MSC Foundation publishes 2022 results - A Year of Potential Fulfilled 

Touching the lives of 430,000 direct beneficiaries – Twice as many as the previous year!

The Foundation intensified its work in all areas worldwide during 2022, our fourth operational year. Expanding our marine and coral conservation programmes and resources, we intensified our global responsiveness to emergency and crisis situations, advanced our ongoing programmes and engaged in new initiatives, like the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s first ever Global Youth Tourism Summit. 

Focus areas: Environmental Conservation, Community Support, Education, Emergency Relief

2022 was a landmark year in which we reached a record 430,000 direct beneficiaries worldwide – twice as many as the year before – through impactful initiatives in the face of the persistent challenges of the COVID pandemic and global repercussions of the war in Ukraine.

Responding promptly to emergencies around the world, we ramped up our assistance to those most in need, acting decisively to support refugees and displaced people from Ukraine in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. The MSC Foundation and MSC Group provided extraordinary funding that exceeded CHF 7 million by mid-November to deliver sustained global relief and support to refugees from Ukraine.

Alongside this, we led 8 emergency relief initiatives in 9 countries, consolidating our global emergency response capabilities in the year. 

The Foundation continued to grow in the field of marine conservation, leveraging our strategic partnerships with Nova Southeastern University and the University of Miami to make crucial progress in several areas of our flagship Super Coral Programme based on Ocean Cay in the Bahamas. We began hosting two marine biologist graduate interns on Ocean Cay to identify existing particularly resistant coral species in the Caribbean. They have already found coral genotypes that could survive up to 60 days at water temperatures 2°C warmer than the present average summer maximum. Preparing for the next phase of this work, we set up underwater coral nurseries for populating such coral species resistant to climate change on and around Ocean Cay. Throughout, we continued sharing the knowledge generated by our work, producing infographics on the importance of corals for the health of our ocean ecosystems.

In Italy, we contributed to maintaining continuity of environmental and marine conservation education, reaching 2,326 students through our programmes with long-term partner Marevivo.

In Ivory Coast, we continued collecting and recycling plastic waste to make eco-friendly bricks, using them to build 41 more classrooms for a total of 112 under a programme that won a UNICEF Global Inspire Award and is now bringing around 2,000 additional children access to a quality education. 3 more women were trained in plastic waste collection, taking the total to 188, all of whom are now organised in a formal association. Together, they enabled a total of 99,000 kg of plastic waste to be recycled in the year.

In Africa, we brought hope and healing to 695 people with Mercy Ships, plus training for 293 medical professionals and community leaders, transporting 74 containers free of charge.

In addition to advancing these existing programmes throughout the year, we also expanded the area and depth of our action with a range of new initiatives.

In June, we joined forces with the United Nations World Tourism Organization for the first ever Global Youth Tourism Summit, an environmental education initiative held in Sorrento (Italy). Here, MSC shared its unique know-how and expertise in responsible tourism with 130 youth delegates aged 12-18 from over 60 countries worldwide. The Summit concluded with the launch of the “Sorrento Call to Action” for young people to be active participants in the growth of tourism as a pillar of sustainable and inclusive development focused on people, Planet Earth and welfare.

We launched 2 new strategic partnerships in the year. The first with the Qatar Foundation, Qatar Ministry of Environment & Climate Change and Qatar University to lay the basis for a programme to conserve and restore Qatar’s coastal ecosystems. The second, with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, to assist two community support programmes, one in the field of education and the other of the environment.

Supporting our new coral initiatives, we partnered with Le Village de Credit Agricole in Italy to launch a call for project proposals to power the scaling up of coral restoration. Named “SeAct | MSC Foundation for Coral Restoration”, the call attracted a diverse pool of innovation talent.

We also launched local initiatives in a wide range of fields, including creating an award for “Best Tourism Final Degree Project” at the Complutense University of Madrid, sponsoring the restoration of Genoa Cathedral in Italy and donating 324 gifts to children from families in need in our third Festive Smile initiative with the Geneva Red Cross in Switzerland.

Looking to the future, the Foundation’s activities on MSC Cruises ships are set to generate a significant increase in our resources, with the MSC Group now matching every donation of €/$1 per cruise per guests to double the impact of their generosity. Meanwhile, bringing the Foundation ever closer to cruise guests, we opened two new MSC Foundation Centres on MSC Cruises ships, taking the total to five. With each staffed by our own dedicated specialists, this will really boost our efforts to inform millions of guests every year about the most pressing needs worldwide and inspire them to action.

To read the full 2022 Highlights, simply download them here!

“2022 began with a new sense of confidence, resilience and optimism as the world continued opening up after the pandemic and cruise operations restarted. We were able to deliver solidly on that energy thanks to the tireless commitment of our partners, combined with the agility and flexibility with which MSC manages global uncertainties, leveraging its unique expertise and global reach. This short summary of the year pays tribute to the achievements of our partners and makes it clear why we and thousands of people around the world are so grateful for your support. Because none of this would have been possible without you and the generosity of all our supporters.

Thank you.”

Daniela Picco, Executive Director, MSC Foundation