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# 70 •OCTOBER 19 , 2015
de, the Foundation found itself serving
a community in capacities its founders
never dreamed of. In March, 2005, the
NIAF–Frank J. Guarini Public Policy
Forums were initiated on Capitol Hill,
with the Foundation inviting Ambassador Charles A. Gargano to serve as
the inaugural keynote speaker. These
forums, still one of NIAF’s most visible
and pertinent programs in the nation’s
capital, bring together leaders and
policy makers from inside and outside
the Italian American community to address the most pressing issues facing
our nation in bipartisan venue.
Another major development in this
decade was the launch of the Ambassador Peter F. Secchia Voyage of
Discovery program at NIAF’s 32nd
Anniversary Gala in 2007. This program, one of NIAF’s most celebrated
initiatives, brings 20 to 30 Italian American college students to Italy for two
weeks of service and heritage travel
every summer. For almost all of them,
it is the first time that they have been
afforded the opportunity to set foot in
the land of their ancestors. Since the
beginning, many of the young men
and women who shared the experience have continued to take an active
role in NIAF’s other more expansive
programs. In introducing his initiative,
Ambassador Secchia reasoned that,
“By providing these opportunities for
young Italian Americans to forge deeper and stronger ties to the people
and places sharing their past, and to
add to those values that can inspire
their future participation with NIAF,
Voyage of Discovery also prepares
the next generation of Italian American youth for their role