Queensland, a land of great opportunity. A place blessed with splendid sunshine, Queensland, a state of immense social diversity. Since the arrival of Italian migrants over 150 years ago, this ever growing community has been the centrepiece and focal point of multicultural Queensland. It is proven that as Queensland grew and progressed through time and Italian migration increased, Italians soon became one of the largest ethnic, non anglo-saxon communities in the state. At present, there are over 100,000 people of Italian origin currently residing in Queensland. From the latter, approximately 27,000 people speak Italian. These statistics are a clear indication of the sacrifices Italians made to integrate into the Australian way of life without forgetting their country of origin, Italy but more importantly, Italians never forgot their primary objective of establishing a family and creating a brighter future in Australia.
Today Italians are an integral part of Queensland life and once again this year we are proud to cultivate these multicultural seeds planted by Italians of past generations through celebration.
Italian Week, now in its fourth edition, is the official celebration of the “Festa della Repubblica” – Italian National Day. Our passionate lifestyle and that we bring the unique experience of literature, art, cuisine, sport, fashion, music and performing arts, education and language. It is an opportunity for Queensland to be a part of the colour, the magic, the sounds and rhythms of this great culture which will come alive from 22 May to 2 June 2010 in locations all around Queensland.
Therefore, it is my pleasure to extend to Queensland a warm benvenuto to Italian Week 2010.
Francesco Capecchi
Consul of Italy
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