference is given to scholarships to be used in post-doc studies. The scholarships are assigned by a Joint Committee with the participation of representatives of the Embassy and of the competent Cypriot Authorities.
The 20 months scholarships for the academic year 2009/2010 were assigned by the Joint Committee to the following students:
- Doria NICOLAU (8 months, renewal)
- Georgios PSALTIS (6 months)
- Costantino ZENONOS (6 months)
- Tereza KOURRA (reserve)
The monthly grant of the scholarship is 619,75 euro.