Lingua Madre was confirmed again this year as a major point of reference. The results of the collaboration between Regione Piemonte and the International Book Fair, putting at the centre the linguistic-cultural exchanges between peoples, developed by writers who live abroad. Italians outside the “boot”, or foreign writers born or who arrived in countries different to that of origin. A universe able to create positive cultural exchanges. The cycle of talks of Lingua Madre, hosted in an open-air theatre at the Oval pavilion, concentrated this year on the relationship between Italian and dialect languages, to underline the interdependence cultures in the united Italy. Foreign writers and three musical-literary events were also highlights.

Among the most popular meetings was the debate between the professors Gianluigi Beccaria and Franco Brevini. The room was packed for the meeting between Marcello Fois and Michela Murgia entitled The Many Italies. Sardinia and for the debate between Melania Mazzucco and Antonio Pennacchi, who talked about Lazio. Other meetings on the theme saw the debate on Liguria, enlivened by Giorgio Ficara and Maurizio Maggiani; the discussion on Trieste, held by Giampiero Mughini and Giorgio Pressburger; and the debate on Veneto and Trentino organised by Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti and Ferdinando Camon.

Among the foreign guests the Iranian Marina Nemat stands out, telling her stories as a dissident exile abroad; the debate with the Italo-American writer Salvatore Scibona was also interesting and closely followed, making the effort for the occasion to speak in Italian. Lingua Madre this year also organised three music events, a mini festival on the 150 years of Italy, organised by the Folk Club. Great success for Tony Cercola, a folk musician from Campania, for the musical-choral ensemble Banda Improvvisa, a Tuscan group, which performed the historical Garibaldian repertoire, finding popularity even amongst the young, and for the Piedmontese group Tendachent.

This year, the mother tongue stand also celebrated the sixth edition of the National Lingua Madre Literary Competition, dedicated to foreign women who live in Italy and to Italian women who tell stories of immigration and integration. It is led by its inventor Daniela Finocchi and the editorial director Ernesto Ferrero, with the collaboration of Anna Maria Grieco, Giuliano Vergnasco, Maria Chiara Piegari, Giulia Sarcineda and Davide Valfré. The first prize was won by Guergana Radeva, a Bulgarian, with the tale Sconfini; second place went to Irene Barbero Beerwald, a German, with the tale Strano, estraneo, straniero; and third place was taken by the very young Generda Brace (11 years old), Albanian, with the tale Mamme. Daniela Finocchi also specified that all the stories selected will be collected and published in a book.

There were also special prizes. This year, thanks to the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, a photography competition was run for the first time, again on the themes of integration and discussion, won by the Ecuadorean Rosa Elvira Celorio Campana.

Other special recognitions went to the Italian Camilla Urso (Italian Women’s Special Section prize); to the Madagascan Jacqueline Tema (Rotary Club Torino Mole Antonelliana special prize); to the Ukrainian Tetyana Gordiyenko (Slow Food Terra Madre special prize); the Russian Alexandra Petrova (Torino Film Festival special prize). The special prize of the popular jury went to the Italo-Vietnamese Elisa Muscarello.