Italy

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - Rome) In a ceremony held at the Montecitorio Palace in Rome, seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, on Wednesday, received the Marisa Bellisario Golden Apple International Award in recognition of her humanitarian work, dedication to peace and lasting commitment to the rights of women and children around the world.

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - Rome) Following its successful UK launch in August, and commitments made by several global leaders earlier this month, the 1Goal campaign, an international initiative coordinated by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) in partnership with FIFA, was launched in Italy, on Wednesday, by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, co-founder and global co-chair of the initiative.

(Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah-Press Department) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, on Saturday, was granted the Honorary Citizenship of Milan Award, in recognition for her work and social contributions on the international front.

President Fini, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, grazie mille.

More than a century ago a travel writer lamented, “There is no looking at a building after seeing Italy!” Joining you here in this beautiful palace, I have to agree.

But it’s not just Italy’s architecture I love. This is a country where history lives and breathes, alongside cutting-edge innovation… and the only match for the landscape’s beauty is the warmth of Italians themselves.

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department- Italy) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan today attended the 60th Anniversary of the San Remo Music Festival in Italy to rally support for the 1GOAL global education campaign which seeks to get 72 million out-of-school children back into the classroom in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department – Rome) - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, a board member of the GAVI Fund, joined finance ministers and other officials in launching the new Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) for Vaccines program, a groundbreaking initiative to save the lives of millions of children in the world's poorest countries by providing an estimated $1.5 billion to fund vaccine development.

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department – Rome) - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan received an award from the Fondazione Mediterraneo (Mediterranean Foundation) in Italy for her commitment to the advancement of social causes and sustainable development.

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department – Milan) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, an honorary citizen of Milan, visited the historical city, where she and Princess Wijdan, Jordan's Ambassador to Italy, and Mayor Letizia Moratti took part in a class on cultural awareness at Dell’Infanzia School.

(IOF, By Paul Spencer Sochaczewski - ROME) Jordan's Queen Rania was awarded a prestigious Life Achievement Award in recognition of her "international patronage of the IOF and for her voluntary work for the international cause of osteoporosis."

Queen Rania is patron of IOF-International Osteoporosis Foundation. "We are very proud that our patron is given this award," notes Professor Pierre D. Delmas, president of the IOF.

(Royal Hashemite Court, Communication & Information Division - Amman) Her Majesty Queen Rania delivered an invitation from His Majesty King Abdullah to Pope Benedict XVI to visit Jordan.  During the meeting, the Queen stressed the King's appreciation of the Pope's efforts to enhance cooperation and understanding between followers of different religions and spread values of love and peace in the world.  Queen Rania pointed out that Jordan, under the leadership of King Abdullah, is keen to enhance cooperation with the Pope and the Vatican and supports efforts to bring about permanent, com