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In 1996, 2000 and 2004, the Association organized major events for the United States Presidential elections. The Association extended its activities beyond the usual Election Night event and scheduled a series of conferences designed to inform the public of key issues throughout the month of October leading up to the elections. In 2004, hosted by the Province of Florence, the first conference, “Political and Economic Implications of the U.S. Elections”, was a roundtable setting wherein international experts offered guests their opinions and evaluations. Other conferences were organized for Italian middle and high school students who were given the opportunity to learn about the American electoral process and related information. The school conferences, hosted by the International School of Florence and Syracuse University, included both Italian and American students.
Before each conference, students read a booklet, “The Book – Studying the U.S. Elections” prepared by the Association, with their teachers. A total of over 240 Tuscan and American students participated in the series of conferences.
The culmination of events was, obviously, “Election Night 2004”, an evening (which turned into a long night) of entertainment and continuous coverage of the first election returns via internet and satellite connections. On November 2nd, at the Maracana Club in via Faenza, the Association welcomed well over 800 guests, including many American college and university students.
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