Drowning prevention conference at the Monaco Pavilion

On Wednesday, March 23rd at the Monaco Pavilion of the Dubai World Expo 2020, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation organized a thematic conference on drowning prevention.

Mr. Stathis Avramidis (Greek Lifesaving Sports Association), Mr. Shafkat Hossain (CIPRB), Mr. Matteo Cavalleroni (Helpcode Italia), Mrs. Kate Eardly (RNLI) and Mr. Chey Rattana (Helpcode Cambodia)

Several of the Foundation’s partners gathered in Dubai coming from England, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Greece, Italy, and Monaco to present their organization and the projects set up to combat drowning in their respective countries of intervention. This meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the Foundation’s support in these international initiatives, pedagogical aspects, positive and negative points, identify short- and medium-term objectives, and propose a recent assessment of the projects and their impact on communities.

This conference was also an opportunity to discuss the various activities and awareness-raising actions to mark the new World Drowning Prevention Day, which is held on 25 July, and to discuss the changes made at the national and international levels following the United Nations Resolution on Global Drowning Prevention in April 2021.

On this occasion, the Foundation was able to count on the presence of:

Mr Pascal GRANERO, General Manager of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
Dr Stathis AVRAMIDIS, President of the Greek Lifesaving Sports Association (GLSA), which teaches the basics of lifesaving to young people with the Safe Greece project in the Athens region.
Mr Matteo CAVALLERONI, Secretary General, and Mr Chey RATTANA, Technical Director of Helpcode in Italy, which strives to guarantee quality support for children worldwide and manages the Children’s Drowning Prevention Programme in Cambodia with the technical assistance of SWIM CAMBODIA.
Mrs Kate EARDLY, Head of International Advocacy of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) which, in addition to its permanent rescue missions on the coasts of the United Kingdom, works for drowning prevention with educational projects, notably in partnership with the Foundation since 2014 in Tanzania (Community Action Against Drowning Project in Zanzibar) and Bangladesh (SeaSafe Project).
Mr. Pierre FROLLA, Ambassador of the Foundation and President of the Centre de Sauvetage Aquatique et de Plongée de Monaco (CSAPM) which introduces children to the prevention of drowning throughout the year and traditionally organizes the Water Safety Days in Monaco.
Mr. Shafkat HOSSAIN, Intervention Manager at the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh (CIPRB), a technical partner in the implementation of the SeaSafe and SwimSafe projects in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to supervise lifeguards on the beach, raise awareness among locals and teach swimming to the youngest to reduce drowning rates on the coast.

We also wish to thank the Pavillon de Monaco and Monaco 360° for their welcome.