South Africa: Exhibition planned for 60th Treaties of Rome

Cape Town - Italy will launch an itinerant exhibition in South Africa to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria announced today. The exhibition titled "Ever closer union - The Legacy of the Treaties of Rome for Today's Europe" will be presented by the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of Italy in Pretoria, the Consulate General in Johannesburg and the Consulate in Cape Town.

According to a statement by the Cultural Institute, the project, specifically created for this celebration, is based on archival documents and images from the Historical Archives of the European Union and the Diplomatic Historical Archives of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. "The exhibition is structured in four sections and 14 panels, composed of reproduced documents, pictures and educational captions in English. "After the introductory panel, the first section offers an historical overview, followed by an analysis of the role of the European Union in the field of social and democratic participation by its citizens, with particular reference to labour, education and training.

"The focus is then on the concept of an international European identity also in light of the enlargement process from six to 28 members, closing with a section dedicated to the future challenges facing the European Union," read the statement. The exhibition, edited in all the 24 official languages of the European Union, will first be opened at the Ministry in Rome on the anniversary of the Treaties of Rome on March 25, and will then be displayed in several countries worldwide through the Italian diplomatic missions.

The exhibition will be displayed in South Africa on: March 23 at the University of Pretoria within the panel "Reflections on sixty years of the European Union in Africa" organised by the UE Delegation;March 24-26 at the Dante Alighieri Society in Johannesburg. The programme includes a presentation by Dr Luigi Robuschi from South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand and a display for students and parents of schools teaching Italian;March 27-April 28 at the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg; May 9 in Pretoria on Europe Day; andJune 2 in Cape Town on Italian National Day and until June 16 at the Italian Club.