About Us
The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, which spearheaded this project, is dedicated to strengthening the spiritual, social, and cultural ties between its constituent members nationwide in order to assist them in maintaining and strengthening initiatives that enhance the image of Italian America, that foster Italian American contributions to the social, scientific, and cultural well-being of our community, and that advance the spirit of the Italian civilization in America.
The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, based in New York City, is a coalition of the presidents from the 50 largest Italian American groups, and on Saturday, February 20 we’ll make history when we hold the first-ever National Italian American Summit Meeting. At this unprecedented meeting our discussion will address three vital and deeply significant topics:
A Fragmented Italian America
Other groups have been much more effective at promoting their agendas throughout our country because they are better organized than we have been. It is time for Italian Americans to establish a sense of national unity among our people and our organizations so that we can speak with a louder and more influential voice in our efforts to preserve our heritage, values and customs.
Connecting to Younger Generations
Our biggest similarity is our biggest weakness: we’re losing touch with our younger generations. Our inability to effectively use social media has detached us from the very people we need in order to endure. We must initiate programs that allow us to reconnect with our younger generations.
The Fight for Columbus
We watched in awe in 2020 as lawless protestors destroyed Columbus statues, and cities and states changed the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Legislation has now been introduced in Congress to abolish Columbus Day as a Federal holiday. We need to find ways to work together to save Columbus Day and protect our heritage from this onslaught of anti-Italian American bias.
Whether your group strives to uphold our heritage, celebrate our customs, perpetuate our language, educate our youth, provide for those in need, or fight discrimination, the more connected we are to one another, the greater our likelihood of success. We are stronger together, and together we are Italian America.
If your organization would like to participate, click here to join our mailing list.