Is the Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels closing?

The Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels could close in a few months. There are rumors, whispers coming from Rome, that they want our institution cut out of the picture in a more general re-organization (that’s the word being used among respectable people) of the Institutes around the world, in conjunction with the expiration of the first term of the current Director. So the Institutes which, according to the criteria as defined by the Ministry, are less useful would be closed – let’s put it this way. Therefore, let’s imagine that Argentina, where there are several million citizens interested in Italy will remain open, while Belgium, in Brussels, where the people interested in Italy – between immigrants, expats, Italian natives and aficionados – are merely 10’s of thousands, will close. Let’s say maybe the logic is “consumer based.”

In this newspaper we have often argued with the current Director, Federiga Bindi, but here we report what (which happens often in a somewhat confused and imprecise manner) was posted on Facebook on ICI’s work.

We can’t judge if the numbers are true, whether they are too few or many. We will be disappointed though if this Institute closes: even if there are few of us, we are Italian just like the others and we would have liked to have seen a revival and not a closure. But obviously, if the rumors are true, numbers and programming are not up to an economic crisis which imposes cuts, even if painful.