Across the ocean, across all barriers

It will be officially presented today in Milan at the Headquarters of Pirelli, which has chosen to show its support along with other companies because it shares its vision, its values and its spirit.

WOW is the 19-leg journey of the catamaran "Lo Spirito di Stella" (The Spirit of Stella), a boat free of architectural barriers and designed and made by WOW's creator Andrea Stella to welcome on board those who may not be able to move freely but who retain a passion for a challenge, for sailing and for the sea. 

The journey is 1,394 miles long, lasting between May and October, with a 19-person crew taking their turns on 'Lo Spirito di Stella', one crew member per stop.People who might vary in terms of age, nationality and culture, disability and ability, but who are united by the power of their story and the desire to complete the mission: helping to overcome barriers throughout the world which obstruct the rights of disabled people. Barriers both physical and mental.

"Lo Spirito di Stella" will depart from Miami towards New York, checking in at Norfolk, Annapolis and Atlantic City. New York is a special stop, as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD)will board the boat, personally delivered by the Secretary General of the UN. After the crossing of the Atlantic, the journey continues with stops in the Azores, Lagos, Gibraltar, Cartagena, Valencia, Barcelona, Marseille, La Spezia, Rosignano, and Rome, where the Convention will be delivered to the hands of the Holy Father. The journey will then proceed to Naples, Messina, Rimini, Triest, Venice.

WOW is a project built on trust, pride and perserverance, on social commitment and a passion for sport, on integration, dialogue and motivation.

If you follow WOW you'll experience a world of stories: of people who have fought to stay connected to their inspiration, of cities which have supported them with their architecture, and of companies and institutions which have chosen to follow WOW on its journey because they are animated by the same spirit of the defence of human rights and the value of diversity.

There is also Pinksie, the pink whale which will travel aboard "Lo Spirito di Stella": at each stop Pinksie will get off the boat to meet children and speak to them about worldwide diversity using the creative language of childhood, where colours are not a simple category, but a story liberated through the use of the imagination. And free from barriers.