In the afternoon of December 10, 2019, the Sino-Italian intercultural communication workshop was held in the conference hall on the 5th floor of the library. More than 60 teachers and students participated in this workshop, including the exchange students of Rome University of the Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Department of BFSU, and students of the Italian Department of BFSU.

The workshop was co-chaired by Professor Wen Zheng, head of the Italian Department of BFSU, and Federico Castigliano, an Italian expert from the Second Foreign Languages Institute. This workshop focused on the issue of cultural identity, especially the key word “stereotype”.

Federico Castigliano first introduced his understanding of Italian cultural identity. He said that when he answered "I am Italian" to foreigners, the other side would often have some prior judgment on him, that is, there would be a preconceived "stereotype" of Italians. Stereotype exists not only in different countries, different nationalities, but also in different regions of a country. So Federico Castigliano thought the best way was to laugh them off and ignore them. In fact, cultural identity involves many factors, such as places of interest, laws, customs, religions, etc. At the same time, the language, literature and art of a country are key elements in creating a nation's identity. According to Federico Castigliano, “it is precisely because of art, music and literature that Italy is more famous throughout Europe.”

Students and teachers from both sides discussed warmly about their understandings about China and Italy using the second language they have learned. All expressed their interest to this workshop for it not only improved the mutual understanding but also provided as an opportunity to make new friends. Both sides extended their willingness for further exchanges and communications.