Summer is over and ICBIE Europa held its first assembly after the holidays. More than a dozen people showed up for a three hour meeting and barbeque on Loona’s terrace, enjoying the brilliant sunshine and the panoramic view. Everyone had stories to tell and plans to lay out. We decided several important things. First of all, Roberto Martella, Paolo Mauriello, Monica Bernardi, Catherine Hutt, Roy Zimmerman, Filippo Bifano, Loona Tirabassi, Damiano Piras and Luigi Ferracci unanimously voted to offer financial support for Loona’s pending visit to Salvador, where for three months she will help Pietro, Marlene and Marcella, concentrating on writing up grant requests and project proposals, as well as assisting in the institute’s day to day activities. Regarding our work here in Rome, we also discussed ways to improve our Portuguese and Italian for Foreigners courses (the latter has witnessed an encouraging spike in both prospective students and volunteer instructors). Plenty of attention was given to plans for a fundraising event to be held in Rome within the next couple months, as part of our resolution to offer greater and more continuous financial support for the ICBIE in Salvador.
Toward the end of our meeting, Diego from Hakuna Matata stopped by, proposing several intriguing ideas about how we can create synergies with other associations that are working for Brazil.
Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get together and make plans for a bigger and better association.
