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A VAST RANGE OF EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY AT THE TEATRO DEL MARE AND FORUM UCINA: FROM WWF TO PORTS BEING AWARDED “STELLE BLU DEL MEDITERRANEO”, TO SPIRITO DI STELLA AND THE WILLIAMS TOUR
The second day of the 58th Genoa International Boat Show took off with a strong message from WWF who presented their “ottalogo” with eco-advice for sailing and safeguarding the seas at the same time. During the Summer campaign, WWF Plastic-Free Beaches Tour – as emphasised by Donatella Bianchi, WWF Italia President and presenter of the RAI programme Linea Blu – over 1000 volunteers cleaned over 20km of coastline and gathered more than 700 sacks of mostly single-use plastic. This brings us to the number one rule of the 8-rule “ottalogo”: no single-use plates, cups, cutlery or useless packaging onboard, when you could be using recyclable containers.
In the afternoon, the Teatro del Mare (Sea Theatre) hosted three events in a row, tied together by the same thread of environmental and social awareness.
With the “Le Stelle Blu del Mediterraneo” (literally the Mediterranean’s Blue Stars), the most virtuous Italian ports in terms of environmental sustainability, recycling and energy saving, a theme the Genoa International Boat Show takes very seriously.
The winners, who achieved two Stars are: Villasimius Port (already a winner in the previous edition), Ancona Port, the Marinas of Loano, Ravenna and Portisco.
After the “Stelle Blu del Mediterraneo” award ceremony, the Sea Theatre hosted the presentation of the “WOW-Spirito di Stella. AIRC women sailing” project, which saw on stage, alongside the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) President Alessandro Mei, skipper Andrea Stella, who has been committed for more than a decade now to initiatives aimed at making sailing possible for those suffering from disabilities, with the famous sailor Mauro Pelaschier.
“I have been coming to the Genoa International Boat Show for many years now, this time I am here to present a book entitled “WOW, sfida sull’oceano” (WOW, an ocean challenge), a story about a long journey we made last year from Miami to Venice. The objective, which we happily achieved, was to take the UN Convention we had received from the Secretary-General Antonio Gutierrez to Rome, to Pope Francis, after crossing the ocean. A 21-stop voyage, where a great number of enthusiasts, some disabled, some military, took turns onboard, to prove that where there are no barriers – like on the Spirito di Stella catamaran I built with engineer Enrico Contreas – people can move freely”.
The day’s activities ended with the presentation of the “Williams tour” project, promoted by the Williams Syndrome Parents Association, which one year earlier, here at the Genoa Boat Show, had launched this initiative along with Patrizio Roversi and Susy Blady. “Yes, last year we were here to talk about something we were planning on doing, now we are here to tell you its story”, explained Andrea Romiti, President of the Williams Syndrome Parents Association. “Our project – Living the Sea – allowed boys and girls suffering from Williams Syndrome to take part in activities relating to sailing within an organised group. We travelled across Italy and made numerous stops. At each stop we spoke about the Syndrome, bringing to the table doctors, scientific researchers, charitable organisations and boys and girls with Williams. For our children it was a magnificent experience and most importantly very educational because we demonstrated how the sea and sailing are a truly exceptional form of therapy”.
The highly-anticipated “Coffee with the President” event, which will take place again tomorrow in the Press Office on the Mezzanine of Pavilion B, saw President Carla Demaria answer at length a number of questions from Italian and international journalists, who took part in the meeting.
