Dott Antonio Amalfitano, Past President of the Rotary Club Civitavecchia, in the name of the International Fellowship of the Rotarians is awarding the Commanding Officer and the Navy crew of Nave Italia with the Paul Harris Fellow medal recognition to a form of an "award for exceptional service".

Liza and Anna give the Crest of their Russian local Rotary Clubs to the IYFR. The members of the IYFR were very helpful for the selection of the applications to the YPG8.

The teens are eager to catch up on all the news they've missed while at sea.

It's the last day and everyone is hurrying to finish all the work, cleanup and discussions so that we can have a good-bye party tonight. We finish the final document (posted on the blog entry below,) clean the ship, pack and amidst it all there is a sadness that tomorrow we will all go our separate ways. The teens realize what a unique experience this has been, and now we all feel like family. We order pizzas from a local pizzaria and eat dinner out on the midship deck enjoying the final sunset of this amazing YPG8 journey. After dinner there is a ceremony, with gifts and awards given to all the teens - on behalf of the Italian Navy, and Tender To Nave Italia. As they individually receive their awards, they give their signature to the final document. Now its time to P~A~R~T~Y!

After the award ceremony, the crew and educators hosted a dance for the group on the mid-ship deck.  It was perfect weather and the sky was lit with a thousand stars.  Around midnight we all went to the starboard deck and shared some final thoughts.  Goodbyes are always hard, but educators Luigi, Ale and Ragga shared how they met each other over 10 years ago and live in different countries now but still get to see each other regularly. 

Saturday morning was bright and clear.  The Rotary Club of Civitavecchia helped us again with transporting the teens to the airport, train station, etc.  The crew spent the morning cleaning and preparing  to meet their next group of children in Porto Torres, Sardenia. 

Liza, Hazeem & Clara cleaning 

Ale & Ragga teaching Image Theatre

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A serious discussion on discrimination.

Janneke, Niklas & Clara enjoying a relaxing moment.

Perhaps the only photo we have of all 5 educators in the same place at the same time!  Jenn, Luigi, Ale, Lorenzo and Ragga.

Taking a quick swim and some sun on Elba Island.

Florent passing the apple to Stefano.

The fierce battle at the Fort of Michelangelo.

Solidarity - Alex & Giovanni

Group hug after the meeting with UNICEF J8.

Educator Luigi with his little brother Giovanni.

Stefano entertaining us all with a spontaneous song.

For the G8 group this was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience -- but the Nave Italia will continue its outreach to disadvantaged children utill the end of October 2009.  Cudos to the crew and to their ongoing mission.  Below are just a few photos of the crew.

Rosario, Matteo & Tommaso

Cooks Bruno & Gabriele

Claudio, Andrea & Massimo

Nostromo, Andrea & Antonio

Today – a day trip to Rome was planned allowing the teens to see some of the magnificent, historical sights of this ancient city. They had lunch and a relaxing swim at the Navy Officers Club. It wasn’t all fun and games, however. Today they were constantly revising and clarifying the points of their final documents in preparation for their afternoon appointment with UNICEF’s J8 group. The 2 groups of teens met in Rome to present their papers to each other and to discuss together the central issues they wanted to communicate to the G8 leaders. It was a wonderful experience and the teens chatted together at a reception afterwards. Both groups had done a fantastic job in presenting the major issues they feel need to be addressed. We all returned to the boat excited and energized to continue perfecting our document. Slowly but surely, it is coming together.

Educators Luigi and Ale finding a moment to "planfiy" the next session.

Group introductions

Our teens greeting the J8 members and sharing about their time on the Nave Italia.

Commandante Tedeschini presenting the UNICEF J8 with the Nave Italia crest. 

The crew of the Nave Italia hand out gifts to the UNICEF J8 participants.

The teens mingling at the UNICEF reception.

The international language of foosball.

Back on the boat, the group is energized to finlize the wording of their document.

Today we had a day trip to Tarquina to see artifacts from the ancient Etruscians, dating back to 9000 BC. We were personally greeted by Mauro Mazzola, the mayor of Tarquina.  He allowed our group a free tour of the Museo Nazionale Etrusco as well as a tour of the Palazzo Comunale (the historic government offices of Tarquina) with beautifully frescoed walls dating from the 1300s. Each member of the group was presented with a book about the Etruscan history and a set of art prints of the frescoes. 

Mayor Mazzola, educator Ale and our translator/guide.

Viewing Etruscan tombs at the museum.

Taking in the gorgeous frescoes.

After a picnic lunch in a park (and a quick shoulder massage) the group began studying their final topic of the trip:  International organizations-their function, relevance and what they can/can't  contribute to our world.

Ale explaining the different types of international organizations.

Listening intently...

Afterward we replayed some of the games we played on Day 1 - the ones involving trust and teamwork.  It is clear to see that this group has connected deeply, as the amount of trust the teens share has dramatically increased.

CLara falling backwards into the arms of her team mates. 

More games of equilibrium - also requiring trust. Much improvement from day 1.

The teens were divided into the international groups of UNICEF, UNEP, InterPol, NATO, WHO, G8, G20, IMF.  Their challenge is to research the positions of their organization and tonight there will be another summit.  This time they were competing for a segment of an imaginary fund of 1 billion Euro for their organization and the groups that presented the most convincing agument for the money was awarded a segment of it.

Maila, thanks for all the encouragement you have sent us throughout this adventure. Each message means alot. Dora sends you a big hug and we all just wanted to say that you're the best!! Jenn

Watch the movie...

hoist sails.MPG (14,49 MB)

Hoisting the sails with the young people from l'Aquila!

We're lucky - there was wind!  We put up the sails immediately.

The crew is always there to back us up.

There is a lot of sail to hoist!

Monday evening:  After relaxing on the deck and enjoying a quick dip in the sea we enjoyed another delicious dinner served by the ship’s crew.  Then the the group met in the main room to prepare for tomorrow. At the moment, the ship is sailing back to Civitavecchia and we hope to arrive early tomorrow morning.   Tomorrow is a special day.  Twelve children who are victims of the L’Aquila earthquake are coming on to the boat, along with some social workers and the press for some newspapers.  These children are from some of the families who lost their homes from the earthquake and are currently living in the tent city temporarily erected to house them until long-term housing can be secured.  We started the evening with an interview with Stefano, one of our group who himself is from L’Aquila and experienced some damage to his family’s home.  He shared his story with our group so that we all could better understand the difficult circumstances in which these children live.  We then worked with the teens to place them in a leadership position for tomorrow, allowing them to use some of the games and lessons from the past week on board with these children.  The crew of the Nave Italia will also join in and if there is wind we hope to put up the sails immediately.  It will be a big day, but this groups of teenagers is excited to share this experience with our guests from L’Aquila and to connect with new friends aboard the Nave Italia. 

Luigi interviewing Stefano about the L'Aquila earthquake.