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The Costa Crociere Foundation Launches 6 New Social Betterment and Marine Environmental Projects

Five new initiativesoffering assistance to women, and educational and employment opportunities to disadvantagedyouth from all over Italy.

In the environmentalfield, a new project kicks off for the recovery and reuse of marine litter.

Genoa – July 21, 2016– TheCosta Crociere Foundation (www.costa-crociere-foundation.com) has concluded theannual selection process reserved for Italian non-profit organizations and haschosen six new social betterment andmarine environmental protection projects for funding.

During the period of the call for proposals – from January 18 throughFebruary 14 – around 240 projects were submitted by non-profit organizationsand associations working in either of the Foundation's areas of interest. The selection criteria used by theFoundation's Advisory Board and Board of Directors prioritized candidateprojects capable of satisfying the individual's basic needs, offeringinitiatives directed at women and at "NEETs" – young people who are Not(engaged) in Education, Employment or Training – and introducing best practicesassociated with the "circular economy" applied to the sea.

The projects in question are managed by associations and organizationsoperating all over Italy. Thanks to thefinancial support provided by Costa Cruises and its partners, and also to the synergiesgenerated by other projects already in progress, the successful candidates canachieve their aims of offering assistance, providing training for disadvantagedyouth, and raising awareness with regard to marine litter and pollution. More specifically:

  • "Un dentista peramico" ("A Caring Dentist"): proposed by the AssociazioneARKÈ Onlus from the Province of Genoa, this project will provide dental care freeof charge to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds living in foster careor shelters and in deprived families.

  • "Le vie del Mare"("A Vocation for the Sea"): presented bythe Associazione Non solo vela Onlus,this project is addressed to youth at risk of social exclusion in the Genoa metropolitanarea and will provide vocational training for various trades linked to the seaand seafaring; the professionals teaching the courses will include staff membersfrom the Costa Campus. The apprentices takingpart will learn how to become galley chefs, skippers, lifesavers and so on and,at the end of their period of instruction, each participant will have a 3-monthinternship with a business selected on the basis of personal preference andlocal opportunities. This will give thetrainees valuable on-the-job experience while the companies concerned can assessthe interns and decide whether to offer them permanent employment.

  • "LaBottega dei miracoli" ("The Shop ofMiracles Sea"): the aim ofthis project, submitted by the CooperativaSociale Alzaia, is to facilitate social inclusion and employmentopportunities for people with Down syndrome and for NEETs, by openingand running a retail outlet selling typical regional products in Pisa's famousPiazza dei Miracoli. The project willalso involve the creation of a permanent training laboratory, with places forat least 4 NEETs and 5 young people with Down syndromeevery year; after the course they will be able to take part ininternships assigned individually according to each person's talents and aptitudes.

  • "Women In Technology": this project, based on an idea conceived bythe Fondazione Mondo Digitale headquarteredin Rome, has the objective of helping young female NEETs enter the world ofwork by setting up their own ICT entrepreneurial ventures. The pilot phase involves experimentation inthree high schools in Campania, Calabria and Sicily, plus provision of projectdesign and development support services for a total of 150 young women.

  • "La casa senzaviolenza" ("A Safe Haven"): this project, presented by IlCerchio delle relazioni - Cooperativa sociale onlus in Genoa, providessupport for women who are victims of domestic violence and who make the crucialdecision to leave home. The initiativeaims to extend the range of essential services offered in such situations; thisincludes emergency shelters and medium-to-longterm accommodation for battered women and their children.

    In the environmental field, the Costa Crociere Foundation is supportingthe initiative proposed by the Scuola diRobotica of Genoa, with the goal of recycling plastic to make items using a3D printing process. More specifically, theplastic waste recovered by Ligurian fishermen selected through their trade associations,from the Marine Protected Areas of Liguria, by the Ligurian Observatory onFishing & Environment (OLPA) and by the Costa Crociere Foundation itself, forexample thanks to the Collavoriamo projectrun by the Cooperativa "Il Laboratorio"in Genoa, will be recycled to make educational kits enhancing the marineenvironmental awareness of visually impaired children.

    The Costa Crociere Foundation is anindependent organization which was set up in October 2014 with a mission topromote the social and environmental betterment of Italian communities. Italy is the country where Costa Cruises wasestablished and where it is headquartered.Since its inception, the Foundation has selected and funded some 15 socialand environmental projects (including those chosen this year).

For further information:

CostaCruises

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

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

Media releases and images available atwww.costapresscenter.com

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