UNWTO and MSC Foundation to Deliver Sustainable Tourism Education at Sea

The MSC Foundation and UNWTO are partnering to deliver an innovative sustainability education initiative on board the cruise ship MSC Euribia

Focus areas: Education, Marine Conservation

Building on the success of our work together to create and organise the first Global Youth Tourism Summit – held in Sorrento, Italy, in 2022 – the UNWTO and MSC Foundation have extended their partnership to create a unique programme for delivery in the innovative new MSC Foundation Youth Lab, a specially-equipped venue on MSC Cruises’ most advanced eco-ship, MSC Euribia.

Called ‘GYTS for MSC: A Sustainable Future for Our Next Generations’, the programme is a prompt, concrete response to the demand that Summit attendees expressed for an onboard opportunity to continue exploring and learning about the issues discussed. One of the core programmes offered in the new Youth Lab, it will deliver 12 daily two-hour activity sessions on key subjects ranging from ocean health, recycling and climate change to sustainable tourism and social media, all focused on the “sustainability challenge”. The activities have been designed to leave the youths free to learn, create and express themselves according to their interests and ideas for the future.

“We are proud to build on the tremendous success of the Global Youth Tourism Summit in Sorrento by extending our partnership with UNWTO to promote youth empowerment and sustainability education,” commented MSC Foundation Executive Director Daniela Picco. “The new MSC Foundation Lab on MSC Euribia will offer an innovative venue for children and teenagers to engage in sustainability-focused activities. Our new custom-designed programme ‘GYTS for MSC: A Sustainable Future for Our Next Generations' has been specially conceived to empower young people to learn, create, and express themselves while addressing key sustainability issues such as marine conservation, climate change and responsible tourism. By making our young guests the centre of these activities, we aim to raise awareness of the challenges facing humanity and equip our next generations with the tools they need to create a better world."

Matteo Mancini, MSC Cruises Senior Manager Kids Entertainment explained: "For MSC Cruises, keeping the younger generations entertained on a cruise means listening to them and taking real note of their interests and wishes. Last summer, during the Global Youth Tourism Summit, young people from all over the world also asked us for the space and time to discuss these topics on board our ships. We welcomed their request, believing it our duty to join with Gen Z youth to create a high-impact edutainment, creation and sharing programme with the power to generate concrete results. It’s an immense honour for us to join with UNWTO to achieve this, bringing the young people on our ships the latest information and powerful resources to build a sustainable future."

Alessandra Priante, Director of the Regional Department for Europe at UNWTO added: “After the immense success of our first Global Youth Tourism Summit, which brought together children from every corner of the world, we are very excited that GYTS will not only go across borders but also across the seas and oceans. We are grateful to the MSC Foundation for their continued support in highlighting the central role that youth can play in building a sustainable tourism of the future. We are proud to support MSC as they continue to educate and empower children and youth to become more conscious, committed and engaged.”

The MSC Group is committed to taking comprehensive action through the MSC Foundation to raise awareness of the big challenges facing humanity and to provide its young MSC Cruises guests with tools that inform and motivate through an understanding of its programmes and initiatives across four focus areas: the Environment (including marine conservation), Education, Community Support and Emergency Relief. This includes inviting young cruise guests to become Junior Ambassadors of the Foundation and running dedicated activities that equip them to voice the right of our younger generations to live in a better world.