The Cyprus Shipping Chamber’s ‘Adopt a Ship’ Programme has completed ten years of operation. The programme was launched in 2006 by the Chamber in cooperation with the Cyprus Marine Environment Protection Association (CYMEPA) with the aim of highlighting the benefits of shipping whilst contributing to the next generation of youngsters.
The programme is part of a wider campaign by the CSC to educate the Cypriot youth, through visits and presentations at schools, about the benefits of shipping to the Cyprus economy and careers in the shipping industry.
The aim of the ‘Adopt a Ship’ programme is to establish links between the ships and elementary school classes, to help give young pupils ages 10-12 years, a better idea of life onboard through an exchange of weekly e-mails and photos. The programme started with the participation of 20 elementary schools annually and today works with 70 elementary schools across Cyprus annually. The target is to involve 100 elementary schools annually. The ships involved are all managed by member companies of the CSC.
To celebrate the programme’s 10th anniversary, teachers from schools across Cyprus were invited at the offices of Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd (CSM), a Member of the CSC. Four school inspectors from the Ministry of Education and Culture also joined the celebrations.
The celebrations got underway with welcomes from Dr. Michael Ierides, Secretary General of CYMEPA, Andreas Hadjipetrou, Managing Director, CSM and Phivos Vakis, Chief Financial Officer, CSM, before three speeches by: Yiannis Efstratiou, Acting Director, Cyprus Department of Merchant Shipping; Alexandros Josephides, Deputy Director General, CSC & IMO Maritime Ambassador for Cyprus; and, Dr. Andri Othonos Zachariou, Inspector, Ministry of Education and Culture.
Also attending was Thomas Kazakos, Director General of the CSC, together with representatives of CSC and CYMEPA. Following the speeches, Captain Demetris Matis, Claims Manager, CSM, gave a presentation where he spoke about ‘Life as a Captain’, touching on his past experience.
Certificates were then awarded to participating schools, together with a wooden ship as a small gift for schools that were new to the programme. A tour within the Columbia offices was then given to the guests, explaining how each department operates.
Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd has supported this Programme since the beginning, and for the year 2015-2016 has allocated ten full managed vessels to participate.
