On Friday, May 21, teachers, parents, and Liceo students participated in the webinar “Globalization: some perspectives and challenges” with La Scuola d’Italia’s global education expert, Professor Giuseppe Ammendola.
“It is not easy to introduce a person of such great culture, education, and language; a person who has dedicated his life to studying and researching the world,” said Dr. Francesca Verga, a La Scuola alumna, before giving the floor to Professor Ammendola.
Professor Ammendola is the inaugural Joseph Schumpeter visiting professor at the Universidade Autonoma of Lisbon. He currently teaches at New York University and has also taught at Columbia University and the City University of New York. He has lectured at various Italian universities and professional development centers in the United States and Italy. He holds doctoral degrees from Italy and the United States, where he arrived with a Fulbright scholarship. For over three decades, he has been teaching and writing about international finance, commerce, marketing, and politics. In addition to being the author of several works such as From Creditor to Debtor: the US Pursuit of Foreign Capital; the country analysis “Italy” in Western European Politics and Government; The European Union: Multidisciplinary Views; and Brexit, The European Union, and Globalization: Political and Economic Perspectives, Professor Ammendola has been a speaker, organizer, and panelist in hundreds of lectures, roundtables, and TV programs in the United States and abroad.
“Discussing globalization requires a continuous opening and closing parentheses,” he explained during a lesson full of historical references and reflections on the present and future challenges. The event prompted many questions and comments, particularly on the tensions between China and the United States and the link between nationalism and globalization. Dr. Maria Palandra, Head of School, asked Professor Ammendola to describe the benefits of completing a bilingual school curriculum, as is the case for all the students of La Scuola d’Italia.
“The advantages of knowing another language are unequivocal,” said Professor Ammendola, who is himself fluent in Italian, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. “Among the major ones: understanding and identifying with other mentalities; considerably strengthening reading and analysis skills even in one’s native language, and marketing oneself much better in the job market and a globally competitive world.”
