La Tavola Valdese (Waldensian Executive Board) is a regulatory body which represents the Methodist and Waldensian churches before the Italian State and is qualified as a cultural, educational and charitable body. This signifies that education, study and cultural developement have an important place in the life of Protestant churches.
Scholastic education, which was carried out by our institutions in the past, has been greatly reduced since the State took over public education as a primary duty, while our commitment in the field of cultural formation has increased considerably.
Two instruments created in the nineteenth century and still used today are the Faculty of Theology and the Claudiana Publishing House.  The Faculty teaches theological subjects at university level. One of its aims is the training of pastors who will carry out their ministry in the Protestant churches.
La Claudiana Editice (publishing house), situated in Turin and which has bookshops in Turin, Milan, Florence, Rome and Torre Pellice, publishes Protestant literature and other works on history and on topical issues concerning faith.

There is also a Waldensian Cultural Centre, which was founded in 1989 and which is responsible for the Waldensian museums, the library and historical archives as well as for organizing courses, meetings and conferences.
A network of cultural conferences, debates etc., recently set up, links the cultural centres of the most important Italian cities.
An important part of Waldensian cultural activities are linked to those of the other member churches of the Italian Federation of Protestant churches (FCEI) by means of a press agency: NEV (Evangelical News); a weekly, Riforma; a Division of Education and Training, SIE, which publishes a periodical of educational methods and biblical material for children, a Radio service and a TV feature programme called Protestantesimo.