Seventy-eight members of the Italian American association world will gather in New York on June 7 for the annual assembly of COPOMIAO – Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations – which this year will take place among the most authentic streets and symbols of Little Italy. It is not just a meeting: it is a time for taking stock, comparing notes and, above all, making operational decisions about the present and future of the Italian community in the United States.
COPOMIAO is now the collective voice of more than 70 organizations that have been defending, promoting and telling the story of Italian identity in America for decades. It is a table where family stories, civil battles, cultural and political projects intersect. Each assembly is a way to strengthen community unity, bring order to scattered energies, and to take a stand on concrete issues.
Among the highlights of this year’s meeting: an update on the project for a National Italian American Museum in Washington, D.C., presented by Congressmen Mike Rulli and Tom Suozzi, and a focus on the new restrictions introduced by Italy on obtaining citizenship, an issue that affects thousands of Italian families abroad. The Consul General in New York, Fabrizio Di Michele, will be the speaker.
The program will also include a talk by attorney George Bochetto on the legal status of the Columbus statues, an issue that continues to divide American public opinion and directly involve Italian American associations. The successes shared with the Native American Guardian Association and new initiatives designed to enhance Italian American women and the younger generation will also be discussed.
An award-winning short film from the Russian Brothers Italian American Filmmakers Forum will also be screened during the day; educational projects such as “Discovering America,” aimed at Italian students in Rome, will be presented; and five new associations within COPOMIAO will be welcomed.
Alongside the institutional work, there will also be more informal moments, such as dinner at Da Nico, breakfast at Café Palermo, a tour of the emporium, and a guided tour of the Italian American Museum led by its founder Joseph Scelsa. Not to make “community” – that already exists – but to look at each other’s faces, listen to different ideas, shake real hands. To be together.
This is precisely what the appointment is for: to keep the discussion alive among those who work every day to promote and strengthen the Italian presence in the United States.
The article COPOMIAO: Italian American community gathers for annual meeting June 7 in New York comes from TheNewyorker.