At the initiative of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Service (ECHO), citizens and high school students from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region today addressed to the Haitian people the Largest Greeting Card in the World to express their solidarity on the occasion of the commemoration of the tragic earthquake
that struck Haiti.
The youth of the Apollinaire High School in Nice were awarded today (3rd prize) by the European Commission for succeeding in mobilizing a large number of people to write a message of solidarity and sympathy to the Haitians.
The Largest Greeting Card in the World measuring 10 m by 15 m, composed of more than 10,000 cards including 429 from the youth of the Apollinaire High School in Nice, was displayed above the Jardin des Vestiges in Marseille.
The card will then be delivered to the Haitian people.
It was certified by the judge from the Guinness Book of Records in the presence of the high school students, representatives of the European Commission, and the city of Marseille.
“Through this action, the high school students and the citizens of the region illustrate that, one year after the terrible earthquake, they do not forget the Haitian population by sending them messages of solidarity and sympathy,” said Raphaël Brigandi of the European Commission. And
added: “Alongside the concrete and substantial humanitarian aid provided by the European Commission to Haiti, which allowed us to help 4 million people, it is important to convey messages of moral support, which we are doing today through an action of strong symbolic significance.”
Context:
The presentation of the Card is the culmination and highlight of an awareness campaign “European Humanitarian Aid: Express Yourself!” conducted from April to December 2010 in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid &
Civil Protection Service (ECHO).
This campaign directly involved nearly 5,000 high school students from 59 high schools in the PACA region who attended conferences dedicated to European humanitarian aid. The high school students were then able to express their commitment by collecting nearly 4,000 personalized greeting cards. The action was then continued directly with the residents of Marseille, allowing the collection of more than 6,000 additional cards.
Three high school students from the Emile Zola High School (Aix en Provence), Sacré Coeur (Digne les Bains), and Apollinaire (Nice) will be invited by the European Commission to travel to Haiti, where they will visit humanitarian projects funded by the European Commission.
