The 25th edition of the Week of the Italian Language in the World (SLIM) has begun in Serbia, an initiative held under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic.
The program, organized by the Embassy of Italy in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade and other institutions that promote the Italian language in the country (the Dante Alighieri Society Committee of Vranje, the Piazza Italia Cultural Center of Subotica, the Third Grammar School in Belgrade, the Philological High School in Belgrade and the Philological High School of Sremski Karlovci, as well as the Departments of Italian Studies and Music of the University of Belgrade), offers an abundant event program. 
The Italian language will take center stage through initiatives focusing on literature, education, theater, music, art, and cinema. The week opened with the inauguration of the exhibition “The Cosmopolitan Modernity of Italian Advertising: Dudovich and Metlicovitz” at the Serbian National Library. This year, Serbian libraries will play an important role in promoting the Italian language, with dedicated “Italian Book Spaces” set up in the city libraries of Belgrade, Subotica, Novi Sad, Sombor, Zrenjanin, Vranje, and Kladovo.
As is tradition, the Residence of the Italian Ambassador to Serbia, Luca Gori, will host the Italian Language Gala – a special event with “The Art of the Body”, a performance by Luca Filippo Vullo (Ambassador of Italian Gestures in the World), a theatrical show by students of Italian studies, and a performance by the winner of the singing contest “In…canto italiano”, organized by the Vranje Committee of the Dante Alighieri Society.
For children, on October 17, a playful workshop dedicated to the children’s book character Geronimo Stilton will take place at the Italian Cultural Institute. The creator of Geronimo Stilton, Elisabetta Dami, will also be a guest at the Belgrade Book Fair, where on October 26 she will meet young readers for a journey into the world of the famous mouse journalist.
As part of the program “Italian and Music”, the pianist Giuseppina Torre will perform her concert titled “A Piano to Rebirth” on October 16 at the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade. Another highlight will be the show “Così fan tutti” staged by students and teachers from the Philological High School from Belgrade, the Third Grammar School from Belgrade, the Philological High School from Sremski Karlovci, and the Departments of Italian Studies and Music of the University of Belgrade (October 22, at the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade).
One day of the Language Week is dedicated to education, with the Italian Glottodidactics in Serbia: Current Situation and Prospects initiative, a training event for teachers of Italian (October 14, at the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade), featuring professors from the University of Urbino, the University for Foreigners of Perugia, and the University of Padua.
Related to the dissemination of the Italian language in museums, the translation of the catalogue for the new permanent exhibition of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade will be presented on October 18. 
The 25th Week of the Italian Language in the World in Serbia will continue with Italy’s participation in the Belgrade International Book Fair (October 25 – November 2), featuring writers Elisabetta Dami, Nadia Terranova, Vito Catalano, Anna Juričić, and Federica Manzon (winner of the 2024 Campiello Prize for her novel Alma). Also to be presented will be “Italian in Music: Selection of Opera and Chamber Pieces, Analysis and Understanding” by Milica Đelić and Jelena Gavrović, as well as the graphic novel “Tesla – The Lord of Lightning – The Origins” by Živorad Mišić.