History

From conversations in Room 1.23 of Palazzo Santa Maria Porta Coeli, held with colleagues across multiple universities, emerged an interuniversity Centre, with its administrative seat at the University of Naples L’Orientale, whose charter, approved by partner senates in 2013-2014 and finalised on 12 November 2015, set out a common programme of research, training and public engagement on discourse, identity and diversity. Prof. Giuseppe Balirano was elected the first Director of the I-LanD Research Centre and, with Prof. Maria Cristina Nisco, steered the network of ten universities (University of Naples L’Orientale; University of Naples Federico II; University of Salerno; Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples; University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”; University of Sannio; University of Molise; University of Sassari; University of Catania; and University of Cagliari) towards research projects, international seminars, and what would soon become the Centre’s flagship event: the Languaging Diversity series of international conferences, launched in 2013 and now itinerant in Italy and abroad, showcasing the investigations carried out by I-LanD members.

As the Centre consolidated its mission, its university network widened. The University of Basilicata, University of Naples “Parthenope” and University of Calabria joined, extending both the geography and the disciplinary reach while preserving the Centre’s founding aims. In 2016, I-LanD opened a collaboration channel with the Netherlands-based Stichting Group for European Development (GEDION) to support internships and research placements addressing the challenges of Europe’s shrinking villages. This stream of activity later fed into the Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliance KiNESIS, a three-year programme featuring webinars, fieldwork and internships on depopulation and rural revitalisation across Europe. Alongside the Languaging Diversity conference series, the Centre built year-round platforms for discussion, such as the I-LanD Seminar Series, a rolling programme of specialist talks with leading experts, and a growing publications ecosystem, represented by the I-LanD Journal, now a top-rated journal in the field of discourse studies.

Today, the I-LanD Research Centre, directed by Prof. Anna Mongibello (University of Naples L’Orientale), is an independent, interuniversity hub with an active community that counts more than 250 members across Italy and abroad. The social commitment of the Centre is also demonstrated by the institution of the Monitoring Centre on Hate Speech Online, which investigates the linguistics and semiotics of online hate and cyber-bullying, and the participation in the national project Idee Cinematografiche Differenti, providing workshops that explore diversity, equality and non-discrimination in the media, an example of how the Centre’s remit bridges research and creative practice.

Around the pillars of ever-growing collaboration and inter-institutional knowledge exchange, the I-LanD Research Centre sponsors and supports a wide range of events, from international conferences and roundtables to book launches, training sessions and visiting-scholar programmes, often in partnership with universities and cultural organisations across the network. The activities archive and the partners’ listings on the I-LanD website trace this evolving ecosystem of collaborations and sponsorships, showing how the Centre’s original vision has matured into a living conversation that bridges, animates, and continually renews the ties between research and society.