Schuman Trophy is a voluntary association of staff and pensioneers of the European Commission organising soccer tournaments in the honour of Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, to raise money for social causes. Upon request and in collaboration with partners in Hann, Senegal, notably Ibrahima Seck and Magueth Diop, Mundus marisintroduced a project proposal to create a cyber space for school children. The installation will help to bridge the digital divide and improve teaching and learning conditions for schools, which have already participated successfully in the FAO pilot activities about introducing the ecosystem approach to fisheries into the curriculum, which started in 2011. Schuman Trophy awarded a cheque of 2000 Euro towards the implementation of this project.
The Schuman Trophy Gala took place this year on 28 November in the Foyer of the European Commission's Berlaymont Building in Brussels. The cultural programme featured the children's choir of the European School and presentations of the major voluntary organisations supporting the Schuman Trophy and its social goals.
European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič spoke extensively and joyfully about the importance of voluntary work and keeping the European institutions and its staff connected to citizens in Europe and abroad. Practicing solidarity on the ground and promoting peace and reconciliation in addition to devising and implementing policies for the prosperity and peace of European citizens is a continuous challenge right from the foundation of the European project after World War II.
We may add that Europe's future is bound up with the future of people in other parts of our interconnected world, so we can never be indifferent to hardship anywhere. The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for Europe is a recognition and reminder that most parts of Europe have been saved from military conflicts for two generations and seen a rise in prosperity for their citizens thanks to the European project. It also confers particular responsibility to keep up and adapt the original commitments in a changing global context so that all citizens experience these benefits and reach out beyond Europe's borders with that message of peace and solidarity.
Like every year, quite a number of associations were awarded cheques to support their social work. Most selected projects focused youth and schools.
Starting with regular activities to cheer up life for hospitalised chldren in Belgium, awards were also given for continued development of a school in the slums of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and in a remote village in Niger, Africa.
The proposal introduced by Mundus maris in June 2012 was among those favourably evaluated and receiving financial support.
The project aims at developing more sustained improvements to the Khadim and several other schools in the fishing village of Hann, which currently lack access to interactive teaching opportunities through a cyber space.
The recognition received from Schuman Trophy for the worthiness of the project in Hann is an incentive to keep working with the schools, their teachers and youngsters to raise the additional 3000 Euro needed for the full realisation of the project and put the improvements on a sound and sustainable footing.
We are already advancing in this direction and will not stop until it's all done and operational.
Anybody wishing to lend a hand in raising the funding for completion is welcome. The account BE54 0688 9178 6297 - BIC GKCCBEBB. For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We'll report on progress also on the facebook page of Mundus maris.