PRADA GROUP AND UNESCO PRESENT:“KINDERGARTEN OF THE LAGOON”
Part of the SEA BEYOND programme
Venice and Milan, 4 May 2022 – Today, during a press conference held at Ca’ Corner della Regina,
the Venetian venue of Fondazione Prada, Prada Group and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commissionof UNESCO presented the project “Kindergarten of the Lagoon” with Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Headof Corporate Social Responsibility, Ana Luiza M. Thompson-Flores, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau
for Science and Culture in Europe, and local institutions in attendance.
The initiative is part of SEA BEYOND, a programme developed by Prada and UNESCO since 2019 to promote
education on preserving the sea and its resources. In January 2021, the project officially joined the United
Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
The educational programme, funded with proceeds from sales of the Prada Re-Nylon collection, made ofregenerated nylon, has been extended to more than 300 secondary school students around the world.
In June 2021 the project was enriched with two new activities: a training programme for over 13,000 PradaGroup employees globally, and the initiative presented today for the city of Venice, consisting of a programmeof lessons dedicated to children in preschool based on the principles of outdoor education.
Speaking during the conference were Francesca Santoro, UNESCO Programme Specialist, Fabio Pranovi,
professor at Università Ca’ Foscari and specialist in the ecology of the Venice lagoon, and Francesca Milan,
expert in environmental education.
The event was also an opportunity to consolidate the collaboration between Prada Group and UNESCO
and to officially begin preparing the lesson programme, which will start in September 2022.
This coming 27 and 28 May, the Scientific Committee, which includes as active members the above speakers
and other educational experts, will meet in Venice to finalize the details of the programme. The educational
proposal will be presented to the preschools in the Municipality of Venice during an open day for local families.
The schools will be chosen based on their curriculum and interest in experimenting with outdoor education
activities and may participate at no charge. Groups of approximately 25 children aged 3–6 will be led throughthematic lessons that encourage them to learn through outdoor experiences. At the end of every lesson cycle,
it will be important to assess what the children have learned by stimulating their creativity, perhaps expressed
through drawings. Training courses will also be organized for teachers, who will be assisted by facilitatorsin planning outdoor activities.
Prada Group and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission officially inaugurate the“Kindergarten of the Lagoon” project today, reaffirming their intention to establish an educational programme
engaging a multiplicity of persons to ensure that Schools are an active component of Communities.

Prada Group
Pioneer of a dialogue with contemporary society across diverse cultural spheres and an influential leader
in luxury fashion, Prada Group founds its identity on essential values such creative independence,transformation and sustainable development, offering its brands a shared vision to interpret and express theirspirit. The Group owns some of the world’s most prestigious luxury brands, Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe,the historic Pasticceria Marchesi and Luna Rossa.
UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) promotes international
cooperation in marine sciences to improve management of the ocean, coasts and marine resources. The IOC
enables its 150 Member States to work together by coordinating programmes in capacity development, ocean
observations and services, ocean science and tsunami warning. The work of the IOC contributes to the missionof UNESCO to promote the advancement of science and its applications to develop knowledge and capacity,
key to economic and social progress, the basis of peace and sustainable development.
For further information
Prada Group Press Officecorporatepress@prada.com
www.pradagroup.com
UNESCO Press OfficeAnne Ajoux (Communications Officer)
UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe+39 0412601522
a.ajoux@unesco.org
Vinicius Grunberg Lindoso (Communications Officer)
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO+33 (0)145681170
v.lindoso@unesco.org
www.ioc.unesco.org