The Società Dante Alighieri, the official learning centre for the promotion of the Italian language and culture, has attended COM-PA, the European Exhibition for Public Communication and services to the Citizen and the Business Community, in Bologna, Italy.

Among other activities, the Dante Alighieri Society launched its new head office website and organised a seminar entitled The values of the past and the literary icons to build the future identity.

The conference was addressed by SDA vice president and chief media counsellor to the Italian President Paolo Peluffo.

The SDA has over 500 autonomous centres, 400 of which are overseas, catering for over 100,000 students through more than 3,000 language and culture courses.

In Malta the SDA – Learning Centre, a non profit set up, is currently running a number of courses for students and adults together with a special package for the hospitality industry, covering basic language competence and tourism-related issues.

Enrolment, tuition, translations and business support services are available all year round. The SDA also specialises in Italo-Maltese commercial relations and offers services to foster and sustain communication requirements between the two sides.

Through its secretary-general and institute director Martin Micallef, the SDA is an active member of Integra and Integra Plus, a team of experts trained directly by Mondimpresa on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These officials form part of a network of focal points from all over eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries, where SMEs can find the assistance they require to develop business contacts.

More information is available on the website www.dantemalta.org or by phoning tel: 2123-8408.