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the long‐term effects of the earthquake. This is scheduled to take place in L’Aquila at the end of
September 2010.
Exchanges to the United States: Six local government and University of L’Aquila leaders traveled to the
United States in September 2009 under a State Department exchange program (IVLP) to visit academic
and non‐academic institutions experienced in disaster recovery and university development. Another
State Department‐sponsored exchange program brought University of L’Aquila department heads to San
Francisco and New Orleans to examine how American universities have coped with rebuilding after a
natural disaster, and their links with the private sector and local governments. The meetings with U.S.
academic interlocutors have laid the groundwork for future independent exchange agreements between
the University of L’Aquila and the U.S. universities. In April 2010, a special initiative on volunteerism
brought a volunteer from the Volunteer Support Center of the province of L’Aquila to the United States
to participate in a multi‐regional International Visitor Leadership Program.
Exchange to Italy: The U.S.‐Italy Fulbright Program is supporting a Fulbright Specialist at the University of
L’Aquila. The specialist ‐‐ who holds an MBA and has expertise in aiding disaster impacted businesses ‐‐
is assisting the University in building capacity so that it can be a stimulus for restoration of economic
development in the area. The specialist, who is currently the Executive Director of the Louisiana
Business and Technology Center, will present lectures, consult, and perform a needs assessment with
the goal of assisting the University to: 1) plan for the establishment of a sustainable business incubator,
2) develop strategies for recovery of disaster impacted businesses, and 3) promote new business
startup. The specialist will also consult with the local governments because of their leading role in the
reconstruction and in fostering economic development. He will be in L’Aquila a total of 42 days,
departing mid‐June 2010.
English Language Teaching & Learning: A State Department grant to TESOL‐Italy (Teachers of English to
Speakers of Other Languages) was given for a pilot project in Abruzzo targeted at schools serving
displaced students from L’Aquila. This project included the acquisition and distribution of Italian text
books of English for the primary, secondary and university levels, and supported seminars, talks, and e‐
tutoring with educators in Abruzzo in order to make effective use of TESOL materials. The members of
TESOL are volunteering their time to support the educators in Abruzzo. In November 2009, a group of 22
secondary school teachers of English from L’Aquila and surrounding areas attended the annual TESOL
conference in Rome on Multiplying Voices. TESOL distributed English teaching materials that included a
book by keynote speaker Dr. Janet Zadina, who returned to Italy a few months later to work more
closely with the teachers from Abruzzo.
Preserving Archives: The State Department brought an expert archivist from the United States to
perform an in‐depth assessment of information resources in L’Aquila and to evaluate the needs of
various libraries in L’Aquila, including digitalization of records. As a follow‐on, the State Department also
funded a University of L’Aquila archivist/librarian’s participation in a regional conference on the
digitalization of cultural heritage.
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