Italian Days

Every year in Italy there are about 19,000 North American students who undertake a study abroad experience in the country. The cities of Rome and Florence welcome 80% of these students, thanks to the attractiveness of the historical, cultural and artistic heritage of the city. Over the years we have witnessed a transformation of study abroad from an opportunity reserved for a cultural elite to a phenomenon, if not mass, at least of wide diffusion. While many of the original motivations underlying the birth of the first North American study abroad programs remain valid, it is equally true that today these programs also respond to needs that are not strictly academic and intellectual, including aspects of fun and entertainment, which, in a certain measure, bring the phenomenon of study abroad closer to leisure tourism, where the tourist is primarily a “customer” and a “consumer”. The economic impact that this phenomenon generates is in fact significant, only in Tuscany it engenders 150 million euros per year, plus the creation of 3,000 jobs. The added value that is created mainly affects education, real estate, trade, hospitality, catering and transport sectors. The North American model of study abraod, based on the relocation in the host country of organized structures, is clearly more complex and with a different socio-economic impact than the international mobility of students who then rely on foreign universities, as happens, for example, in Europe with the Erasmus program. By conception and organization, the North American programs reveal an attention to the student that goes far beyond the strictly didactic aspects, as they take care of their “all-round” experience, including the organization of extracurricular activities and the management of their stay in the country. While this model positively affects the economic impact generated in the cities, on the other it limits the integration process of students in the territory and leads to the creation of environments and situations developed ad hoc for them, rather than to a real integration. in the cultural context of the city.