My name is Gianluca Frinchillucci, I am an Italian polar researcher and the Director of the Polar Geographic Institute "S.Zavatti" of Fermo, Marche Region.

In this moment I am in Eastern Greenland, in the village of Isertoq. Together with a group of Italian researchers, we are realizing a research expedition called "Saxum", in this part of Greenland.
It is a very important initiative, one of the few Italian activities realized during IPY. For this reason also the President of Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, give at this expedition a merit badge.

It is realized in the sphere of the CNR-Polarnet Project "Map of Arctic People", in collaboration with the Explora-Nunaat Association, started on the 11th of June and finishing on the 9th of July.
It is an explorative and research expedition during which different researches are carried on, as described below:

- in the last days we have crossed of a part of the Greenlandic Ice Cap, together with the explorer Robert Peroni (founder of the RED HOUSE and of the Tuning Incoming Agency of Tasiilaq. In this crossing it has been reached a worldwide record: the two Italian guys Pietro Visetti (12 years old) and Chiara Cattani (9 Years old), with us together with their parents, has been the youngest guys entering the Greenlandic ice cap
from the eastern part.

- The expedition, together with the University of Bologna, participate to the international project called "Genographic", by collecting DNA sample of Inuit people in the village of Isertoq.

- in the same village we have carried on, in collaboration with the Italian association Perigeo Onlus, the intercultural project "An Inuit for a Friend": an international project which aims to connect children coming from different part of the world and that at the moment involves Inuit children of Isertoq village, Nency children of Salechard (Western Siberia), Oromo children of Kofale and
Surma children of Kibish village (both from Ethiopia) and Italian children from Marche, Liguria and Calabria regions, consisting in an exchange of drawings between the children involved. It has been set up an exposition with the drawings coming from the different parts of the world, showed the video about the project and given to the Inuit children a certificate of attendance.

- then we will explore the "Nameless Mountains" and carried on scientific research on water and stones on behalf of the University of Aquila and an important part of the research will interest endo-glacial mills (ice caves).

- during all the expedition the researchers are permanently monitored with technical instruments for the collection of physiological data on behalf of University of Camerino, for an important research about the human body on extreme environments.



I send you two photo of the expedition:
Photo n. 1: (from the right) me, Giorgio Marinelli presidet of the Perigeo onlus association – which manage the project "an Inuit for a Friend" and the explorer Robert Peroni on the Greenlandic Ice Cap

Photo n.2: (from the right) Luca Natali, from the Perigeo Onlus Association, Pietro Visetti and me, giving the certificate of attendance to the Inuit children in the village of Isertoq.