FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Danielle DeSimone
National Italian American Foundation
202-939-3122
ddesimone@niaf.org

(Washington, D.C. – June 13, 2018) The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is honored to accept an award from the Italian Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission on June 14, 2018 during the Fulbright Program in Italy’s 70th Anniversary celebration. The event will take place at the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rome, Italy.

The U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission presents this award to organizations or individuals who have contributed to enriching and enlarging the Fulbright Program in Italy, as well as those who have promoted Italian education in the United States.

“NIAF is honored to take part in the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission’s 70th Anniversary celebration in Rome, and we look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership together in promoting education opportunities in Italy and the United States,” said NIAF Co-Chair Gabriel A. Battista.

“The relationship between Italy and the United States is a special one; so too is the relationship between the Fulbright Program and the National Italian American Foundation,” said Patricia de Stacy Harrison, co-chair of NIAF. “We are honored to accept this award, and to be a part of Fulbright’s longstanding tradition of excellence in education and cultural exchange.”

Anita Bevacqua McBride, NIAF vice chair of cultural affairs and J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board member, and Paolo Catalfamo, NIAF Italia Board of Directors member, will be present at the celebration in Rome to accept the award on NIAF’s behalf. U.S. Ambassador to the Italian Republic the Honorable Lewis M. Eisenberg and Ambassador of Italy to the United States His Excellency Armando Varricchio will also be in attendance, in addition to Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Enzo Moavero Milanesi and Executive Director of the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission Paola Sartorio.

“On the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission, three private donors are being recognized. NIAF’s partnership with the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission has enriched and innovated the scholarship program,” said Educational Advisor of the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission Laura Cambriani.

NIAF collaborates with the Fulbright Program on the Fulbright-Fondazione Falcone-NIAF Scholarship in Criminology. Now in its fourth year, this scholarship program, formed in cooperation with the Fondazione Giovanni e Francesca Falcone and the Fulbright Program in Italy, provides funding for one American student and one Italian student to carry out research for six to nine months in criminology.

On this program, the American student studies and conducts research in Palermo, Sicily, and the Italian student conducts research at a prestigious university in the United States. This award aims to promote the exchange of the values of the rule of law and legality among young people and to combat the presence of the mafia culture in today’s society.

NIAF also supports the Fulbright Program through the Fulbright-NIAF-Georgetown Research Lectureship in Education, which aims to support an Italian grade school teacher or university lecturer with research interests in early childhood teaching methodologies and special needs. Grant recipients receive funding to teach and conduct research at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development for an academic semester.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and protecting the Italian American heritage and culture. To learn more about the Foundation and become a member, please visit www.niaf.org.

The Fulbright Program in Italy promotes study, research and teaching opportunities in Italy and the United States through a program of scholarships for Italian and U.S. citizens.