More than 300 students in Monaco took part in a Drowning Awareness Day on Wednesday in the presence of Princess Charlene of Monaco.

The event was organised by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in partnership with the Department of National Education, Youth and Sports (DENJS), the Mairie de Monaco, the Monaco Red Cross, the MaritimePolice, the Monaco Fire Brigade and the Académie Monégasque de la Mer.

It brought together 334 CP students in Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum with the aim of raising awareness among young people about drowning prevention, with theoretical and practical workshops in the classroom.

Short activity sessions led by event partners gave the children access to a wide range of knowledge about drowning, the equipment used in the event of an accident, and the first aid gestures that can save lives.

The students were also able to attend a reading session of the book ‘La Magie de l’Eau’ by its author, Mélinda Guery, of which the Foundation is a partner. The illustrated, poetic and educational work inspires children to learn to swim and gives them the tools to better understand the aquatic environment.

At the end of the morning, each child received a copy of the book, as well as a bag containing a swimming cap and a winter hat in the Foundation’s colours.

Drowning claims more than 230,000 victims worldwide each year, and the hope is that awareness days such as this will prevent any kind of fatality in Monaco.

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Photo source: Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation