The celebration ceremony took place yesterday at the Milan Expo 2015 in the presence of hundreds of children
MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately owned cruise company, announced yesterday that, as part of its collaboration with UNICEF, it has raised €4 million to date on board its ships worldwide. The celebration ceremony, which took place yesterday at Expo Milano 2015, was attended by representatives from UNICEF and MSC Cruises, hundreds of children, and Expo visitors from around the world. A symbolic check for €4 million was presented to Philippe Baud, Deputy Director of UNICEF Switzerland, by Daniela Picco, Head of Strategic Partnerships at MSC Cruises.
The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, is the UN agency that fights for the rights of children worldwide and is present in more than 190 countries and territories. MSC Cruises and this important organization joined forces in 2009 with the "Get on Board for Children" initiative, which encouraged travelers on board the entire MSC Cruises fleet to make donations to UNICEF.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, stated: “MSC Cruises and UNICEF have a strong and solid relationship, having worked very closely together since 2009 on a program that positively impacts the lives of thousands of children around the world. We are therefore very proud to have reached the milestone of 4 million euros and would like to thank our guests for their continued generosity in supporting UNICEF through our joint program.”.
Elisabeth Müller, Executive Director of the Swiss Committee for UNICEF, was very pleased with the outcome of the partnership: “With the prepared therapeutic foods (RUTF), subsidized by donations from MSC Cruises customers, we have been able to save the lives of thousands of children and give them a healthy start in life.”
“Furthermore,” Vago concluded, “the MSC Group, which includes cargo and other businesses worldwide, and its staff are now honored to also organize the logistics and shipping capabilities to deliver these life-saving products. Thanks to the global reach of our operations, when the situation demands it, we have the capacity to deliver to virtually any corner of the world.”
Daniela Picco stated: “Expo Milan 2015, focused on ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,’ provides an ideal platform to hold an event like this, with all eyes on it, and this, in turn, leads to greater awareness of the valuable work that UNICEF carries out for children around the world. Furthermore, as a mother, I am proud to know that the contributions, participation, and logistical support of MSC Cruises guests have enabled UNICEF to assist nearly 10,000 children in the last six months.”
Amidst the latest developments related to the “Get on Board for Children” program, in early 2014, the partnership between MSC Cruises and UNICEF expanded with a new initiative to save lives and provide assistance to malnourished children by delivering Ready-to-Serve Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs), such as Plumpy'Nut, for the treatment of severe malnutrition in developing and crisis-affected countries. To date, more than €1.3 million has been allocated to this initiative to help children and their families in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, and Nepal.
Among other activities, MSC Cruises organizes educational entertainment events for children and their parents on board its ships to raise awareness of UNICEF's work and the needs of children around the world. Each week, there will be a dedicated UNICEF day, which will include games, children's parades, and the distribution of a brochure to help them learn more about malnutrition worldwide. In addition, they will receive a UNICEF Global Citizen passport, which will be stamped after completing each educational activity, making them ambassadors for children's rights around the globe.
Following the concert by the “Mariele Ventre” children’s choir from Antoniano di Bologna yesterday, MSC Cruises launched a new initiative: an original cartoon that tells the story of the company’s mascot, Doremi, and his family aboard one of the fleet’s ships. The “Doremi Cartoon,” created by Matteo Mancini, MSC Corporate Youth Activities Coordinator, and produced by Antoniano Production with Graffiti Media Factory, is yet another example of MSC Cruises’ commitment to offering best-in-class programs and entertainment for families and young people, always available to travelers and their children across the fleet, as well as on its YouTube channel.
Over the years, MSC Cruises' collaboration has provided funding for several UNICEF projects to combat poverty and inequality, as well as, from 2009 to 2013, malaria in some parts of the world. Nearly €2.6 million was allocated to various projects in Brazil to help children in 126 vulnerable communities in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo access quality education. Part of this amount was also used to fight malaria in countries such as Mauritania, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Comoros.
