Friday, February 27th will remain a milestone in the history of the ICBIE. On that day, Pina Madonna officially deposited all the proper documents and ICBIE Europa became an official Italian NGO (ONLUS: organizzazioni non lucrative di utilità sociale, or, literally, non-profit organizations of social utility). This is the realization of a long-awaited goal, one that extended over several years, full of false starts and thwarted hopes, but with the opening of the Rome office last fall, we finally had all our cards in order.
The new organization will be an independent entity, with its own activities and budget, but of course its main priority will always be to promote, support and divulge the work of the ICBIE in Salvador. With its official seat in Rome, ICBIE Europa now qualifies for government grants from the City of Rome, the Province of Rome, the Lazio Region, the Italian State and the European Union, as well as from private corporations and foundations. It also means that our friends and supporters in Italy can assign us the “cinque per mille” (half a percent) on their Italian income taxes.
The founding members of ICBIE Europa comprise an impressive collection of longtime supporters: Monica Bernardi, Marcella Sgura, Pina Madonna, Loona Tirabassi, Adriano Bonforti, Paolo Mauriello, Marco Raganella and David Angelelli, with Roy Zimmerman as president.
The mission will be similar to the ICBIE’s; we plan to offer language courses (Italian for foreign immigrants and Portuguese for Italians who wish to visit Brazil), cultural activities and tours. The organization will also assist in cultural exchange between Brazil and Europe, facilitating greater understanding while solliciting European support for the ICBIE in Salvador.
Lastly, ICBIE Europa, with its official NGO status, can assist the efforts of our other wonderful supporters in other European countries, coordinating and focusing the great work going on in Limburg and Barcellona, Paris and Amsterdam, and elsewhere.
ICBIE Europa
Lungotevere degli Artigiani, 28
00153 Roma
Tel/Fax. +39 06 89010848
E-mail: icbie.it@gmail.com,
1 marzo 2009, 21:57
Congratulations, ICBIE Europa!