June 18 – The Dragon Boat Carnival in Suzhou, China, was a clear success for the Ca ‘Foscari and IUAV university teams: second place for the foreign men’s team competition and two first places for the foreign female competition and also in the race between Chinese teams. This is what happened in the Chinese city loved by Marco Polo, with which Venice boasts an ancient and fruitful friendship. The “Little Venice of the East” held the “Dragon Boat” sporting competition, which saw the participation of two teams from Venetian universities. “Since the beginning, when the two teams trained on racing field, the odds were in our favor – says Laura Fincato, who attended the event as deputy chairman of Expo Venice – the athletes were able to give their best, thanks to months of physical training in the Venetian lagoon waters and also thanks to the cheering at the race along from the many Italians who live and work in the province of Suzhou. We represented Italy well, and their victory is also a victory for the Italian community in China. The Venetian and Italian flags that were in the air during the competition will remain with us forever. ” The Dean of the University Ca ‘Foscari University of Venice, Carlo Carraro, spoke of “a great success, a huge satisfaction for our universities. The double first place in the women’s team helped to affirm their capacity in sports and other professional sectors: the teachers, students, and administrative staff led to this extraordinary result, and Ca ‘Foscari always pays particular attention to women successes, for example via Art Night, on June 22.” Amerigo Restucci, Dean of Iuav added that the victories are ” a signal of how the city is alive and able to communicate with cities and countries around the world.”