‘NEXT GEN 27’ AND THE AMERICA’S CUP TROPHY

Working together with The Ministry of Education and Merit, America’s Cup Events has activated a widespread educational path capable of actively involving students and teachers through training experiences, both creative and participatory. An initial three-day workshop for students under the tagline: Sport & Scuola (Sport and School) represents the first step in a structured programme leading up to the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup 2027 in Naples.

As a part of the wider NEXT GEN sporting initiative in Italy that supports and runs programmes across the likes of Milano Cortina 2026, the Giro Next Gen cycling, Juventus Football Club, school basketball and adaptive/para sport, the Louis Vuitton 38^th America’s Cup programme will be implemented across schools in and around the City of Naples ahead of the event in the summer of 2027. Key initiatives of the overall NEXT GEN proposition centre around: Digital Transformation, STEM subjects and skills, Advanced University Education, Sustainability (Green Transition) and Youth Engagement.   

The initiative within the sport of sailing was developed under the thematic of: “To bring the sea even where it does not reach,” assuming the sea as a symbolic and concrete theme through which to reflect on educational, environmental and cultural issues. The workshops address three key themes:

 

Design and Made in Italy: Enhancing the creativity and ingenuity of Made in Italy and the excellence of Italian nautical design.

Blue Economy: Telling how the America's Cup is a catalyst for opportunity economic activities related to the sea, from scientific research to renewable energy.

Inclusion and Territory: placing the culture of inclusion at the centre of the visual identity, accessibility, participation and active citizenship.

 

Speaking at the Marie Curie Industrial Technical Institute, Leslie Ryan, the Event Director of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup, addressed a large audience of dignitaries, pupils and assembled media saying: “The America's Cup is old, but it's founded on technology and innovation. If it hadn't changed and innovated itself for 174 years, it wouldn't be happening today. So, we're in a school here that focuses a lot on technology and innovation, and the America's Cup is talked about being a sailing event and a technology event...We will see, and we already have seen in the America's Cup, a lot of change, a lot of innovation, a lot of new ideas. And I want this to continue. It's really important for us here to engage with the local communities, the local schools like we are today, the local people living in Napoli, to embrace change and use the America's Cup to bring about a strong impact.”

In attendance were Gaetano Manfredi, the Mayor of Naples and Extraordinary Commissioner of the Bagnoli site, Giuseppe Valditara, Minister of Education & Merit, Sabrina Bono, Head of Cabinet Ministry of Sport and Youth, Marco Mezzaroma, President of Sport e Salute, and Valeria Pirone – Head teacher of the Marie Curie Industrial Technical Institute, Naples, and Michele di Bari, Naples Prefecture, as well as some student representatives who explained the different projects. A message on behalf of Roberto Fico, President of the Campania region, was also aired.

Looking ahead to the event in 2027, Leslie Ryan commented: “We have the most amazing and incredible venue. Our event is accessible, open to everyone. It's a free event; it's not a ticketed event. There will be something for everyone in Lungomare and in Bagnoli. So, what happens next? The America's Cup in my head starts in 2026 because that's when the teams arrive. Next summer in 2026, we will see these boats training in the Gulf of Napoli and we look forward to seeing you all in 2027. Thank you for hosting us here today.”

Each of the workshops will see pupils tackling key topics around the Louis Vuitton 38^th America’s Cup being hosted in Naples, and will be split into three thematic modules with positive outcomes as follows:

1 – The challenge of making the city a protagonist. Students are asked to imagine how the America's Cup can become a concrete opportunity for all neighbourhoods of Naples, even those furthest from the sea. The goal is to build a story urban collective in which the Cup is not only an elite sporting event, but an opportunity for widespread cultural and social activation. The process ends with the creation of proposals and symbolic actions to bring the sea even where it does not reach, giving the city a new map of relations between school, sport and territory.

2 – Sailing as an educational language. An educational challenge on a national scale: how can sailing become an interdisciplinary tool? Students are involved in co-design of educational content that uses the America's Cup as a lever for connecting different disciplines – from science to geography, from civics to art – in all school levels. The output is the shared construction of a national educational kit, replicable and accessible, which allows the America's Cup to enter Italian schools as an engine of knowledge, exploration and creativity.

3 – The Gulf of Naples in the world and the challenge of how to tell the world the identity of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup hosted in the Gulf of Naples. Participants work on the design of original artistic posters, inspired by the tradition of iconic Olympic posters, capable of uniting history, symbols and imagery linked to the sea and the city. After a phase of research and analysis of the historic editions of the Cup and the history of the trophy, the students give shape to a visual proposal, thus contributing to the construction of the visual identity of the event in a creative and international format.

The America’s Cup trophy – the oldest trophy in international sport – made the journey from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, holders of the America’s Cup and current Defenders, especially for the event in Naples, travelling as ever in its custom-built Louis Vuitton travel case.