U.S. Department of State's Partnership with the National Italian American Foundation Assists the University of L'Aquila in its Earthquake Recovery


Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC May 17, 2010


The U.S. Department of State joined forces with the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in a public- private partnership to bring a generous American response to the people of Abruzzo, Italy, in the aftermath of the devastating April 6, 2009 earthquake. The focus of this partnership has been to direct aid to the University of L’Aquila and restore its role as an important academic, social, and economic engine for the Abruzzo region. In the year since the earthquake, this partnership has generated a number of projects that have helped restore the University of L’Aquila:


Adopt-a-Scholar: NIAF worked with several U.S. universities to provide scholarships for the students of the University of L’Aquila who were displaced by the earthquake’s damage. NIAF formed partnerships with the University of Miami, Sierra Nevada College, the College of Staten Island, and the University of New Mexico, among others, to offer full tuition and room and board scholarships for the students of the University of L’Aquila to have the opportunity to study at one of these American universities. More than 100 students applied. Over the past year, 52 students from the University of L’Aquila have benefited from the scholarships (23 for the full academic year; and 29 for the Fall 2009 or Spring 2010 semester). The scholarship packages’ total value was over $1.5 million. The program will continue as additional University of L’Aquila students will benefit from scholarships in Fall 2010.


Building an Earthquake-Resistant Modular Multipurpose Center: NIAF together with the State Department and the University of L’Aquila have assessed the university's building needs and have determined that a permanent construction of a modular dormitory will be built in the coming months for the value of $250,000. NIAF and the University of L’Aquila have signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding this project.


University of L’Aquila / Capacity-Building in the Mental Health Field: A State Department grant was given to the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT), which hosted a four-day workshop for a team of five mental health professionals including the head of the Psychology Department of the University of L’Aquila’s School of Medicine, and the Director of Family Medicine (Federazione Italiana Medici – Medicina Generale Abruzzo). An additional State Department grant will support the Harvard Program with the training of all mental health practitioners in the Abruzzo region in order to diagnose and treat the long-term effects of the earthquake. This is scheduled to take place in L’Aquila at the end of September 2010.


Exchanges to the United States: Six local government and University of L’Aquila leaders traveled to the United States in September 2009 under a State Department exchange program (IVLP) to visit academic and non-academic institutions experienced in disaster recovery and university development. Another State Department-sponsored exchange program brought University of L’Aquila department heads to San Francisco and New Orleans to examine how American universities have coped with rebuilding after a natural disaster, and their links with the private sector and local governments. The meetings with U.S. academic interlocutors


Page 107 of 155


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153