Four Projects Selected by the “Costa Crociere Foundation” are Underway to Support Social Solidarity and Marine Environmental Protection Initiatives

GENOA, October 16, 2015 /3BL Media/ – The initial activities involving the first four projects financed by the Costa Crociere Foundation that focus on social solidarity and marine environmental protection initiatives have now gotten underway. Approximately Euro 600,000 has been allocated to the non-profit organizations whose projects were selected by the Foundation to develop activities to raise awareness about marine waste and training programs for more than 1,500 needy young people.

During the project submittal period, from 16 January to 15 February 2015, the Costa Crociere Foundation received more than 100 proposals, four of which were selected by the Advisory Boards and by the Foundation’s Board of Directors. These projects, three involving social issues and one in the field of environmental protection, will run from two to three years and will be implemented in the regions of Liguria, Lazio and Tuscany.

The selected social-theme projects involve non-profit associations working in the regions of Lazio and Liguria. In particular:

• ‘MaTeChef’: this project, presented by the CIES of Roma, is aimed at 60 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 and involves 2-year training courses in the culinary sector. Forty of these participants are migrants and refugees from the Centro di Aggregazione Giovanile “MaTeMù”. The initiative will lead to the creation of a “Social bistro”, whose objective is to improve the job opportunities of young people from the more disadvantaged segments of the population.
• ‘Today, Tomorrow, to Nino’: proposed by the Focus-Casa dei Diritti Sociali Association, the project has been developed for 300 disadvantaged children and young people aged 6 to 20 who live in the metropolitan area of Rome. An individual study support program will be created for each one and 30 particularly needy and deserving students will receive a small economic contribution to cover some costs, such as for books and transportation.
•  ‘Collavoriamo’: presented by the “Il Laboratorio” Cooperative in Genoa, the project tackles the issue of NEET (Not engaged in Education, Employment or Training) involving young people who have given up on receiving education and seeking gainful employment. Through training courses combined with 2-year intern/apprenticeships, the cooperative is working to support 24 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who left the educational system early on and are part of the more disadvantaged segment of the population.  

In the environmental sector, the Costa Crociere Foundation is working to support the activities promoted by the Rome-based CIRSPE. The “Awareness-raising project to reduce marine waste in the central-northern Tyrrhenian Sea” will be carried out over 3 years in the regions of Lazio, Tuscany and Liguria. The aim of the project is to develop a strategy to reduce pollution from marine waste through the involvement of students, institutions, associations and economic operators. The initiative implements two specific operative guidelines: environment-focused education in schools, involving 1,200 middle-school students, and the organization of theme-based informative meetings aimed at different players in the marine sector to promote sustainable management of the waste polluting coastlines and the sea.

The Costa Crociere Foundation is an independently-run organization, inaugurated in October 2014, whose goal is to improve the social and environmental conditions in the communities of Italy, where Costa Crociere was founded and is headquartered. In particular, the Foundation is constantly engaged, through cooperation with organizations and individuals striving to achieve the same objectives, in social initiatives that provide education and humanitarian assistance to disadvantaged persons and in activities that focus on reducing and preventing waste and debris in the Mediterranean Sea (http://www.costa-crociere-foundation.com/).

For additional information:

Costa Crociere

Press Office -  Tel. +39 010 5483523 / 010 5483068  -  costapressoffice@costa.it

Gabriele Baroni – Communication Director – cell. +39 3497668013 - baroni@costa.it

Press releases and pictures available on  www.costapresscenter.com