The Italian Ministry of Communication and RAI, the state-owned Italian Radio and Telecommunication agency, has announced, in observance of a new law (Legge 482-99.articolo12) regarding the defense of minority languages within the Italian borders, that it will allocate funds for the creation and broadcast of cultural and linguistic programs in Italian minority languages. The funds go toward historical, cultural and language classes, forums, and folklore-themed broadcasts. This law is being hailed as of enormous importance for Italian minority groups, who recently have been very active in the rediscovery and vindication of their ethnic roots, but have been hampered by a lack of funds. Minority linguistic groups cross the Italian borders both along the Alps and across the Mediterranean Sea, from the Occitans in the north to the Albanian and Griko speakers in the south. For more information contact Lucia Clark at lucia@cs.org.
