As many of my followers know, both my husband and I are Italian, and so are our kids: we have been living abroad for more than 11 years in search of a different way of living and more work possibilities. We first landed in Denmark, were our son was born, and in 2016 we came to Lisbon and we decided to move here.
I really liked and still like to immerse myself in the international and local community, and I believe that’s a very important part of why I live abroad still now: but when my son started talking (in Italian), I instantly felt the urge to reconnect with our roots and with the Italian community where I was living.
In the beginning, I started organizing a few Italian playgroups with the same model I was using for the weekly international playgroups in Jardim da Estrela, but suddenly after I was pregnant with our daughter, and then came the pandemic which forced me to stop basically any in-person activity for a while.
In the last few months, I have been connecting again with Italian friends and mothers that are looking to strengthen their children’s relationship with the Italian language and Italian culture, and therefore we have started organizing Italian playgroups and activities again.
We also put together a small group named Coletivo Pro Escola Italiana to promote the creation and organization of activities in Italian for kids aged 3 to 13: if you are interested in the concept you can join our Facebook group dedicated to the topic, we have been quiet for a while, and I am planning to revive.
The event Pomeriggio In Famiglia is an informal meeting where Italian families and Italian-speaking families member gather to chat, and play games while sharing a homemade snack (we also have packed snacks): the last few times the kids brought and exchanged books in Italian.
This weekend we have a new event coming
Here is the official flyer and invitation (in Italian)
Ciao a tutti!
Torna Pomeriggi in Famiglia, un momento di aggregazione per famiglie italiane.
Ci troveremo Domenica Pomeriggio 14 Maggio in occasione della festa della Mamma (FESTA ITALIANA)
Ci ritroveremo al Parque Infantíl del Parque Eduardo VII
MERENDA PICNIC
Ad ogni famiglia partecipante è richiesto di portare qualcosa da mangiare per condividere con le altre famiglie + eventualmente un succo (ma non obbligatorio).
GIOCHI
Ci sarà sicuramente almeno una palla da calcio, ma ognuno può portare qualcosa da fare, sia un gioco di società (tipo UNO) che una idea di un gioco da fare insieme.
SCAMBIO LIBRI ITALIANI in collaborazione con COLETIVO PRO ESCOLA ITALIANA
Faremo uno scambio di libri italiani per bambini: porta massimo 3 libri per bambini, una volta li potrai portare a casa un massimo di libri equivalenti a quelli che hai portato.
Quelli rimasti faranno parte della Biblioteca Condivisa del Coletivo.
Altre eventuali attività saranno annunciate a breve.
You can check the Facebook event if that’s easier for you.
As some of you know, this is not the only project I started within the Italian Community: in 2021 I have been elected to represent Italians living in Portugal in an Italian legally recognize entitity named COMITES (they exist all over the world) and I was therefore chosen for the role of President of this official organization that is connected with the Italian Embassy and Italian Ministery of Foreign Affair.
It’s a volunteer position and the aim is to help Italian people that live in Portugal settle and integrate better.
If you are Italian or read Italian or you are interested in the topic, this is the website of that organization, which I personally made.
Do you know similar experiences in Lisbon dedicated to other languages and cultures? Let me know in the post comments, maybe we should join forces to have more international activities in Lisbon.
